Nice post. And agree with Audio that you need to know more about the person.
For example, if Fido says a blade is way too sharp and discards it, I'd be inclined to try it as I know he didn't get on with Feathers/Iridiums etc, and that I like sharper blades for my tough beard. And so on..
A recent real example :
Some Gillette Platinums appeared on ebay yesterday. I haven't purchased anything in ages and promised not to for the forseeable future, but as soon as I saw them, I jumped up with joy.
Swedes were made for my face and I reckoned these would be very close to swedes in performance.
I realised they were russian made Gillette Platinums and checked out the following positive review:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=123130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=123130</a><!-- m --> - posted yesterday - please see the FIRST post only.
I immediately bought a pack. Then I found this old negative review from an experienced user:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=99766" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=99766</a><!-- m -->
turns out it's the same blade (in both reviews) and so I most likely won't be over-the-moon with the quality of the shave. Luckily i only 'lost out' on a few quid.
Another reason why I like our forums: because there's not thousands of us, over time you can gauge the shaving styles/habits/beards of fellow users and then try out items that are recommended by these people, knowing that your chances of getting a good product are high.
Just got an email now from the seller of those Gillette platinum blades. He says he has lots. lol. Yep, they definately ain't swedes