Get the Lowdown on Products Before You Buy
Everyday, we’re bombarded with more advertisements for new products, old products, and completely revolutionized products. For the most part, the ads look great. Some of us even like the commercials more than the Super Bowl. However, when we actually want to get an honest evaluation of a product, information is harder to come by. Fortunately, a variety of sources for product reviews are available online in the form of consumer and professional reviews.
Expand All Guide SectionsProduct Review Web sites
With the many product review sites available on the Internet, there’s no longer any reason to make an uninformed purchase. If you’re interested in a product, head to one of the sites below to start doing some research. You’ll find sites written by professionals, sites with buying guides, sites that offer price comparison, and sites that post reviews written by consumers just like you.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Many professional review sites and comparison shopping sites are sponsored. While it’s illegal to give a positive review in exchange for money, you might find that only certain stores or prices are listed on the comparison shopping sites, or that some products are featured more prominently. For that reason, always check a different few sites before you make any decisions.
- If you’re particularly unfamiliar with a product, consider visiting one of the sites that include buying guides. You’ll find broad information and insider tips on how to make the best choice for you.
- You'll find more specific product review sites in the findingDulcinea Web Guides to Technology, Cars, Books, Parenting and Beauty.
Dulcinea's Picks
For reviews by professionals …
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.
For review sites that include comparison shopping features …
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.
For review sites that include buying guides …
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.
For consumer reviews …
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.”
Store Reviews
You can do all the research you want about products, but that doesn’t mean you know where you should buy them. And buying the best product at the worst store is not going to make for a pleasant shopping experience. Utilize the following sites to read store reviews so you can make the best choices for every aspect of your purchase.
Dulcinea's Insight
- For information about online stores, and how to find land stores, visit the Finding Dulcinea Shopping Guide.
- For information on bargains, check out the findingDulcinea Bargain Hunting Guide.
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Reseller Ratings
is a large, busy shopping site where you can search for store reviews. You can also do your shopping research here; check out products, prices, and reviews. It’s not the prettiest site, but it does have a lot of information and is especially useful if you know what you’re searching for.
Bizrate
, listed above in the general product reviews sections, also offers ratings of over 90,000 stores. Stores are divided up by category and are listed with an overall rating, a description, and the option of reading thousands of customer reviews.
eBay
, in addition to basic listings, allows sellers to open up their own eBay stores. This page is your portal to every store under the eBay umbrella. It lists featured stores and allows you to search by store type or product. Once you’ve found stores that meet your needs, you can look at ratings and customer reviews.
Product Review Blogs
Just all we all know the value of listening to a professional, we all know that sometimes it’s entertaining to kick back and enjoy the rants of a non-professional. For that, we turn to bloggers. There are plenty of people out there who will share their opinions on a variety of products with you. They may not be an expert, but they can usually provide an engaging review that might give insight into a product you’ve never head of before.
Dulcinea's Insight
- If you’re looking for a specific product, try visiting one of the product review directories listed above. Blogs are better for learning about products you might not have heard of, or wouldn’t have thought to look for on your own.
- Some more well-known product reviews do receive promotions from companies and sellers. Always be sure to read the “About” section of a blog so you can understand what relationship, if any, the blogger, has with product promoters. You can also get a grasp of her rating criteria.
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The Impulsive Buy
is a little sassy, so don’t visit if you object to the occasional swear word, but do visit if you’re hankering for a brutally honest, high energy review of products you probably don’t need but might be interested in, such as new brands of sugar-free gum, mouth-wash, or the latest new flavor of diet coke. The Impulsive Buy is headed-up by a free-lance writer in Hawaii, although he has some occasional help.
Product Wiki
is a wiki site where everyone can write and post consumer product reviews. You can add your own product to the blog and comment on someone else’s review. You can add bits of information to product descriptions as well.
The Opinionated Parent
is a blog by a Canadian mom who found that she had a lot to say about the products her kids had. The blog has become popular enough that she gets free sample of toys and other products for kids, but she doesn’t get paid and freely posts on stuff she doesn’t like. Still the site is a bit promotional—she occasionally hosts contests and product giveaways.
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