Consumer Reports Review

Everyone buys new products with varying degrees of frequency. Before buying, many consumers consult with other people or with different sources to help make the best decision. Sites like Viewpoints.com can assist buyers by providing some solid advice, but with so many thousands of products on the market, there is a good chance that a more obscure product or service cannot be located on the internet with an informative review; or, a review can be located but will not be reviewed in a manner that is suitable for making a buying decision (with test results, comparisons with other like products, etc.). If a more thorough evaluation is what you want, then you might like ConsumerReports.org, the web site for the popular non- profit product testing operation.

Web Site Commentary:

Consumer Reports is part of Consumer Union- a non- profit organization that strives to protect consumers through product testing and evaluation. Most everyone is familiar with Consumer Reports Magazine and its ratings among different categories for thousands of products and services. ConsumerReports.org is very much like Consumer Reports Magazine. The web site offers general buying advice on what to look for and what to avoid when shopping for a toasters, electric ranges, automobiles, luggage, and even different foods and beverages.  

ConsumerReports.org includes buying guides, but they are not the main reason people turn to ConsumerReports.org. The main reason is, of course, to see the ratings of different products, examine the pros and cons, and size up products with competitors. It's the same reason people read Consumer Reports Magazine- to get the latest scoop on specific products and discover which ones are superior/inferior to others. Thousands of products and services can be found at ConsumerReports.org and it is very easy to lose track of time looking up different items and reading about their ratings/rankings.

ConsumerReports.org offers some very good advice on different consumer products and I like the way it not only offers the overall rating, but also provides a rating breakdown of different aspects of the product in question. With individual products and services, Consumer Reports provides a summary rating, including an overall ranking of the products within a specific category. If there is anything specific that the consumer should know, ConsumerReports.org is quick to share. But overall, the testing summaries are more general than not. You're not going to find a 5,000 word testing summary on a can of baked beans at ConsumerReports.org. The site offers some details, but not so many that consumers get lost in the details.

ConsumerReports.org is a very handy web service for those who want some straight, unbiased advice on consumer products. But there is a small catch: You have to pay to see the ratings and recommendations on specific goods. Anyone who logs into ConsumerReports.org can view the buying guides, but to read the actual test results/reviews, you have to be a paid member of ConsumerReports.org. Prices vary, but the last time I checked, the going rate per month was about six dollars with a substantial discount for purchasing a full year. The fact that it costs money to use ConsumerReports.org will cause some consumers to reconsider using this service. But for the serious consumer buyer, ConsumerReports.org is worth the money. You don't have to wait for your desired product or service to appear in one of Consumer Reports Magazines. With the on- line access, you can logon and lookup any of thousands of products in a matter of seconds and see how they rate.  

I appreciate the reviews and rankings offered at ConsumerReports.org and I have found that the advice is generally right on the money. My only area of reservation is with certain services. I agree almost 100 percent with the product reviews, but with services, the distinctions made from one to the next and the test results are not always agreeable. Services like banks and insurance companies are very difficult to evaluate because every person's experience is slightly different. ConsumerReports.org tries to offer the most objective advice possible and it succeeds with some service aspects, like the cost of fees, interest rates, premium rates, and other, measurable data. But it also tries to judge things that are not easy to measure- like customer service- and it is areas like this that are going to cause some readers to disagree. Individual service and personal opinion vary greatly from one individual to he next when it comes to services and thus it is difficult to take these ratings as seriously as those for product reviews.  

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Overall, ConsumerReports.org is a very good web service for reading buying guides and for looking up test results and product reviews for thousands of goods and services. Its main drawback is the fact that it costs money to join the site and obtain full access to all of the product reviews. However, ConsumerReports.org is worth the price of membership if you're serious about making the best possible purchase. It's a very good, professional, web service and one I recommend consulting when you're in the market for a new product and need help deciding what to look for and what to buy.