General Discussion

freedom fighter jh

(1,784 posts)

30. I dumped Angie's List for the first reason cited in the OP.

Sat Sep 6, 2014, 02:11 PM

Sep 2014

I opened an account with Angie's List to get the benefit of others' opinions when I needed a plumber or whatever. I learned that I could open a free account for my small business, and I did so gratefully.

Then I started getting phone calls pressing me to add some paid doodads to my account so I would get a higher ranking. Wait, what? You mean my ranking depends not only on what my clients say about me, but also on what I pay? That means the rankings I see depend not only on what their clients say about them but also on what they pay Angie's List.

After that I never paid them another cent.

Until they started trying to sell me better results for my business, I thought they had a good business model: good for the consumer as well as for small businesses that provide good value. But now I can't understand why anyone would want to do business with them.

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Angie's List = Scam [View all] Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 OP

Thanks for the info! Wonder if we'll see team Angie appear below...? grahamhgreen Sep 2014 #1

If there's a Team Angie, they should be ashamed of themselves... Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #3

Ck out CraigsList also. mimi85 Sep 2014 #115

hOW ARE THEY IN BUSINESS AFTER 18 yearS OF no profits? wtf? elehhhhna Sep 2014 #103

All product references on the web, both for and against, must be assumed to be bullshit. nt bemildred Sep 2014 #2

Absolutely! Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #4

I don't know why people do not get this. The web is not a secure space, and loot wins every time. nt bemildred Sep 2014 #5

Google cannot be blameless, but it will (ultimately) lead you... Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #6

Right, you have to compare and contrast, and then look for specs, not recommendations. bemildred Sep 2014 #8

I learned early on in life to assume that nearly everything is bullshit. SomethingFishy Sep 2014 #107

A sound rule. bemildred Sep 2014 #116

That's disappointing news, but The Velveteen Ocelot Sep 2014 #7

In the future, save your money (which has funded Repugs) and try this site: Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #9

wow!!!! thank you!!!! renate Sep 2014 #18

You're more-than-welcome! Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #19

Interesting! I've got it bookmarked. I've used Angie's list a number of years, but RKP5637 Sep 2014 #53

Don't bother. mimi85 Sep 2014 #112

Thanks, I'll check it out. The Velveteen Ocelot Sep 2014 #58

Bookmarked! Thanks! SunSeeker Sep 2014 #67

I bookmarked this myself. Thanks for posting it, Cooley Hurd! calimary Sep 2014 #68

But bemildred (#2 above) said "All product references on the web, both for and against, must be man4allcats Sep 2014 #80

But when you Ineeda Sep 2014 #97

Oh. "Assumed." man4allcats Sep 2014 #101

I just checked this out...but frankly I don't like this style titaniumsalute Sep 2014 #81

They're all not quite right. Yelp is the worst. mimi85 Sep 2014 #106

Once again - don't bother - they're not much better. mimi85 Sep 2014 #110

me too shireen Sep 2014 #83

This Kos diary made some good points. gvstn Sep 2014 #10

Great link and info! Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #11

Good reminder PasadenaTrudy Sep 2014 #12

There's so many other sites that are free... Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #13

Thanks for the post. Sancho Sep 2014 #14

Don't waste your money. Go to Yelp or HomeAdvisor: Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #15

Thanks. Forgot I was a member of this. Tommymac Sep 2014 #24

And here in Georgia, RebelOne Sep 2014 #28

The irony of recommending yelp taught_me_patience Sep 2014 #37

How so? Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #40

Yelp is 100% ad driven taught_me_patience Sep 2014 #47

Yup. They shake down small businesses for fees. SunSeeker Sep 2014 #65

Yelp is the worst. None of them are much good, although mimi85 Sep 2014 #108

Home Advisor? Doesn't list major contractors near me, apparently. MH1 Sep 2014 #42

The same info on AL can be had FOR FREE if you Google the contractors... Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #44

Do NOT use Yelp! They delete negative comments JimDandy Sep 2014 #52

I've heard the same from others many times. None of these outfits is perfect, I guess. n/t RKP5637 Sep 2014 #54

Not only do that do that, local businesses who don't pay them are artificially lowered ConservativeDemocrat Sep 2014 #62

They delete positive comments too. Live and Learn Sep 2014 #84

Mine was a sole post also. Clearly some scam going on JimDandy Sep 2014 #90

Yelp is worse than any of them, by far! mimi85 Sep 2014 #89

I thought they had stopped advertising on Rush catrose Sep 2014 #74

I tried Angie's List, and found it to be pretty much useless 99th_Monkey Sep 2014 #16

And unwanted snail mail too! I tried it & used one reference and gave a few lunasun Sep 2014 #79

K & R ctsnowman Sep 2014 #17

There are so many review sites out there that I've never MineralMan Sep 2014 #20

We hired a contractor from Angie's List in 2011 leftieNanner Sep 2014 #21

he told you he was a turd but paid for high ratings LOL DeadEyeDyck Sep 2014 #43

LIke anything else, caveat emptor. AngryOldDem Sep 2014 #22

Always thought it was a scam... JCMach1 Sep 2014 #23

I think they advertise on Hartmann too though Doctor_J Sep 2014 #25

Yeah, I recall Hartmann himself had voiced some of those ads too. cascadiance Sep 2014 #100

If I want work done... Bryce Butler Sep 2014 #26

Yep, my daughter is in the real estate biz (why I don't know), but anyway mimi85 Sep 2014 #113

I tried to use Angie's list twice. No luck and you mackerel Sep 2014 #27

Angie's List is no different than our corporate and political systems all over. nt kelliekat44 Sep 2014 #29

True, but it's a bellwether... Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #31

We did a lot of cosmetic work on our house (where does 25 years go)? mimi85 Sep 2014 #111

I dumped Angie's List for the first reason cited in the OP. freedom fighter jh Sep 2014 #30

Just cancelled my subscrition on Phone - rep said Angie's does not support Rush Tommymac Sep 2014 #32

Awesome!!!! Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #34

Yet media corporations that rely on the same ad money are still trusted? Fred Sanders Sep 2014 #33

Google and discernation are the best friends to consumers Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #35

Always seemed fishy to me. DirkGently Sep 2014 #36

Therein lies the scam... Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #39

Local community on facebook catchnrelease Sep 2014 #38

For the record, Yelp also has this corruption problem daredtowork Sep 2014 #41

...but it's free and never claimed to be definitive... Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #46

Subscribed to Angies list for over 10 years. It's far less useful than it once was. Gidney N Cloyd Sep 2014 #45

Bingo Little Star Sep 2014 #48

I knew when they started to advertise on Limbag's show Warpy Sep 2014 #49

I advertise on Angie's List. leftyladyfrommo Sep 2014 #50

Angie's List ripped me off a couple of years ago csziggy Sep 2014 #51

List of complaints filed against Angie's List RKP5637 Sep 2014 #55

HomeAdvisor has 2,583 positive reviews on ResellerRatings, a service I use for electronics and RKP5637 Sep 2014 #56

Angie and her investors have already made the millions. Atman Sep 2014 #57

All part of the coming Dot Com Bubble II Kennah Sep 2014 #59

I've had both good and bad experiences through Angie's List. cui bono Sep 2014 #60

I never understood... sendero Sep 2014 #61

Do you mind my asking Curmudgeoness Sep 2014 #66

The only time I priced it.. sendero Sep 2014 #77

Yikes. Curmudgeoness Sep 2014 #78

Exactly.. sendero Sep 2014 #92

Long ago I read that they were a company that supported republi-CONS. calimary Sep 2014 #63

Me either... Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #64

True. They sure do a LOT of advertising. calimary Sep 2014 #69

Post removed Post removed Sep 2014 #70

Why is this crap? Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #75

My experiences with Angie's list have been mildly negative bhikkhu Sep 2014 #71

I own my own contracting company ... CaptainTruth Sep 2014 #72

Thank you and welcome to DU CaptainTruth! Cooley Hurd Sep 2014 #73

Good to know, I for one was not aware.... AuntPatsy Sep 2014 #76

yelp is kinda scammy also Liberal_in_LA Sep 2014 #82

I always wondered how their business model (memberships only) TxDemChem Sep 2014 #85

It's a deep systemic flaw. To succeed in our system, you have to cheat, mislead, or lie. RufusTFirefly Sep 2014 #86

Never paid any attention to "Angie's list" OldRedneck Sep 2014 #87

THANK YOU Skittles Sep 2014 #88

Consumers' Checkbook is a Nonprofit I've used for years HomerRamone Sep 2014 #91

As a business owner- KrazyinKS Sep 2014 #93

So Angie's "List" is all the companies to AVOID for being dishonest. Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2014 #94

Yep, looks that way to me too. B Calm Sep 2014 #95

i just never got around to angie's list barbtries Sep 2014 #96

If anyone is under the impression that Yelp doesn't Puglover Sep 2014 #98

Have never used Angie's list ann--- Sep 2014 #99

I have no use for a business that advertises on the OxyRush Hatefest Hour. lpbk2713 Sep 2014 #102

I always see this advertisesd on FOX Noise, so I've never tried it...nt joeybee12 Sep 2014 #104

I've never even turned on Fox, but mimi85 Sep 2014 #105

Fox is always on one of the tv's at the gym, that's the only reason why i know...nt joeybee12 Sep 2014 #109

I know, there mimi85 Sep 2014 #114