Writing Guide

Our FAQ describes the basic elements of a very useful WisePrice post. We wrote this writing guide for our users who would like further guidance in sharing consumer experiences. As you write, remember that WisePrice is about comparing prices for services received.

Things to Do:

  • Clearly list the services received. This is vitally important to making sure your post is useful to other WisePrice users.
  • Give lots of details. If you're not sure where to begin, try this: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
  • Use short paragraphs. Many short paragraphs is easier to read and browse than one long one.
  • Use your best grammar and spelling. It doesn't have to be perfect, but pay attention to this, since it is for other people to read. Using common internet acronyms and abbreviations is discouraged, since it limits the number of people who will be able to understand and learn from your experiences.

Things to Avoid:

  • Don't use proper names. Please do not use business names or individual names in your descriptions. Feel free to describe the business or the individual, but moderators will remove any business or personal names that you include.
  • Don't vent. Though the quality of services is certainly relevant to the price you paid, please don't use this as a forum to vent your frustrations about an unsatisfactory experience.
  • Don't use inappropriate language, images, or ideas. Keep it clean, people--everything on WisePrice should be appropriate for individuals as young as ten years old.
  • DON'T USE ALL CAPS. There's no need to shout.

Things to Consider:

  • What advice do you have for someone about to seek a similar service?
  • Were there any surprises, either good or bad, associated with your experience?
  • How will this experience effect your decision-making in the future?

What if I got many different services from the same place?

If you are unable to disambiguate the services you received from the cost for each service, then write a post for the most general, yet relevant category.

If you are able to separate the services and costs, then feel free to create a unique WisePrice post for each service. For example, instead of writing one post on $200 worth of "spa services," it would be more beneficial to have two posts--one on $140 worth of a massage, and another one for $60 for a facial.


learn what other users had to say about:

EXAMPLE: Moving Services

Price 
Date 
Location 
Submited by  
Description
Discount
$ 2313
July 2007
Seattle, WA
Pack and Ship Containers from San Diego to Seattle   more... close row
$ 25

Description of service

We used two 6' x 7' x 8' containers to move our stuff from San Diego to Seattle. They dropped the containers off at our old place, and we had three days to pack them. Four days after they were picked up, the moving company called to tell us that the containers had arrived in Seattle, but we knew we wouldn't be there for another 10 days, so we had arranged to have the moving company store the containers until our lease started in Seattle.

The containers cost $1540 for one, but $2088 for two. The storage costs were $125 per container, for 30 days of storage. The discount, I think, was for telling them that we found their service online.


Review of Service

Overall, we thought the value of service was excellent. We priced out full-service movers, as well as rental trucks and we definitely feel that this is the best option of the three. The cost is comparable to gas/mileage on a rental truck, plus, you don't have to drive the truck.

There were two little annoyances about this type of service, though. The first is that the company we chose only worked during business hours. Naturally, this required us to do our packing/unpacking and be present for drop-off and pick-up during times that we normally would have been at work. Not super convienient.

Also, when you're dealing with containers of this size, there's the issue of where to place it and how long it can legally sit there. If you live on a wide, flat street with plenty of parking, then you're probably fine. We weren't moving to or from a place that fits that description, so we had to do lots of research into city permits and worrying about killing the grass. In the end, all of that was fine and we didn't end up buying a permit or getting a ticket.


Tips

Really, truly, a great and convienient service.

The guy who dropped off the containers gave us the advice to pack mattresses last, so that they would work as padding against the door. We did this and found he was absolutely right.

The only problem we really had was that one container was not packed as tightly or as well as the other, so we did suffer some broken/scratched/damaged stuff. Kind of a bummer, but truly our fault, since everything in the other container was fine.