Consumer Reviews: Quickest Route To My Checkbook

BACK TO BASICS | by SHERRY STRIPLING

THIS WINTER WE BOUGHT a TV, a DVD player and a chair to watch them in. You, my fellow consumer, told me what to look for, what to avoid and when to make the leap. You were right on every count.

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I love consumer reviews. Nine times out of 10, the written words of people who have used the product lead to my best purchases.

I don’t always make the right choice. But I buy confident that I’ve done my research.

If you read enough of user comments — cross checking between sites, typing in “problem” with the model number, finding forums for the big items — you develop an ear for separating whiners from legitimate complainers, real people from company plants.

Tips:

• For a big purchase, like a car, read formal sites like Consumer Reports for possible problems. Then type a short reference to those problems into Google search with the name of the vehicle.
• If you can’t decide between two products, type “compare” this to that.
• If one site doesn’t have reviews but has a great price, type in the model number to find reviews on other sites.
• Watch for patterns. Does the “horrible red line” show up in reviews from three people who bought that TV? Don’t risk it!
• Decide what you can live with. I pined for a chair on sale online. One reviewer loved it; one found it too hard. I went for it without enough evidence. Darned if the critical guy wasn’t right.
• Consumer reviews are anecdotal not scientific. Their strength is context: Will you use this product the same way?

Two other sites with extensive reviews:

• Amazon.com
• ConsumerSearch

Oh, and many thanks to the reviewer with the “buy right now” tip just as I happened to be trolling: I saved $600 on the TV.