You’re driving calmly along when, suddenly, a small truck sideswipes your passenger door, taking your sideview mirror with it. Your heart is pounding and you both stop, whereupon the other driver starts shouting that you swerved into his lane—when you know for a fact that you did no such thing. Now it’s just your word against his. Anticipating the headache of filing a police report and arguing over the insurance claim, you think, “If only I had a video!” [More]
Can You Actually Haggle On Price Of New TV Or Laptop? It’s Worth A Shot
By 2.15.17 — Updated: 2.16.17
If you’re planning to buy an ultrathin laptop or a 4K TV in the next few months, you may want to brush up on your negotiation skills. According to Consumer Reports’ annual electronics retailer survey, a little haggling often pays off in a big way. [More]
How Do You Feel About Ketchup On Hot Dogs, Ranch Dressing On Pizza & Other Divisive Food Issues?
By 12.21.16
Imagine you’re at the ballpark and just bought some food. You’re waiting to use the condiment station, when the person in front of you begins pumping ketchup along the length of their hot dog. Do you think “Oh yeah!”? Do you want to grab them by the shoulders and shake some sense into them? Or does it not matter to you, but that person over there dipping their slice of pizza in ranch dressing is driving you into a fury? [More]
The Big List Of Consumer Reports Gift Guides
By 12.19.16 — Updated: 12.20.16
’Tis the season, when you’ve realized you have a long list of friends and loved ones to shop for, but absolutely zero ideas about what to get them. We can help. [More]
Show Your Support For Consumerist This Giving Tuesday; Donations Will Be Matched
November 29, 2016
Consumerist doesn’t take advertising. We answer to consumers, not corporations. That’s why on this Giving Tuesday we need consumers like you to support our work, and all the work done at Consumer Reports. Show your support today and your gift will be matched up to $20,000. [More]
Which Stores Are Open On Thanksgiving & When Do They Open On Black Friday?
By 11.19.16 — Updated: 11.21.16
Thanksgiving is usually the big day on the calendar in November, but this year the holiday took a backseat to Election Day — so much so that many people say they delayed the start of their holiday shopping until after the votes had been counted. Now here we are, with only a few days to go before Thanksgiving (and, more importantly to some folks, Black Friday); you’ll need to know which stores are opening when in order to maximize your shopping efficiency. [More]
FCC Chair Tom Wheeler Talks Privacy, 5G & Set-Top Box Reform
October 21, 2016
When Tom Wheeler was appointed FCC Chair in 2013, some questioned whether a former frontman for both the cable and telecom industries could possibly keep consumers’ needs in mind when dealing with the companies he’d known intimately for decades. John Oliver even likened the naming of Wheeler as FCC Chair to “needing a babysitter and hiring a dingo.” Yet, not only has Wheeler demonstrated that he’s not a dingo, he’s also gone toe-to-toe with the companies he once represented, enacting new net neutrality rules that regulate broadband as a utility, challenging phone companies to put an end to robocalls, going after wireless providers for misleading “unlimited” plans, and trying to shake up the pay-TV monopoly on set-top boxes. [More]
She Tried This One Crazy Thing And Received The Consumerist Newsletter Twice A Week
By 5.19.16
Okay, so it’s not that crazy, but you do only have to do one thing to sign up for the Consumerist newsletter, and have it arrive fresh and hot in your email inbox twice a week. [More]
If You Still Haven’t Found What You’re Looking For, May We Suggest Our Newsletter?
By 5.12.16
That aching hole in your heart and in your inbox? We think we’ve got something to fill it. [More]
7 Things You Need To Know From Frontline’s Investigation On Supplements & Safety
By 1.20.16
They look like drugs, they’re regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, but Frontline‘s new investigation found that supplements are very, very different. [More]
What You Need To Know Before You Take A Sleeping Pill
By 1.5.16
When you’re having a hard time getting a good night’s sleep, you might reach for the pill bottle for a simple, chemical solution. And you’re not alone — according to a new survey from our colleagues at Consumer Reports, more than one-third of adults who complained of sleep problems at least once per week said they had used an over-the-counter or prescription sleep drug in the previous year. [More]
Reminder: We Want To See Your Photos Of Kids Who Hate Hanging With Santa Claus
By 12.15.15
As the doors on the advent calendar open one by one, bringing us closer to Christmas, there’s still time for you to be part of our annual Consumerist holiday celebration. And by celebration, we mean, celebrating the effect the mall Santa Claus sometimes has on the younger set. [More]
Tesla Model S P85D Breaks Consumer Reports’ Ratings System
By 8.27.15 — Updated: 8.31.15
This story was first published by our sister publication Consumer Reports. [More]
How Safe Is Your Ground Beef?
By 8.24.15 — Updated: 8.31.15
This story was first published by our sister publication Consumer Reports. [More]
Fun With Surveys: Consumerist And Consumer Reports Need Your Help
By 8.21.15
ATTENTION: Do you like Consumerist? Do you want to help us? Do you have 30 minutes? Do you have lots of valuable opinions? CLICK HERE TO TAKE SURVEY. Your help keeps the site ad-free! [More]
What We Liked About 2014: The Editors’ Favorite Stories Of The Year
By 12.31.14
The clock hasn’t even struck midnight yet, and already we’re reminiscing about the year gone by. For us here at Consumerist, 2014 wasn’t only about how many times our stories were read, or who was clicking where, but about the process of bringing those stories to our readers and how we felt about working on them. [More]
26 Kids Who Decided Santa Claus Is Not To Be Tolerated, Proceed To Freak The Heck Out
By 12.25.14 — Updated: 12.5.16
We asked, and oh boy, did we receive: For our third annual installment of holiday-induced panic on a wee scale, you, our dear readers, submitted 26 photos of your children freaking the heck out upon meeting the man in red, one Santa Cornelius Claus. Does Santa have a middle name for real? We might never know, but what we do know is that before children come to love the guy, they often want nothing better than to be as far from that jolly fellow as possible. [More]
18 Times Our Readers Got The Absolute Best Gift Ever
By 12.24.14
There’s nothing like the moment when you realize that you’ve just received your heart’s desire in the form of a gift from someone else. Not only does it mean adding something wonderful to your life — whether it’s that prized toy you’ve been coveting, freedom from tyranny or a new fuzzy friend. Speaking of fuzzy, we asked you, our wonderful, giving readers a few weeks ago to tell us about the best gift you’ve ever gotten, whether it was Christmas, Hanukkah or just a regular day. [More]
