6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Intentions rate higher than execution
Date of Review: Feb 4, 2000
Consumer Reports is by no means perfect, but until a better consumer information publication comes out, it's probably the best at what it does, at least in a general way.
The magazine has what must be the highest integrity of any publication available, because it is published by the nonprofit Consumers Union. It accepts no advertising, and does not allow companies to use its information for advertising purposes. This is in contrast to the notorious "Best Buy" certification by Consumer Digest, which can be had at the right price, CR has charged. The magazine buys all products to review anonymously on the open market.
Each major review has an article and a chart accompanying it, so you can find out quickly who makes the best refrigerator without having to slog through a lot of text. Another chart CR provides is a repair history. Zenith may make the best TVs in terms of features, but it may have the worst repair record, and that's an important factor to know when making a buying decision.
The magazine can be a little stodgy on certain subjects. When it first started reviewing computers, Macs were hardly mentioned or described by people who only knew Macs from the famous 1984 Super Bowl commercial. In the case of computers, in addition to some other areas, you might be better off looking at magazines that target that particular area. (If I want to buy a Mac, I'll check out Macworld.) In its defense, however, the magazine's computer reviews could be a good start for someone who has never had a computer before.
The auto reviews are especially detailed, and its financial advice is pretty sound, if conservative. The appliance and audio/video equipment reviews have really helped me narrow down my choices because they list all the features each product has and you may need to eliminate the top VCR because it doesn't have the fast-forwarding features you need; the reviews are more convenient than trying to get the attention of a salesman at Circuit City. Reviews for services such as supermarkets can be unwieldy because the magazine is national and some of the best-reviewed places may not be in your neck of the woods. Some of the more entertaining tests involve food products, because I'm not sure how many people will switch from Hershey bars to Nestle because Hershey scored five percent better in a taste test -- but these articles are fun to read.
CR has several services (which you have to pay additional for) such as a health newsletter, a travel newsletter (although both subjects are covered briefly each month, and auto-buying help. The recalls section is invaluable when you need to know that a particular Graco baby carriage may decapitate your kid.
The place I turn to first, though, is the inside back cover, which has pictures of product packaging or advertising that's misleading, confusing, or fraudulent, such as a Knorr soup mix appearing in a new, larger box that actually contains less soup mix.
In all, while Consumer Reports is not the end-all that many people think it is, it is an excellent (but shouldn't be your sole) source to use when buying a product.
