We are editors at Buy Side, a new site dedicated to smart shopping and financial decisions from The Wall Street Journal. Ask us anything!

I understand the concept, however, in 2023 “smart shopping and financial decisions” is oxymoronic.

As a self-employed individual and consumer, I’d love a tool/website that returns search results for products without ANY OUTSIDE INFLUENCE.

Brooklinens marketing budget shouldn’t influence my decision making… neither should google analytics or ongoing, massive data collection. One example : This erred system we have kept pushing Parachute bedding — that purchase was a pricey mistake. So uncomfortable!

Instead of all this engineering, INFORMATION should determine our actions as consumers. Exactly what kind of linen is the softest? Washed, Belgian, Flax… are they all the same? Okay, great. Now I’ll take that education to ANY retailer offering the lowest price.

The money I save can go into an IRA or T-Bond (for example).

Brand names are so irrelevant at this point because most things are manufactured by the same company.

/r/IAmA Thread