|
The Buying Guide 2009 (Consumer Reports Buying Guide)
|
| List Price: | $10.99 |
| Price: | $7.91 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details |
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com
39 new or used available from $4.48
Average customer review:
Product Description
Here’s the ideal resource for every consumer faced with questions like: “Is this the right product for me? Will I get my money’s worth in this product? Which brand is the best for me?”
In today’s marketplace, there are so many products that can be bought and so many ways to buy them. Consumers are often faced with too many choices when trying to decide on which products to purchase.
The Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2009 is a one-stop portable source for making intelligent, money saving purchases for all home buying needs. This book tells you what manufacturers can’t and often won’t tell you – based on a full year’s worth of Consumer Reports testing. This compact reference guide contains over 950 brand-name ratings along with invaluable information on what products are available, important features, latest trends and expert advice on:
Home office equipment
Digital cameras and camcorders
Home entertainment
Cellular Phones
Home and yard tools
Gas Grills
Air conditioners
Kitchen appliances
Vacuum cleaners and washing machines
Cars , minivans, pickups and SUV’s
And so much more!From refrigerators to vacuum cleaners, digital cameras to SUVs -- Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2009 will make every consumer a smarter shopper.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #111019 in Books
- Published on: 2008-11-11
- Released on: 2008-11-11
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 360 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9781933524214
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Consumer Reports is located in Yonkers, NY and for more than 70 years has tested and reported on products of every form, size and shape, including consumer electronics, autos, appliances, baby products, and health and financial services. Consumer Reports is trusted for its expert unbiased testing and reporting, and for the fact that it does not take advertising and is beholden to no commercial interest.
Customer Reviews
Invaluable resource for consumers
For those of you familiar with this annual volume, the good news is that the 2009 Consumer Reports Buying Guide is out. For those not familiar with this publication, it is a compendium of ratings and evaluations of a wide array of products. Major categories reviewed include: home entertainment (e.g., camcorders and televisions); kitchen, bath, and laundry (e.g., countertops, washers and dryers); Home and yard (e.g., air conditioners, paints and stains for both interior and exterior); computers, phones, and peripherals (e.g., cell phones, GPS navigation systems); autos. The book concludes by rating quality and reliability of many of the products just mentioned. As the introductory comments emphasize (Page 5): "The Consumer Reports Buying Guide for 2009 is your handy one-stop source for making intelligent, informed, money-saving purchases for all your home and personal needs." A bit overstated, perhaps, since many classes of products aren't reviewed. But, in spirit, that sentiment is accurate.
One of the most used portions of the work is the section on automobiles. There is an awful lot of material here to digest. First, the 2009 models are rated by category, with some makes being recommended and others not. For instance, sedans under $20,000. Subaru Impreza rates highest, with other recommended makes including Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic, and Ford Focus. Next comes a review of all 2008-2009 models, with 4-5 lines of material providing an evaluation of each make. After that, a welcome segment on assessing used cars--the good bets and the turkeys. While shopping for a used car for my son a handful of years back, I carried the Buying Guide with me to the different dealerships we looked up. It provided useful context in deciding which car to buy (it turns out that a used Honda Accord filled the bill nicely). Next, reliability of all makes of used cars on several dimensions, such as engine, trim, and audio system. Finally, an assessment of tires. Overall, a valuable resource to check when contemplating purchase of a new or used vehicle.
Other products, such as televisions, vacuum cleaners, ranges, and washers get analogous treatment.
All in all, a wonderful resource for consumers.
No MP3 players in here
This is an invaluable reference book - I wouldn't buy my new washer/dryer without first consulting the newest Buying Guide. You can't beat the price for the information and it's all laid out in charts for easy, one-stop, unbiased comparison that you can carry with you to the store. Of course, once you have it, you start looking at all the other appliances/vehicles/gadgets you've been thinking about buying which leads to my only gripe - no MP3 player ratings in this edition.
Good reviews, but biased...
Look, I see the value in many of CR's ratings, but more and more, their overt bias is affecting their ratings., especially in anything regarding health care.
Other raters have mentioned a 90% accuracy rating for CR, I'd make that closer to 80%.
Their bias towards Japanese items versus U.S. items continues in this guide.
