Using Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports started as a magazine designated as not-for-profit. It is a publication of Consumers Union, and is billed as the nation's largest consumer product testing and research source. In addition to the magazine, Consumer Reports now comes in many forms. You can get information from their web site at www.consumerreports.org, or from monthly newsletters, telephone information services, and frequently broadcast television and radio programs.

Consumer Reports accepts no advertising and claims to have bias-free reviews as a result. They buy all their products and services for review on the open market, the same as any consumer would. Their advice, ratings, and recommendations are based on their independent testing of both products and services. Their income comes from the sale of their magazine and other information sources. They also receive contributions, grants, and fees designated as nonrestrictive and noncommercial.

Consumer Reports offers reviews of almost any product or service you may be interested in. Their fee-based web site is searchable and contains reviews for the past 40 years. Their magazines, published for the last 63 years, are available at libraries.

Consumer Reports has been criticized for using nonscientific testing to achieve desired results, but remains the nation's leading source for product and service reviews.

For each product or service tested, they offer comments and a rating system that ranks products according to the criteria they choose. You should evaluate their criteria and make sure you adjust the rating to weight in favor of the features that are important to you. For example, if they rate a vacuum cleaner as very noisy, but very efficient, this may be the best one for you if you need to clean a lot of dirt quickly and don't mind the noise.

Recently, we have seen several online companies offer product and service reviews. It pays to obtain as much information as you can to compare products before making a purchase decision. Try www.consumerreview.com. You can also try to verify if the business is reputable by visiting the Better Business Bureau website. There are also web sites that rank businesses. Consider visiting www.gomez.com and www.bizrate.com to evaluate a business and its products.

Enough information is present in each Consumer Report's review to help guide your decision before you decide to buy. Be sure, though, to trust your own instincts and choose the products that feel right for your needs.

Take control of your finances with our debt help tools. Use our calculators and budget planner to help you manage your money.

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