Get the Lowdown on Products Before You Buy

Consumerreports.org is an independent, nonprofit organization that features ratings and recommendations on consumer products as well as other consumer interests such as personal finance and travel. Visitors have free access to some advice, safety alerts and recall information as well as trusted buying guides and product reviews. For full access to the site you’ll need to subscribe.

Product Sifter is on a mission to separate the good products from the bad. All reviews are written by professional journalists who are experts in a particular field. The site is easy to navigate either by selecting a category, searching reviews A-Z, or checking the Best of Product Sifter.

Consumer Search  aggregates comprehensive reviews for every product you can think of. The site design is nothing to brag about, but if you want to read reliable reviews on the several brands of bread-making machines available, this is the spot to hit. Of course, the site reviews more generic products as well, such as cell phone plans, vacuums, televisions, and exercise equipment.

Bizrate.com is a comparison shopping site that lets you choose a category or product and then provides you with lists of stores where you can purchase it, their prices, and links hundreds of product reviews.

MySimon searches thousands of products and allows you to compare prices and product reviews. Access shopping guides, consumer reports, even a list of a few of Oprah’s Favorite Things. Sign up for their free e-mail newsletter to learn about the latest and greatest products recommended by their editors.

Howstuffworks offers Consumer Buying Guides that advise you on the best way to go about buying a product. You’ll learn important terms, variations in types of products, and information you should know before you buy. In each guide, one product is featured and reviewed, and several more are listed, with prices and reviews.

eBay , primarily known as an auction site, also offers reviews of the products you can buy on the site. (In other words, anything and everything.) The page is divided in half; on the left are product reviews and on the right are buying guides. When you first get to this page, you’ll be bombarded by reviews and pictures of top selling products, but if you scroll down the bottom, you can browse a list of categories and choose based on your interest and need.

Eopinions offers “unbiased reviews by real people.” This friendly, easy-to-use site allows you to search for product reviews on millions of products. You can browse using categories, the search bar, or by reading “Most Helpful Reviews” posted on the review page. If you’re so inclined, you can even add your own reviews.

Doyoo is a UK site, so all stores and prices are British, but the customer product reviews transcend country boundaries, so it’s a perfectly good site to do a little research into what’s popular among users. Also, you can sign up for the Dooyoo newsletter, or click on the links located on the left for “newest products” or “newest reviews.”