Skip to main content

Website review - Rateral.com

Rateral.com is a young website with promising innovation. It is a Q & A oriented website, which focusses on discussions around shopping.

They are trying to connect shoppers with other buyers who have already experienced or bought a similar product.

That's why you need a place like Rateral so that you can connect with current consumers of that thing and know that how they feel about your next buy.




Interface

The first thing you observe in a website is its interface. This site has a user-friendly interface. Navigation between pages is pretty easy and it does not give you a cluttered or overcrowded look.



Account set up

I tried setting up my account, and it was a quick and easy process. I like that in websites which have social media log in plugins installed. I just logged in with my Google account which made everything so easy.

My user ID is http://www.rateral.com/users/1029/   

You can look me up. I wish they had the custom profile link thing. But anyway, this is good too. I still have to update a pic as I am looking for that right image, but you must upload a nice pic of yours.



Objective


The online shopping scene has become increasingly crowded with so many options and multiple platforms trying to peddle similar products. If you look at differentiation, it is clearly missing. In this scenario, Rateral's motive to unite buyers on a common platform to answer each other's query is remarkable and quite interesting. 

There is a greater need in the market today for all parties to address each other's queries. Take an example of a household item one needs to buy. Comparing on various e-commerce sites won't generate a positive result. But asking a specific query might take time. Most of the shopping sites answer queries post purchase.  Using this platform one can even raise a query before purchase and take informed decisions based on user experience and knowledge.

Go ahead and post your own questions and help others with their queries by answering their questions.

How Rateral will change the dynamics of Indian shopping scene

Today's customer wants options. Customers need information. They want a third party confirmation to take confident decisions. The website has clear classifications or threads for category based discussions.

LeaderBoard

The website has a leaderboard concept wherein all members accrue points for their answers or questions. The leaderboard shows the rank of the members, thus enlisting credibility of the members as well as rewarding them for their contribution. This recognition of their efforts will encourage more members in the future for better contribution to the discussion.

Competition in the Indian e-commerce is narrowing down with larger players gobbling up the smaller ones. An unbiased forum will go a long way in establishing a check and balance on services offered by such firms.


Comments

Also read

Learning from Gardening

While composing status messages, just for fun, I simply jot down anything random that comes to my mind at the moment. Here is the latest FB message i posted few seconds ago. Tushar Mangl learns a lot from his gardening routine. Even when his plants die, he simply feels bad and then goes about to plan for new plants. Mostly because an empty space does not look that good. That is life for you. People will always go away from your life, at one point or another. But you cannot always leave the places vacan t. New plants have to be placed. Optimism has to exist for new flowers to bloom, new leaves to grow. Now, FB only gives me 422 characters to say my point. But my dear blogger, a companion of several years gives me much better platform to elaborate my thoughts. You see, in a flower bed I maintain near stairs of my house I had planted bougainvillea plants on either sides of the bed. As fate would have it, and given my nature of getting too attached to livi...

A suggestion to break the loop of guilt, isolation, and emotional burnout?

Caught in a guilt spiral, isolating quietly, and wondering why rest doesn’t heal you? You’re not lazy—you’re carrying layers of unprocessed emotion and spiritual exhaustion. This is your invitation to pause, reflect, and reset. Let’s explore why you still feel stuck despite good intentions, and discover rituals, reflections, and real reconnection to help you come home to yourself. First Published on 20/06/2008 14:30 Second edition Published on 04/07/2025 12:51 Why do you keep spiraling despite good intentions? Let me ask you this. Have you ever written out a self-care plan so perfectly, maybe in a brand-new notebook—drink more water, meditate, go to therapy—and yet by day three you’re numbly binge-scrolling, wondering what’s broken now ? Yeah. Same. We don’t spiral because we’re undisciplined or lazy. We spiral because the emotional weight we’re carrying goes deeper than we admit. It's not about a missed workout or failing to reply to that one text. It's the inner tug-of...

Cutting people off isn’t strength—It is a trauma response

Your ability to cut people off and self-isolate is not a skill you should be proud of—It is a trauma response Cutting people off and self-isolating may feel like a protective shield, but it is often rooted in unresolved or unhealed trauma and an inability to depend on others. While these behaviors seem like self-preservation, they end up reinforcing isolation and blocking meaningful connections. Confronting these patterns, seeking therapy, and nurturing supportive relationships can help break this unhealthy cycle. Plus, a simple act like planting a jasmine plant can symbolise the start of your journey towards emotional healing. Why do we cut people off and isolate? If you’re someone who prides themselves on “cutting people off” or keeping a tight circle, you might believe it’s a skill—a way to protect yourself from betrayal, hurt, or unnecessary drama. I get it. I’ve been there, too. But here’s the thing: this ability to isolate yourself is not as empowering as it may seem. In fact, i...