OT - Which ?

Which is mentioned in another thread. I'm contemplating subscribing to Which and wondered if anyone is/was subscribed and what do they think of Which ?

Good - Bad ? Worth the fee ?

TIA.

Reply to
Hugh Jampton
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It it still free in the library?

Reply to
ARWadsworth

I have subscribed for some years. It is now getting more glossy and less factually detailed though. Free trials are usually available.

Useful for stuff like kitchen appliances etc but they do seem to spend quite a bit of time testing mobiles, cameras etc which are well covered by specialist magazines and their websites.

Reply to
Invisible Man

The reason it's mentioned in another thread is because a key article - paid for by subscribers - has been put into the public arena. Many, many years ago I was a subscriber and found most of the contents useful most of the time. I ended my subscription not because I didn't want good consumer advice myself or because I objected to it being made available to all but because it was being splashed across the media a week or more before my copy of the magazine would arrive in the post and somehow that didn't seem fair.

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

I used to. But they have never been good at getting things right, and their views on what is good and bad are a little bit...weird. Inaccuracies abound.

Another problem is that by the time they've reviewed something, it's often been replaced by a new model.

Internet research tends to be more useful (and cheaper) IMO.

Reply to
Bob Eager

They did that with a small number of articles to get publicity. The actual stuff in the articles wasn't worth the paper usually.

Reply to
dennis

Do they still do a free trial period?

In general quite useful for things you just want to work like a hoover or washing machine. But for hobby type things where you have your own likes -

- cameras, hi-fi, cars etc - you might well disagree with their findings.

Reader's surveys can be useful to get a general view on reliability, etc.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I took it for a year. I found that their criteria for judging stuff didn't coincide with mine - a lot of concern about how easy the knobs were for old people and stuff like that. Nowadays I only buy Miele appliances, and I find Amazon reviews far more useful than Which for judging what's good and what's junk.

Reply to
pcb1962

15+ years ago, they had what appeared to be accurate details of the items they tested. I often disagreed with their 'best buys', but with the detail they then provided, I could choose based on _my_ priorities. They seem to give considerably less detail and more opinion these days. And on some items where I was familiar with the products being tested, the few details given were not always entirely accurate.
Reply to
S Viemeister

Indeed. They also seem to have abandoned their previous no-nonsense practical air and bowed to the winds of fashion and rampant consumerism. Just recently there was an article on (IIRC) matching kettles and toasters.

Reply to
Mike Barnes

Amazon and Argos - Reviews - sort Low to High - ignore idiots (1 star for a shaver because it had to be plugged in to use it and he 'thought' that it was rechargeable!) - pick out the factual faults. I was looking at a Remington shaver. Several instances of the foil wearing through in under a year and Remington's attitude being 'so what' put me off

- still don't knw what to get :-(

Reply to
PeterC

Philishave.

Reply to
Scion

A beard.

Reply to
Huge

The top of the range Philishaves are good but expensive

Reply to
Invisible Man

An article I read recently recommended dis-regarding the top and the bottom reviews in these circumstances. Bit like ignoring the top and bottom fuel consumption figures given out by manufacturers. (Where I generally take the average of the best and worst)

Paul Mc Cann

Reply to
fred

As are the replacement heads when they need replacing.

Reply to
Steve

Philips use a hair lifting mechanism for a closer shave. Its a big cause of skin problems. Braun syncro seems about the best out there, thotough cuting but not hard on skin, and dont use any lifting system

- but they're not a cheap option.

NT

Reply to
NT

Yeah, I thought £15 was too much for a set of cutters.

Then I realised it was £15 each, on a 3-head shaver.

Fortunately a really good dismantle and clean got more life out of them.

Occasionally the supermarkets do Philips shavers at half price.

Reply to
Scion

If the article in another thread is typical of their output I wuoldnt bother. You'd get better info here for free.

The one time I bought an appliance after reading Which was a sharp carousel microwave. Which were beside themslves with how bad it was, but for reasons I wont bore you with I got one. It consistently behaved itself well, it was very reliable and lasted a very long time. By the time I gave it away it was still going strong after a very long service life.

NT

Reply to
NT

It is worth ignoring the extremes, except where there is recurring factual information - if foils wear out and the manufacturer isn't interested, those are two bits of info. worth knowing.

A friend has had a v. good experience with Philips: a toothbrush that packed up a year out of warranty and the part sent FOC.

Reply to
PeterC

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