Why I subscribe to Choice

In this cost-of-living crisis, it's important to feel we're getting good-quality products. Here I share the best review site that I've found.

Choice (previously Choice Magazine) is an Australian website that gives product reviews to consumers. The key difference is that Choice reviews are based on testing performed in their labs. Using their website, I always feel like I'm getting the best products at the lowest prices.

Don't worry so much about "good brands"

Looking through their reviews sorted by recommendation (the default), you'll notice two very interesting things:

• prices for the best products vary wildly, so you can often get the same quality for dramatically lower prices
• the same brand name can have products at the top, middle and bottom quality levels at the same time.

By looking at the list this way, I've found that cheaper or less fancy brands bring out high quality products all the time, and that repuptable brands frequently release bad, inefficient, broken or even dangerous products. So it's much more helpful to find good products by finding the best-reviewed ones at the lowest prices, regardless of brand.

The Shonky awards

These awards are the best part of the year for a Choice subscriber. Each year, Choice highlights the absolute worst - products that are often comically bad. Some of my favourites from the last few years:

• (2017) Samsung, for their $3000 washer-dryer that uses 200L per wash on Daily mode despite a high water efficiency rating
• (2019) Ikea's fridge, for varying temperature so badly it constantly spoils food
• (2019) The entire pet insurance industry - for having so many conditions the insurance is basically worthless
• (2020) Literally every floor cleaner on the market, for performing roughly the same or worse compared to water
• (2024) NIB, for targeting single parents for price rises so bad that adding a child to your policy will literally double your premiums (adding a child could cost only 4% extra for some other customers)

A few other tidbits

• I've noticed that Woolworths, Coles and Earth's Choice brands frequently release products that are worse at removing dirt than plain water.
• Aldi's Trimat clothes detergent performs the same as top brand and my mum's favourite - Dynamo - at literally half the cost.
• Kmart Anko stuff is sometimes really good.

Closing

It's clear that Choice can highlight some of the best and worst parts of the consumer industry. Personally, I'm planning to stay a Choice subscriber indefinitely. I think you should at least take a look.