Chris,
The US Consumers Reports is excellent. I don't know how good its equivalent in the UK is (Which?). The computer magazines are also excellent in turning thumbs up, or down impartially. But, there are lots of other sources that provide good appraisals of consumer goods. Harry ___________________________ Christoph wrote: >Keith Hudson wrote: > > 1. There's been an explosive growth in recent years in consumer > > associations, speciality magazines, regulatory agencies and statutory > > controls which have helped consumers to compare goods and services as never > > before and, for most products, to maintain consistent quality and drive > > prices ever downwards. > >Keith confuses growth with quality (as the believers in growth usually do). >The _quality_ of those consumer associations, magazines etc. isn't all that >wonderful. They rather resemble Potemkin villages. Many (especially >"patients' groups") are in fact PR front groups set up or sponsored by >industry. (That's why e.g. Alzheimer groups are not interested in causes >of the disease, but busy peddling chemical band-aids from their sponsors.) >Consumer magazines often don't know what they are writing about in their >product tests, and make laughable mistakes (I can describe some on >request). And intransparent merger-mania (where the bought-up >companies keep their names/logos while belonging to a vast TNC) >make informed consumer choice even harder. > >Keith praises "regulatory agencies and statutory controls" but seems to >forget what his beloved DE-regulation is all about. Talk about trends! > >Concerning the alleged ability to "maintain consistent quality and drive >prices ever downwards": Consumer magazines actually fail to understand >the dilemma between their "demands" -- lowest prices and OTOH highest >quality of products and life. They fanatically advocate lowest prices, >but OTOH they forget that price-dumping leads to bad quality, higher >unemployment, lower wages and more stress in the remaining workplaces. >Most customers are working people too, so what's the use of saving >a few cents on this or that shopping item, if it means OTOH that >your job makes life a hell, or that you get fired ? > >The ultimate irony is that consumer magazines, while busy looking for >flaws in other products/services all day, do not apply their "high >standards" to themselves. Usually they even hold a monopoly! > > > > (The only exceptions to this trend so far are in > > financial and health services which are still largely opaque to the > > customer and still hamstrung by considerable protective practices. > >The _only_ exceptions? What about Micro$oft, for example ? >Despite Linux (which is certainly not the merit of consumer associations >-- they're busy peddling M$ PR!), M$'s grip is getting ever tighter... > >Chris ****************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of LA Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (818) 352-4141 Fax: (818) 353-2242 *******************************
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