I started subscribing on the CR website some years ago and just keep renewing. I don't use it that often; we're not rabid consumer types. But we used it recently for computer and printer reviews, hearing aids, some other things. We probably don't get a ton of use out of it, but it's really helpful now and then.

Sometimes, if you yourself are well experienced with a consumer item, you can see the flaws in CR's methods and assumptions. I am sort of a bicycle nerd, so reading their reviews on bikes had me laughing. One bike magazine did a hilarious parody of CR bike reviews, in fact.

Some years back CR stopped actually testing a lot of products, preferring to state that they were "all approximately equal in overall quality". At the same time they recast themselves as consumer watchdogs and became very political.

I stopped subscribing after that, but will occasionally buy the annual "Buyers Guide" issue to see the frequency of repair records.

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Some years back CR stopped actually testing a lot of products, preferring to state that they were "all approximately equal in overall quality".

That's the whole point of using their reviews!!

Well, their battery-powered lawn mower review explains how they tested, so at least that's something.

Anyway, I subscribed, but I also put a note in my calendar to remind myself to cancel it at the end of this year.

I bought a 1-yr subscription when we moved. Another worthwhile "join" would be Angie's list. It's now free, and I've found it to be less likely to contain piles of fake reviews. Another good place to check is the Better Business Bureau. It rarely nets anything other than "no information" or "A+," but when it does, you know to run to the hills. If there are complaints, they frequently have a series of comments about how/whether it was resolved.

When I was getting CR, one thing I read every month was the list of recalls. Twice it listed products I owned that would never otherwise have known that they were recalled.

Angies List, I forgot about that!

Re BBB, I looked there a lot when we were trying to choose a moving company to move down here, and indeed there are tons of scary ones that steered me away from certain companies. Moving fraud is an especially terrifying thing!

Yes! We had friends who were moving, like you, to their first real job post-grad. They didn't have tons of money, so they went with an off brand company. The last they saw of their stuff was when the moving company drove off.

A few years later police uncovered a giant warehouse where some of their stuff was, but just furniture. Not photos, etc. Awful.

Consumer Reports analysis prompted recall of infant sleeper product:
https://apple.news/ADAMMLuXySy-xOmHvIg1brQ

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is recalling all models of Fisher-Price Rock N' Play sleepers after it was linked to over 30 infant deaths.
The move comes just a few days after the American Academy of Pediatrics, a professional organization of pediatricians known by the acronym AAP, called on the CPSC to recall the products, citing an analysis from Consumer Reports magazine connecting it to 32 sleep-related infant deaths.

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Originally posted by Nina:
Yes! We had friends who were moving, like you, to their first real job post-grad. They didn't have tons of money, so they went with an off brand company. The last they saw of their stuff was when the moving company drove off.

A few years later police uncovered a giant warehouse where some of their stuff was, but just furniture. Not photos, etc. Awful.

OMG! That was my worst fear when we were moving, and it has happened to so many people. I'm so sorry that it happened to your friends!