Does anyone have an online subscription to Consumer Reports?
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5 years ago
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Consumer Reports
Comments (21)Consumer Reports is simply another alternative source of information. Its greatest weakness is the lack of detail they provide in HOW they arrive at their ratings. They do not reveal the numerical weighting, test subscores, and how item price plays into the final reported numbers. Often missing are details about methods, installation particulars that could affect outcomes, lab environment, ancillary items such as consumable products used in testing, etc. Yes, CR is something less than optimal and as a member I have communicated my displeasure with them about not being more forthcoming with details. On the other hand, Consumer Reports is NOT in any manufacturers pocket, does not accept ad money, buys all of the test items on the open market, and tries, within its budgetary constraints, to test items that people want to know about. The egalitarian necessity of concentrating on mass-market appliance alternatives over custom kitchen high-end gear is apparent when one realizes they can test 5 side by sides for the price of one Sub Zero. Testing 5 side by sides will likely provide useful information for more people than the one Sub Zero they toss in. But as tastes migrate to more expensive gear, CR does try to keep up. In any case, I still use CR all the time and appreciate how handy they can be when it comes time to evaluate a product. I use my phone to look up stuff all the time and I find the results useful far more often than not. But I am a tester and I understand testing methods, including the sometimes frustrating limitations of operational testing, which is what Consumer Reports does. I think they are a good adjunct to have available for consultation when evaluating a purchase, and should be used in concert with other sources, including enthusiast forums like Gardenweb and other internet outlets. I think advice to "avoid" CR is not necessarily the best advice, personally, but suit yourselves in that regard....See MoreConsumer Reports gets on Angie's List, where do I go now?
Comments (17)We had trouble finding contractors for our remodel until a member from this Gardenweb site recommended Angie's list to me. It turned out it was a sound advice. I read every review of contractors in the category we were looking for. I picked out ones who had done projects of similar size and dollar amount. It helped me to compile a list of questions and contractors to call. We set appointments with contractors who sounded promising in the phone conversations. We met these contractors in person and presented scope of work. We then made final decision based on their quotes, personality, feedback from their references, work style and starting time. Angie's list provides a starting point; there is fair amount of work afterwards to screen contractors. We know there is risk involved because good contractors work out with other clients may not guarantee they would work well for us. We like to spell out details and specifications, a contractor may think we are difficult. We figured, at least we made informed decisions. We liked the contractor we chose so much while half way working the first project, we asked them to plan for another one. We are very happy with both projects, and had great working experience with the contractor and all of his subs. I left a glorious review for the contractor and his company on AngieâÂÂs list. I also mailed him my review so that he could use it as a reference. On a different subject - we had used Consumer Report for almost 30 years, but in recent years, we are not so sure about their ratings.......See MoreConsumer reports
Comments (32)I was turned off to CR a few years ago when they did a kitchens issue, and criticized Blanco Silgranit sinks because they dropped a 5-pound weight from a height, and it chipped the Silgranit. They only did this test for Silgranit sinks. It's not at all difficult to find examples where CR does this. While they love showing a lot of data points in order to impress, their testing procedures and the relevance of the data is frequently dubious. What is more important to them, is that the data is easy to measure, not that it is meaningful in any way. It's about as ridiculous as the majority of sports statistics. That's OK. CR are in the business of selling their articles. Articles sell better, if they are entertaining. But producing relevant data is an expense. In fact, it can take reputable organizations many years to do a single study. CR simply doesn't have the time to do that. Unfortunately, not many other institutions have those resources either. So, it is very difficult to find studies that go beyond just being entertaining. Presumably, companies have this data internally. But it gives them a competitive advantage to know more precise numbers, so they won't publicly say anything about it. As a consumer, we are stuck with having to form a bigger picture from learning about appliances, collecting all the data available, and trying to weigh its relevance to our use case. Unfortunately, in many cases CR provides a disservice, as it causes people to discuss "sports statistics", things that are easy to measure and that won't tell you anything about the reliability, the functionality, or the overall user experience....See MoreConsumer Reports Roof Shingles tests August 2019
Comments (1)Anyone out there with an online subscription care to take a look at the test? I am most curious about the Certainteed Landmark's and how that did in the testing. Jeff...See MoreUser
5 years ago
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5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
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5 years agoOutsidePlaying
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5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
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