If Dave reviews stuff, I pay attention; it's not just if he says it is good, he shows how well it works, points out flaws down to stuff like rough edges on internal metal work. He DOES influence my purchasing decisions but only BECAUSE I regard him as an HONEST 3rd party reviewer; as he says, there are many examples where it was very clear that he wasn't paid to say nice things about the product. Examples:
1. Dave reviewed / tore down the Siglent SPD3303X Power Supply and while the review wasn't all good, he did show me the quality of the innards and I was impressed - when I went looking I found the SPD3303X-E which met my needs, was a great price, and now sits on my bench.
2. Dave reviewed the Aneng AN8008 multimeter; cheap, 9999 count, pretty accurate, nice and small, $20. I bought it and like it.
He's also shown many ways to hack stuff that a paid reviewer would never do. If he makes a buck selling stuff he's designed, more power to him.
It must be a pretty thankless job for Dave so here you go Dave, from me (and I suspect the vast majority of eevblog members)
THANK YOU DAVE