Do you realize that people pay for consulting services offered for free on Yahoo! Answers?

Question

For instance,

relationship consulting,
business consulting,
Financial/tax consulting,
and so much more that people go to doctors' offices and H&R Block and compusa for is offered FREE on Answers.
So the question is,
Do you trust answers to handle these things for you? (for free?)

I don't meant to come off conceited, but I think this is a really good question. Please star it if you agree- I'd like for it to get some attention.
Thanks.

Answer 1

Good point, but remember the majority of people here are students, or people just offering advice or opinions.
A consultancy service are specialised in their specific areas.
I get really annoyed when I see people ask questions on pregnancy....ask a doctor before taking what people write here as gospil!! True!! Some people have one child (or not even have a child) & think they are then an expert on advice for pregnancy, or the people who ask advice on finances... ask a financial officer!!
Anything here needs to be taken with a grain of salt, very sad but very true. With any free service, you tend to attract the know it alls or the people out to make themselves feel smart, or even the few who are out to stir trouble. In my opinion, it can be dangerous at times!!
I too dont want to come off as sounding conceited, but seriously, have a look through resolved questions!! If people took some of those responses seriously, then man, we'd be in a worse place then we are now ;o)

Answer 2

Sometimes people feel more comfortable getting information from their peers rather than someone who is trained to sell them something.

I know I used the service after meeting with a sales person from a company to get feedback from people who had also used the service I was interested. It was helpful and unbiased information from real people with real experience.

Of course, a doctor or accountant would be more qualified to give answers to specific questions. I can attest to this because I had someone reply to a question about a legal matter with a resopse that was SO wrong, it was actually funny.

As long as people realize that this forum is mostly opinion and not always proven fact responses, it's a great tool for feedback.

Answer 3

Yes. We are nice people.

I have another for you.... Why pay some stranger to tell you how to live your life? Here you get 10 options for free.

Answer 4

Advice = Free
Good advice = $50.00

Y!A should be considered "helpful input".