Consumer Reports

[carl22]

I never got a bum steer on anything I bought on a CR recommendation----never. I don't subscribe, but I do look it over in the grocery store from time to time, and buy it if there's something I'm interested in. (Do they have an annual "Lawn Mower Issue" like they do for the cars each year?? If they don't maybe they should!)

They don't have an annual "Lawn Mower Issue" but they do regularly test and report on mowers. According to the 2010 Buying Guide, John Deere and Husqvarna are the most reliable lawn tractors, while Simplicity and Troy-Bilt were least reliable.

 

[JDgreen]

They don't have an annual "Lawn Mower Issue" but they do regularly test and report on mowers. According to the 2010 Buying Guide, John Deere and Husqvarna are the most reliable lawn tractors, while Simplicity and Troy-Bilt were least reliable.

I subscribed to CR from '81 thru last year, they do a good job of reporting but I don't think the staff are very mechanically minded. I cancelled my subscription because they wanted me to pay EXTRA for their online site...after almost 30 years of subscribing, they lost a customer because they expect subscribers to pay extra for using their online site? That is so stupid it's amazing. :confused2:

 

[carl22]

I do not think these consumer reports are anything to be used when choosing to buy any kind of mower. I think they represent what is popular and not necessarily the best there is in the market.

No, not true at all. CR sends surveys to their members who own mowers and ask them to rate their mowers based on even mowing, starting, reliability and more. CR also tests mowers themselves for cutting, loudness, specs, reliability and more, and then print the results. It has no bearing on whether the mower is "popular" or not.

 

[Texas Turtle]

As a former long-time CR subscriber, I always seemed to find their reviews to be diamterically opposite of my personal experience with mechanical items - from automobiles to can openers. So I dropped them and started depending on web forums with first hand experience reports like this one.

 

[Grass ala Mowed]

I read consumer reports from time to time; one of the key things is they strive to be unbiased. Therefore, alot of their ratings are based on measureable things, mpg, braking distance, interior volume, etc. Of course, we are all biased, we all like John Deere, or Toro, or Subaru or Ford, so our "best" doesn't always match their best. I see it as just another viewpoint or data point, along with these forums and manufacturer's web sites to form my own opinion. In the end, it's my money; I'll buy what I want, if it's happens to be a consumer reports best buy, that's a coincidence.

 

[RTSB]

You pick up one of there magazines and look at the advertising in side and when you find a product that is paying for there advertising they never have anything bad to say about it ever. It could be junk and to them it's all good.

 

[Grass ala Mowed]

I didn't think Consumer Reports accepted any advertising. Part of their unbiased claim. I guess it's been a while since I read one.

 

[Jetblast]

I didn't think Consumer Reports accepted any advertising. Part of their unbiased claim. I guess it's been a while since I read one.

That's still true. They don't accept advertising, free product samples, or allow use of their reviews for selling products. That's why the subscription fee is higher than a typical magazine.

I think they're a good source for info but depending on the product, their testing criteria doesn't always match mine. For example they might not like a home theater receiver because it doesn't have front inputs, but I don't want or need front inputs. Or they might not rate a mower highly because it doesn't bag well, but I never bag my grass.

Most useful to me are the long-term reliability owner surveys.

 

[RTSB]

Then I guess the magazine I'm holding in my hand as I write this with the advertising for Black and Decker, Oster, Toyota, Honda are just miss prints then.

 

[Jetblast]

Then I guess the magazine I'm holding in my hand as I write this with the advertising for Black and Decker, Oster, Toyota, Honda are just miss prints then.

I only access CR online nowadays, but when I got the magazine I never saw an ad. It's against their mission statement, which has remained unchanged since day one.

Consumer Reports Overview

Consumer Reports Mission Statement

I'd like to see what you're talking about though, as it would be a pretty big deal for them to go against their own policy and lose the one thing that allowed them to call themselves an unbiased source. I've seen no mention of this elsewhere on the web. Has anyone else seen ads in their print magazine?