Advice on....Snake Oil

what some would call "snake oil".

Why?
Because as we know from CV19,  propaganda goes a  veryyyy longgg way.
You can not always believe what you read, hear, 
As Kevin Deal says at Upscale aAudio,, <<If they are not showing pics of the guts of any component = means they are hiding something>> He is right. Its the old saying, a  pic tells a thosand words,, before i make any purcahse i carefully look at the guts, and weight. 
If it looks gorgeous from the outside, but inside pic looks like garbage,, and weight is puny,, I know its all hype. 
Guts + weight says alot. 
Who wants to  pay top $ for a   toy sized  transformer?
Lets rephrase your **snakeoil** which really only applies to mods/upgrades (new caps, new resistors new tubes) , for  describing a  components reputation, lets tag  it <<hype>>
There is alot of hype in this hobby. 
Snakeoil buster here. 

So the explanation that no suit has been filed over hi-fi fraud because it would be difficult to prove just isn’t valid.

Look we have the Inet now, Folks can google images of whatever they are considering buying. 
If they fail in their research, the blame lies with their laziness.
Rule #1, never ever believe what you read, w/o doing due diligence, = sniffing out the lies/propaganda.  Likea   good old hound dog.
Rule #2, never be too quick  to buy anything, always sleep on it
Observe these 2 basic rules, a  audiophile will be OK. 

NOTE I've seen  comments posted about a  certain coupling cap *The rave*, very exp vs others,, I know there is some snakeoil mixed in with the hype. 
But I keep my mouth shut.
I know  the lab I can trust, and so that case is closed

I think use of the word really just reflects laziness. It’s an overused cliche that says nothing at all

As i say above, Components as a  whole, can be hyped, = over promoted = propagandized. 
Snakeoil is like feet under amps, certain expensive cables, certain room treaments,  can't name the all.
All sorts of weird ideas which pass off as *upgrades*. 
Hype pertains to some opinions i read on audiogon about certain components which i <know> are being over blown. 
Take electrstats, some folks still believe in that garbage, = to me its hyped.. Is this my personal bias, or it there some truth that electrostats area  real genuine speaker experience?
I can't stand that technology. How it ever survived this long, and even ever sold, beats me. 
Now that i am on my personal bias, might as well mention solid state amplification,, Just for the record,, how is this dinosaurish technology still hanging on?? 
man, tube amplification (not SET, which i also can't stand) has blown away anything solid state. 
Now you might say,, hey thats snakeoil, worse,, hype.
AS I see it its the solid state fans hyping that style of electronics.
I think its time we tell things just like we know it. This is 2020, not the year 2000 which i consider late middle ages in  audiophile land. 
I am trying to bring this hobby up through the 21st century, exposing the <frauds>, the <hype> and the 100% pure <snakeoil>
Snakeoil buster here...