12 Comments
May 23Liked by Caitlin Dewey

"Heath & Cliff" is a perverse favorite here

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May 23Liked by Caitlin Dewey

1. I’m now going to reverse image search everything I buy (which will more than pay for this subscription, I imagine)

2. “Lo & behold“ …well done

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author

A reader also just pointed me to this Chrome extension ... news you can use, as they say!!!! https://www.spoken.io/

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May 23Liked by Caitlin Dewey

The insights provided here (and in the newsletter where this issue was first mentioned) re: online furniture shopping, were stunning. I think twice before purchasing online now. Thank you, Caitlin!

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May 23Liked by Caitlin Dewey

makes me think of a video essay gabi belle did about dropshipping, and the part about how etsy is now flooded with spam dropshipping which crowds out the handmade goods the site was originally built for.

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Is that this?? Bookmarking to watch later! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb0k6v9GLQA

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yes!!

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May 23Liked by Caitlin Dewey

A whole post on the value of reverse image searching in the context of shopping online and no mention of Google Lens? It’s the absolute best tool for that, it’s even integrated into iOS photos so that any picture I have in my photos, I can share to Google lens (ignoring the privacy implications of this for the moment/sake of this comment). It’s incredible, I’ve found so budget friendly, visually similar versions of items I’d never purchase at their luxury price points, using Google lens. And for online auction sites, it’s how I’m able to identify exactly what the brand/model/MSRP is of the listed items with only a couple of pictures/minimal details — helps in knowing which are actually good deals and which are bs.

I hate Google as much as the next person, but Lens is powerhouse online shopping tool.

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Au contraire, my friend, reverse image searching *is* Google Lens! If you're using Google/Chrome, anyway.

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May 31Liked by Caitlin Dewey

I, too, am a proud owner of this lamp. I bought it from Nordstrom Rack. I can say that it has worked well for 3+ years, and only shows damage where my dad kindly dropped a phone on its base, denting it slightly.

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This was so fascinating. I shared with multiple friends and family! Bravo to you for your investigative reporting!! I love that you ordered the same product from different stores to see where it came from!

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There's a new website called DUPE.com that will automatically show you the other retailers selling the same item. It's basically a website doing the reverse image search for you

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