Slightly off topic - but not - because I thought I'd tell a tale about how everyones input is valid....
After a few years of hard useage, use my hair straighteners broke, any how mum took sympathy (or was fed up of me borrowing hers!) and gave me £50 towards some as an early xmas pressie.
I didnt have a clue which ones to get.. I have very long hair, thats thick and is naturally curly, so they would have to be decent ones.. as some really just dont work on my hair.
I so wanted a pair of GHD's as my hair-dresser and everyone else seems to rave about them.. but I couldnt afford the £100+.. so off me and mum went and was looking in the big Curries store at all the different makes that were available. I would have liked to have a proper look at them, but the sales assistant was hovering over me, which was a bit off putting and I walked out empty handed, but a choice narrowed down to 2 or 3 pairs.
Anyhow when I got home I did a bit of searching on the net to see what people said about them, one of my choices a fair few people seemed to be complaining that the plates easily cracked... so then I started looking at my 2nd choice and people were raving about them, saying they were actually better than GHD's... and then on another review site someone mentioned how they were on offer at Amazon.
I could hardly believe that the ones that were on offer in Comet for £60, were actually retailing on special offer for only £30 at Amazon.. and I start thinking no surely not there has to be a catch, but I ordered anyhow based on what others online had said. Parcel duly arrived, opened.. and of course gave them a go.. and yes they are every bit as good as the GHDs that Ive tried.
Chuffed - you bet I am.. the moral being....
I couldnt afford "the best" and was looking for something a bit cheaper... but if I hadnt seen a discussion on another site about them, then I wouldnt have known which ones to go for... nor would I have thought of looking on Amazon of all places for them either, who had them at half the price of all the other usual places like Argos etc where they retail @ £60/£70.
All be it the information was originally obtained from another site.. (I was hardly going to ask on a techy forum who uses what hair straighners would I).. but the point being is that its info thats started in a thread such as this that can be useful to others... and if someone hadnt started the convo.. then others chip in about gettting such and such a make which were as good, then I would have either paid a lot more, or ended up with a pair that I wouldnt have been quite so happy with.