Choosing the Right Appliance: Where to Start?

With so many appliance brands on the market today, choosing the right ones is a common challenge many people face. From different features, prices, warranties and more, making this selection can be a difficult task. Let’s face it; we’re not all appliance experts! Because of this, there is often a heavy reliance on consumer reporting publications to help make this decision. However, these are not always the best resources to turn to.

Why do I say this? Just as every manufacturer reports their products as being “the best,” these publications consist of ratings from one organization claiming certain products to be “the best.” While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I have more often than not found certain highly rated appliances to be far from it. The people relying on these publications to help them choose the “top products” often base their decision on one rating- not so trustworthy!

So what’s the best way to learn more about a product? Real reviews by real people. Let’s say you’re wondering if you should buy a particular oven. All you have to do is type in the make and model number into a Google search followed by “reviews.” You will find hundreds if not thousands of websites with real people’s reviews of the product you are considering, which will be much more personal than reading a review from a magazine. Virtually any question you have about the product will likely be already answered in these reviews. If not, you will most often be able to ask your question directly on the product’s review and it will be answered by someone who already purchased the product.

There are a couple things to keep in mind when reading online reviews:

• Check out the number of positive reviews the product has and compare it to the number of negatives.
• If the product receives negative reviews, read each one and find out what they are. Sometimes people are generally hard to please, but if a product has 25 complaints about the same feature, you can be assured this is a real issue.

Reading real people’s reviews will also give you something that consumer reporting publications never do: How often the machine breaks and how readily available service is. Believe it or not, there are a few appliance manufacturers today with parts and service not readily available. As a consumer, the last thing you want to hear is that the $1,000+ appliance you bought six months ago is now broken and can’t be fixed because the manufacturer only has limited parts, or that the parts you need are in another country and will not get to you for 4-6 months. (Yes, this really happens)! This is the type of information you will find by searching for real reviews.

We live in an age where information is transmitted with the snap of a finger and is so easily accessible. Any question about anything can literally be found in a few seconds with a simple Internet search. Use this information to your benefit when choosing your appliances.

If you ever have any questions on appliances, from sales to service to parts, I’m here to help. Email me at mleah001@gmail.com, give me a call at 914-962-2500, or just stop in and see me at Atlantic Appliance in Yorktown Heights Tuesday-Saturday!