Loading ...Consumer Reports’ 10 Ways to be Ripped Off
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According to Consumer Reports latest mailing that I received, here are some items that rip off your money.
#10 Bagged Salads - They say that these bagged salads can get old before their use by date and they have gone through major brands and found slimy salad pieces and “off” odors, causing 1-83% of the bag to be inedible!
Your best way to save money is to buy the salad and make it yourself in a big bowl and save in the fridge for a quick snack.
#9 Cell Phone Service Ads - Those ads that you see on tv with the “low” prices don’t include taxes, surcharge and fees that providers pile on - which can add an addition 30% to the low price.
Your best way to save is to ask the agent for a list of all charges and fees, before you commit to a plan.
#8 Whitening Toothpaste - Consumer Reports (CR) found that of the 41 whitening branded toothpastes they tested, none did any better than the non-whitening brands.
Your best way to save is to not buy them or save your money and get the real deal from a dentist or research thoroughly the home products
#7 Automatic Shower Cleaner - This system hangs on your shower wall and you push a button and it cleans for you. However, the testers at CR found that it missed whole areas, left streaks, stickiness and spots on walls and shower doors. And after a month, some testers found the showers looked worse than before.
Your best way to save money is to use elbow grease
#6 Pricey Car Batteries - CR tested an Exide Orbital ($145)battery and found that it didn’t score any better than batteries at a third to half the price.
Your best way to save is to compare price and battery life for the best deal for your vehicle
#5 Quick Stain Removers - When CR tested 48 stain swatches, only Tide to Go removed any and then they only removed 6 of the 48 stains.
Your best savings is going to be the old fashioned way, with cold water in most cases.
#4 Bank Gift Cards - Some bank cards come with fees so it may not be worth it. Some bank cards even expire after 6 months or charge you every 6 months, whether you use it or not.
Your best savings is going to be a gift card from a store, cash or Am Ex Cheque.
#3 Wild Salmon - If you buy wild salmon during the winter and you paid extra , you paid for no extra reason as it more than likely came from a salmon farm.
Your best way to save is to buy in bulk during the summer months when supply is abundant.
#2 Squeezable Packaging - CR tested Hellmann’s Easy Out! squeezable package and found that it’s “no waste” pledge was over-exaggerated and that about 11 percent of the mayo was left in the package. That amount accounts for almost 5 tablespoons!
Your best savings is to buy the jars and scoop it out, including using a spatula to scrape along the edges.
#1- Shrinking Cereal Boxes - Have you noticed that cereal box sizes are shrinking but the prices aren’t? You aren’t the only one, CR has found that many Kellogg cereal boxes have been cut in size, but not the price.
Your best way to save is to buy the bagged, malt-o-meal cereal which is almost half the price and of equal or better quantity and taste
I noticed that General Mills cereal boxes have gotten narrower, and now hold only 4 bowls’ worth of cereal.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:05 amthis is what happens a while after gas/oil prices go up…everything eventually gets hit with the trickle down effect. best buys at grocery stores right now have the least amount of packaging and even those are rising in price.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:30 pmRegarding the claim that “wild salmon… more than likely came from a salmon farm”… do you have any evidence for this? I don’t know about in the US, but in Canada, farmed vs. wild salmon is a very different product, raised and harvested very differently… most consumers know that — and are increasingly aware of the environmental consequences of buying farmed salmon. If a company were representing their farmed product as wild, this would likely be a prosecutable offence.
December 30th, 2007 at 12:11 amIf you want cheap canned wild salmon, buy ‘pink’ salmon instead of ‘coho’ or ’spring’… Scientists are increasingly linking farmed salmon with out-of-control populations of sea lice, which then go on to decimate wild salmon stocks.
Cordina-
December 30th, 2007 at 11:25 amThis is coming from Consumer Reports information about Wild Salmon
I have an even better idea with regards to the cereal. Don’t buy it. I call it “fried fluff” because it’s usually just about as filling as that name implies. Bad enough that the school can’t serve a lunch that’ll last for more than 2 hours, but having a breakfast that only lasts an hour and a half is just plain torture.
January 4th, 2008 at 6:15 pm“…pledge was over-exaggerated and…”
“over-exaggerated.”
Think about it.
January 4th, 2008 at 8:10 pmIt pays to ask what type of salmon people are buying. The article is talking about “farmed salmon” from the east coast. Typically the salmon sold on the east coast is Atlantic Salmon and therefore passing farmed off as wild is easier. However on the west coast most of the farmed slamon is still Atlantic Salmon, but it is ecologically and personally beneficial to purchased wild salmon in any form. It always pays to specifically ask or buy from a place that won’t lie. Buy Wild!
January 4th, 2008 at 8:16 pmI love my shower cleaner.. I thought that it would be a scam as well but have been using it for almost and year and the shower has remained clean and fresh!
Shaun Dakin
January 4th, 2008 at 10:20 pmI have become so accustomed to false claims that I am surprised when a product actually delivers. I am referring specifically to the Magic Sponge by Arm & Hammer. I’ll forgive the pretentious name because this thing actually does what it says. It not only removes ANYTHING, but it does so without much effort or scrubbing. I am not sure of the physics involved, but I suspect that this product breaks the first law of thermodynamics .
And yes, Over-exaggerated is one of the funniest ironic redundancies I have heard in a long time!
Dawn’s note: They said, not I. I just wrote it down.
January 5th, 2008 at 3:11 pmOld fashion ways are best way to go!
January 7th, 2008 at 8:38 amElbow greases to work!
Go out to fishing!
Homemade granolas!
Use hot cereals!
More newer technologies don’t work. Companies are out of ideas of what to sell you for more money. New technology is their lamnest way of getting you to buy their products!
Facial tissues….just like cereal boxes, fewer and fewer tissues in a box. Recently bought Scotties and it had 94!!!! That is the # they decided would make them most profitable. Kleenex used to be 250 and now 200 or 150. Next they will sell them by the tissue?
Other things that blow me away: buy baking soda and put it in your fridge and replace it OFTEN so they can make lots of money. Spray this air freshener all day long so you can buy more. Consume our product as fast as you can so you can give us more money….
Fill the air with scents if you don’t clean your house. Being lazy as a society is probably our biggest shame, and we get what we deserve.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:16 amWipe down walls and doors of a shower with a dry finger towel after each shower. Takes a minute and it keeps your shower very clean.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:54 pmYou missed one… Monster Cables for Video Audio equipment. Lamp cord is just as effective as Monster Cable for speakers.
Dawn’s note: Great recycling idea, thanks!
January 25th, 2008 at 2:48 pm