| What is Consensus Best? |
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| It's a new way to discover the best products for your needs and budget and where to buy them locally. The site is available in beta form with full functionality for shoppers in our home base in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley and with limited functionality nationally. We do the research - There's lots of valuable product information out there, but finding it can be difficult and time-consuming. Product queries on even the best search engines bury you in hundreds of sources with little to differentiate among them. Too often, "professional" reviewers have a vested yet undisclosed interest in the products they push. Too many "user" reviews read suspiciously like marketing copy or the grievances of someone with an axe to grind. We save you time and spare you frustration by sorting the good information from the bad. Drawing only on the most authoritative sources and a wide-range of informed consumer opinion, we identify those products that rank consistently well across a range of criteria and budgets - the Consensus Best. In turning to a variety of sources, we harness the power of many voices to highlight a product's key attributes while correcting for extraordinarily glowing or negative views. From baby strollers to toaster ovens, we recommend the best products based on important product attributes including value, design, ease of use, best application, and durability. |
| So, is it an e-commerce site? |
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| No. We deal only in free information. We don't sell stuff, and because we draw a clear line between our editorial and advertising operations, you can be confident that our only motive is connecting you with the best products for your needs. Consensus Best is aimed at the 70 percent of shoppers who research a product online, but prefer to buy it offline. Maybe you want to see it, touch it, and try it out before you buy. Maybe you want to save shipping charges. Or maybe you just want it right now. So, in addition to showing you the best products, we'll also direct you to local stores that sell them. Please note that the full store locator feature is currently limited to locales in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley, but limited information is available for national retail chains, and we're adding new locales all the time. |
| What do your value rankings mean? |
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| They are based mostly, but not exclusively, on price as based on current Web-based research. Because we feature only those products that meet the high standards set by product experts and users, you can be sure that everything we feature is the best product for the money. Our value rankings are simply a quick and easy way to identify a product's relative price and feature set. Products are categorized only where appropriate, so not every product category includes products of every ranking. Premium - Top-quality products with a certain cachet that goes beyond their features.
High-End - Products that don't require any trade-offs between price and features.
Mid-Range - Products offering the ideal compromise between price and features.
Cost-Conscious - The best product for the lowest price. |
| Where does the pricing information come from? |
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| We list the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price as a reference point and then give you a range in which the product is selling according to a timely review of various Web-based shopping search engines. |
| How do you collect the local store information? |
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| Our store locator shows you where to buy the best products locally, and is one of our core services. The information comes from both he manufacturers and retailers, but please be aware that the reliability and specificity of that information varies from product to product. We are always working to expand and refine it to provide you with the most accurate and timely information on who sells what. But because relationships between manufacturers and retailers are forever changing and inventories fluctuate constantly, it's always a good idea to call ahead and make sure a store is currently stocking the product(s) you want. |
| On what are the Consensus Best recommendations based? |
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| On the best available ratings, reviews, and recommendations of unbiased product experts and consumers like you. To identify the best products, our editors turn to the most trusted sources of online and offline product reviews, from consumer publications where scientists test products in the lab to niche Web sites where enthusiasts put them to use in the real world. We have access to databases and research tools not commonly available to the general public. We also look at government and trade industry standards, ratings, and recalls. We tell you what are the key criteria that experts and users say to look for when shopping for a particular product and then list the Consensus Best products that meet or beat those high standards. At the same time, we point out the features that let you distinguish among this select group. |
| How can I be sure I'm getting honest information? |
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| We deal only with credible sources of product data, reviews, and user evaluations. We draw a clear line between our editorial and advertising operations. And because we don't sell the products we research or have any kind of referral relationships with those who do, you can be sure that all Consensus Best product lists are the result of unbiased research and independent decision-making. |
| What if I disagree with your recommendations? |
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| Please let us know. Consensus Best works by drawing on a wide range of informed opinion, including yours. All of our recommendations are grounded in hours of research, and all of these products have to earn their ConsensusBest designation. That said, our recommendations are always evolving as new products come on the market and new information becomes available. We'd love to hear about your experiences, good or bad, with products that are on the Consensus Best list or that you think should be. And, if you have a passion for a particular product category, consider becoming a Consensus Best Product Researcher/Editor |
| I posted a comment and it isn't showing up. Why? |
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| ConsensusBest moderates all user comments. An approved comment may not appear immediately, and unapproved comments will not appear at all. |
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