Cheap tech is not the problem. Unnamed chargers that swell, earbuds that ghost after a month, "tactical" flashlights that are a coin cell in a tube — that is the problem.

I review budget gear under $100. Not luxury. Not unbox-and-gush. Torture-test, pick a winner, name the skips.

The pattern I keep seeing:

• The $12 option fails because the battery or the cable is a lie

• The $90 option is often the same guts with a nicer shell

• The actual buy is usually in the $25–$40 band, from a brand that has to eat returns

If you only remember one filter: if the listing will not show you the real chip, cell, or driver, skip it. Marketing photos are not a spec sheet.

The Buy List is the weekly short version of that — one winner, a skip list, no 20-minute intro. YouTube is the test. The list is the verdict.