Westerly Sun Column | Consumer Reports Now Available

Shopping for a big-ticket item can really highlight the differences between people. As a detail-oriented and somewhat frugal librarian, I tend to over-research even the smallest purchases to try to determine the best deal (I recently spent hours meticulously comparing earbuds during Amazon’s Prime Day, and didn’t end up buying any). My husband, on the other hand, will walk into a store, glance around idly, and say “that one looks good”. Suffice to say, we don’t shop well together. There is definitely a happy medium, though, which combines both in-depth research AND simplicity: Consumer Reports.

For those who aren’t overly familiar, Consumer Reports is a nonprofit organization that provides consumers with unbiased ratings and reviews on thousands of products and services, so that the buyer is able to make safe and informed purchasing decisions. This information is shared through their monthly print magazine and annual Buying Guide, as well as online through their website. Everything is presented in a straightforward and well-organized format, which makes it quick and easy to take in the information. I’m particularly fond of their rating charts, where they compare various models of a certain product (say, a grill) on one page, scoring each based on performance, reliability, key features, environmental impact, owner satisfaction and more.

In addition to helping you make informed decisions on purchases big and small, Consumer Reports is a great resource for helping you save money. Obviously, being able to compare different products to find the best bang for your buck is a good start, but they also offer tools like “Price Tracker” to help you follow the price fluctuations of popular products such as coffee and laundry detergent, and “Best Time to Buy”, which shows you which month you can expect to save the most money on specific products. There are also hundreds of articles on the website with advice and recommendations related to personal finance, banking and credit, and insurance.

The Consumer Reports magazine has long been one of the most popular periodicals we subscribe to at the library, so we’re excited to announce that we are now also offering free digital access to Consumer Reports to anyone with a Westerly library card! To visit it online, first go to www.westerlylibrary.org/databases, click on “Consumer Reports”, and enter the 14-digit number on the back of your library card. Then, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on consumerreports.org. Hopefully, this will lead to bigger savings (on both time and money), and fewer arguments with your significant other the next time you make a big-ticket purchase!

by Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian