Is a subscription to Consumer Reports really worth it?

[tk149]

CR does not accept free "sample products". They go out and buy straight from a store, just like you and me.

Most other review sites do accept products from the manufacturer for testing. That leaves them open to bias, and having a cherry-picked product for review.

I think they're great for appliances and such. Not so much for computers or stuff where it's easy to find more knowledgable reviewers on the 'net.

Anyway, go to the library for CR.

 

[bobross419]

Consumer Reports blows big nuts. They recently did an article on fuel efficient used cars and left out the Geo Metro. Obviously they been smoking something if they can leave out a car like that but keep in sub 30 mpg cars.

 

[0roo0roo]

er yea...if ur going to drive a geo metro you might as well include golf carts and bikes people reading cs tend to not like DYING when being hit by even a small car. geo metro lol..think of all the gas u'll save dead.

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Yep, that and they out source a lot of their reviews now as well.


CR was ok 10 years ago. But I can find more, and better, reviews online.

That gets me on one of my soap boxes. Just because you read it on the intarweb doesn't make it true.

There is so much misinformation on the intarweb it makes one's head spin. Especially user created reviews. Those generally are influenced by the need to be justified in their purchase so they normally goo-goo-ga-ga about their purchase without any knowledge of other options. If you can find real reviews by people that actually know what they are talking about then that is great, but that is getting harder and harder to find.

As far as appliances - I want to see it, feel it, check it out. Kick the tires if you will. That's more information than a review that you read on the intarweb.

Agree that CR used to be good, when they were the only source for that. Today? Not so much.

The internet is a fine place for info, you just gotta be able to decipher the shit and get the correct info. That's the hard part. I usually look at the worst ratings and see if there is a common complaint among a few of them. Then I'll go to another site and see if the complaints match up. The positive reviews are pretty much useless other than letting you know some misc specs about a product.

Really, that's any information on the internet. Sorting through the chaff is the biggest part of doing any research on the web...

 

[0roo0roo]

well its fine for some things. but even sorting through the chaff isn't going to get you good reviews on appliances that are based on comparisons to other products of the same kind all from the same year. at best its an experience based on very little comparison, to other devices on the market, at best they compare to their old unit. rather meaningless beyond finding out if its a complete lemon or not. no ones going to buy 10 dryers from different companies a year to write reviews on the web.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: MrPickins

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Yep, that and they out source a lot of their reviews now as well.


CR was ok 10 years ago. But I can find more, and better, reviews online.

That gets me on one of my soap boxes. Just because you read it on the intarweb doesn't make it true.

There is so much misinformation on the intarweb it makes one's head spin. Especially user created reviews. Those generally are influenced by the need to be justified in their purchase so they normally goo-goo-ga-ga about their purchase without any knowledge of other options. If you can find real reviews by people that actually know what they are talking about then that is great, but that is getting harder and harder to find.

As far as appliances - I want to see it, feel it, check it out. Kick the tires if you will. That's more information than a review that you read on the intarweb.

Agree that CR used to be good, when they were the only source for that. Today? Not so much.

The internet is a fine place for info, you just gotta be able to decipher the shit and get the correct info. That's the hard part. I usually look at the worst ratings and see if there is a common complaint among a few of them. Then I'll go to another site and see if the complaints match up. The positive reviews are pretty much useless other than letting you know some misc specs about a product.

Really, that's any information on the internet. Sorting through the chaff is the biggest part of doing any research on the web...

What I find that works best is to try and find a lot of problems that are the same or very close. If you see the same complaint come up over and over then it is a issue, not a one time thing. The washer my wife wanted had the same complaints over and over. We passed on that and went with another one. No problems with our LG but the one we passed on has now had several lawsuits.