Watch Out for Consumer Reports!

[PapaPerk]

I had their magazine subscription for years. They are irrelevant to me now. Thank goodness for online reviews which, despite all of their flaws, seem 1000% more accurate than the CU "experts."

I always got a kick out of their high horse attitude including the "selling it" section. Their own magazines "free of outside advertisers" were stuffed with ads and the stiff cards that fall out advertising their own additional services all at a pretty steep price. The online sales behavior is par for the course. That self-serving bunch has never really been pro-consumer.

Sir very well said! This is my exact feelings of the company! You hit the nail on the head.

 

[PapaPerk]

It's almost as bad as a scam...

Those free offers and introductory offers sometimes require more effort than it's worth to cancel...

As for Consumers... a lot of the teachers I know treat Consumer Reports as the bible when it comes to shopping.

All I know is that I own several of their can't recommend vehicles and have been nothing but pleased I did not listen.

The most reliable, fun and best at holding value is my Suzuki Samurai which Consumers killed with scathing reports.

Yes it seems many teachers embrace the consumer reports mag... Probably look at it in the school lib.

100% agree with you on the reports of don't buys and the Samurai! I've had many people tell me the same things... And also the top picks turn out to be 100% junk sometimes. I guess it's a data point only.

That's why online reviews are much superior. Multiple real consumers using the same product and sharing their experiences. Much better data sampling versus one "expert" reviewing one product.

 

[dmccarty]

I have the online CR subscription. We had to buy a new dishwasher and clothes washer of the last few years so I used CR to gather information. I take their reports with a big box of salt though. CR has been just useful enough to keep up the subscription.

Back in the 80s I was looking to buy a new car. One of the cars had three different models from two/three car companies depending on how you want to count, Eagle, Chrysler and Mitsubishi. I think the models were Talon, Laser and Eclipse. The ratings for the "Japanese" Mitsubishi were MUCH higher than the Eagle/Chrysler cars. The cars were all the same except badging and were made in the same plant in Normal, IL. Go figure. Never really trusted CR ratings ever reading those reviews.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

I learned long ago to pay no attention to any of their ratings without reading their entire report because they are only talking about their own personal preferences and may rate something very low because of things that don't matter to you, or rate something very highly that doesn't make it any better for you. I'm sure I've posted before (1) the best walk behind lawnmowers I've ever owned were 2 cycle Lawnboys when they were made by OMC, easiest to start, most reliable, longest lasting, etc. but CR rated them very low because they didn't have as much power as a B&S engine in knee high grass. Since I never let my grass get knee high before mowing . . . well, you know. (2) They compared a diesel Isuzu sedan to a little Toyota gasoline sedan and little Olds gasoline sedan and rated the Isuzu last even though their own survey found the Isuzu owners were the happiest with their car, but the idiot who wrote the report at least stated that he did not like diesels unless they were Mercedes Benz. (3) Some of you probably know how CR killed the Suzuki Samurai because they could turn over too easily. Those little machines had lots of stickers warning you that they handled differently than sedans. And after doing a number on Suzuki, they admitted that the little Ford would turn over even more easily.

How about this CR rating? What Are America

 

[EddieWalker]

I subscribed to their magazine back in the 90's and realized it was too much information and impossible to remember what they said was good when I was out shopping for something. I don't really know if they where right or wrong, it just wasn't something I was able to take advantage of.

As for those free trial offers, I learned that lesson the hard way and wasn't able to cancel fast enough to avoid having to pay for something I didn't want. I don't even remember what it was for, but I do remember waiting on the phone forever and not being able to get through when I was trying to cancel it. That little lesson has taught me to never accept any free trials to anything. Even when I switched from Direct TV to Dish and they wanted to give me six months of movies channels, I refused. That really was something because they didn't seem to know what to do then.

Before buying anything, I like to read the reviews on Amazon. I've learned more on Amazon from reading their reviews then every other source combined. Some specialty online forums are good too, like TBN before buying a tractor, or some of the electronic sites for a TV or smart phone, but the forums tend to be based more on brand loyalty and very limited personal experience based on what the reviewer has without any direct experience with the other brands, and you have to take what's said with that in mind.

Eddie

 

[ultrarunner]

Mom's at the age where she is constantly barraged by telemarketers... many offer no risk or free trials on anything from magizine to diet supplements.

The last one I had to threaten to sue and I ordered a replacement credit card... I was not going to play their games and the free diet supplement came with $300 every 90 days of auto order product.

Thankfully, the card Mom has is in my name so I can cut through the BS

There is an entire industry that prey on the elderly that are simply too trusting.

 

[EddieWalker]

I read a study that said elderly women who are widows are the biggest donors to charities. They are especially susceptible to giving to anything to help animals and people suffering without doing any research to see if the group actually does anything it claims to, or if it's like most of them with a 90 plus percent operating cost and no actually history of saving anything.

Eddie

 

[ultrarunner]

One of the groups that had Mom going has only 5% going to the cause... 95% overhead!!!

The most common scheme is to use a name that sounds just like an established charity... it fools a lot of folks.

I told her she donates at church... been going there 50 years.... why give it to strangers on the phone?

She has friends at church and they will call and check up on her if they don't see her and such... and it is one thing that keeps her mind on schedule having some memory issues...

 

[bajabum]

and it is one thing that keeps her mind on schedule having some memory issues...

Heck, I have memory iss.....um, what?

 

[dave1949]

One of Sharon's uncles was playing the Irish Lottery of all things through the mail. I have no idea if it was a real lottery, but it was surly money tossed out the window. He was in the early stages of Alzheimer's, but we didn't really understand that at that point. Finally, her aunt had to take control of the checkbook by putting everything in her name only.

The elderly are easy prey all too often.