Just was looking at Consumer Reports, to see their reviews of products.
It seems you HAVE to subscribe to it, and pay... in order to read & get their reviews???
WTH?
Really?
(Just trying to look up reviews of Pergo flooring, versus Armstrong brand, versus Tarkett brands.
They all make laminate wood flooring.)
I notice most people I know, have the Pergo brand.
**** Believe it or not, I have not read a CR magazine in probably over 15 years. Nor have I ever subscribed to its magazine. Nor have I gone online, to get a product review from it. Except for today.
So, my "WTH" comment... may seem stunning and dumb on my part to some , but all this time, I have always gotten product reviews for free... and from other online venues, which were free reviews. Many 'magazines'... have free online, versions.
And, I have gone by word of mouth as well. Or opinions from industry professionals, which I also know.
So for my mere simple question, about CR and per reviews and having to subscribe to its online resource by paying, to me was surprising.
I guess, that in itself was "WTH" to one person....and more important to someone, than my question's subject.
I simply asked a question.
It's the ONLY group that represents the interests of consumers politically, so believe me - it's one group that deserves every penny they charge. And it's really cheap.
The library subscribes and you can look things up at their location.
They are a subscription service so that they can have money to do the testing and writing it up.
Yes, but you can go to your local public library for free.
Yes, they charge for subscriptions. They don't sell advertising, so subscriptions are their only source of revenue. This is to ensure that their reviews are objective, and not swayed by how much advertising a manufacturer buys.
You can also go to your public library and look at their copies- most libraries keep a year or two on hand.
It's the only way they make money, because they don't sell advertisements, which would be a conflict of interest and taint their ratings. The fee is nominal, if I recall correctly ($5 for a month or something?) or you can go to the library and check out the magazine there.
If it helps, Pergo is the better brand. I'm a construction project manager and have worked with laminate floors quite a bit. Also, Costco carries a laminate floor that is excellent. Good luck. :)
It's essentially subscribing to the magazine's online version. It takes time & money to do the research. They would go out of business if they didn't charge for a subscription.
Yes, you really do need a paid subscription to view their reviews online. My husband is consumer report obsessed so we have a subscription to it! We actually use it quite frequently for literally everything we buy. From small kitchen appliances to buying a new car.
We don't have it now, but we had a subscription to Consumer Reports for years.
As I understand it, it makes sense because they don't make money from advertisers.
If Wrigley's Spearmint Gum was a client and contributed to the cost of the publication, Wrigley's could yank their revenue if Consumer Reports found something that wasn't in a consumer's best interest or if TriDent wanted to advertise as well.
That results in corporate wrangling, not consumer reports.
Try your local library if nothing else.
Consumer Reports has articles about everything and if you love reading, the subscription might not be that bad when put in perspective.
Best wishes.
Seriously you are shocked that a magazine makes you pay for its product? That is more WTH worthy than your question.
Since they don't take money from advertising (which would definately make them biased), they need to make money somewhere.
Yep.
And it's worth it. Every single penny. Of course, if you know anyone who subscribes to the magazine (relative, etc.) online access comes free with the subscription you just have to type in the code from the magazine. The subscription costs quite a bit more, however... at least last I checked, than just the online portion. They seriously have almost *everything* in their online database from toasters and blenders to refrigerators and cars. WAY better than ANY other list I've ever seen or searched. There are a few speciality items that I'd recommend going off of a different / specialty site (DSLR cameras for example). But for the vast majority of things, CR can't be beat. And they are *exhaustive* in their testing and rating system.
SO worth every single penny.
<grin> I promise. LOVE Consumer Reports!
Yes...This is one of the only magazines I get...are you looking for something specific? I have alot of back copies...PM me if you want me to look something up...And from what I have gathered...The online CR is different then the magazine they send out...So even if you get it in the mail...you still have to pay online...I could be wrong...but the last time I tried to go and look something up online I couldnt.
This is sadly how they rope people in...They give great reviews...but you have to buy subscription:(
Yep, you do. You can check to see if your local library has a paid subscription though. I know I have been able yo see CR online at the library with the log in they have.
They've been a subscription only service for many years.
They're a business so they have to make their money. They've been subscription only as long as I've been online -since the late 90s.
I know :(
We looked at it when I was pregnant with our first.
Decided not to pay.
I ended up finding a Consumer Reports Book at the local book store.
It was the "2008 Best Baby Products"
I know that doesn't help you, I think you are wanting to look at the flooring.
It's always been like that--but it used to be paying for the subscription for the magazine...now it' for web access. Makes sense. O. well-researched large purchase makes it worth it.
Yes, we have a subscription and save them for when we want to look up a specific product.
Library all the way!
We subscribe and over the years feel we've gotten our investment back in the durability of our purchases. The reason they charge for subscription is they do not accept any corporate products free of charge; they feel consumers will be influenced by the 'gifting', so all the products they test are purchased and tested thoroughly. If you don't want to subscribe, you can try checking the library, they might have the magazine. If you know someone who subscribes you can ask them to look up the products you're interested in and they can print test/comparison report for you. good luck.
Well that's a bummer! I didn't know that! How much?
(I guess you'd have to pay for the magazine subscription like the old days, huh?)
:(
Hey Susan - we get Consumer Reports - have for 15+ years. My husband also sends them donations (they ask throughout the year). I can tototally see why. They can't take money from advertisers and they have to buy EVERYTHING they test. Great magazine :-)
It would compromise the integrity of their testing if they took paid advertisements from the manufacturers of the products they test or if they took payments from those manufacturers to test their products. So in order to pay salaries, publishing costs, purchase products to test (they buy at retail again to avoid compromising the integrity of the testing, or even to avoid the appearance of a conflict), they must garner revenue another way. The business model seems to be a good one. Now if we could only get the rating agencies (i.e. Moodys, S&P) to follow this model, maybe we would not be in the financial mess we are in. (Yes, those agencies and others take money from the financial institutions they rate. Why? Not sure, but doesn't it make you wonder?)
