Has anyone got any recommendations as to a good place to look for reviews and recommendations for general stuff like electrical appliances, be it an electric drill / vacuum cleaner / TV / whatever?
All the ones I seem to come across look as if they are heavily 'sponsored' and highly untrustable...
Thanks David
Subscribe to Which? I do and have done so for more than 30 years.
Somehow, tests have to be paid for!
Trouble with Which? is
a) they typically don't test very much of what's around, sometimes only one sample from dozens i a particular market sector
b) by the time their tests are published the market's moved on and much of what they tested isn't available any more.
Generally they attempt to spoon-feed their readers with "this model is good, that isn't" rather than educating them what to look for e.g. "kryptonite wongles are generally more robust than plasticene ones"
Unless they've changed: this was my experience when I gave up on them a few years ago.
Sadly, I agree they have significantly dumbed down over the years.
They haven't. They could not possibly educate the user as they don't actually differentiate between kryptonite wongles and plasticene ones. This is the main reason why it's only a matter of time until I cancel my subscription, just short of my 10-year member anniversary.
Kostas
My parents have subscribed for decades, and I sometimes read a copy when I visit. Whenever they review something I actually know about, I find the reviews badly flawed, which makes me very suspicious of all their reviews. The other parts of the magazine are interesting, but as the reviews are the main part, that doesn't leave a lot.
They started dumbed down. There was a rival publication ("Shopper's Choice" IIRC) which didn't do the blobs thing but tried to do proper educational reviews. Which? won out.
Then there was VHS and Beta .... :-)
I've found the same thing. When I've read a review on a subject I know well, and find major, misleading errors, I find it difficult to trust them in areas I know little of. They weren't always this bad, though. Years ago, I found them quite useful. What really bothers me, is the times I've emailed them with corrections on mis-statements (complete with references), and months later, the 'information' in question is still there, uncorrected.
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