# Is Consumer Reports still as independent as it used to be?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 9, 2022, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152 "2022-02-09T12:30:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/1 "2022-02-09T12:30:08Z")
I got a subscription to Consumer Reports online, and now with its products reviews it includes links to prices and where you can buy the products. They give a notice that
> [@Consumer Reports](#):
>
> When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. [Learn more.](https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/about-us/our-partners/commercial-partners/index.htm)
Doesn’t that taint their objectivity?
I used to subscribe many years ago when they were only a magazine. They never ran any ads and touted the fact.
They also were the first ones (that I knew about) who offered dealer invoice pricing for cars. I ordered it once and for $12 they sent you all the information that you can now get for free at sites like Edmunds or Kelley.
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/2 "2022-02-09T16:07:14Z")
Being an affiliate for a company whose products Consumer Reports reviews would appear to be a conflict of interest, but I assume there are safeguards in place to ensure that companies affiliated with Consumer Reports don’t receive an unfair advantage over companies that aren’t affiliated with them. How this is done in practice I have no idea, but if consumers lose their confidence in Consumer Report’s objectivity then there would be no reason to trust them, and that would defeat their nonprofit mission.
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### Author:  [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/3 "2022-02-09T16:12:27Z")
I believe in this case it means they are an Amazon, Walmart, or other affiliate. So they tell you the Shark vacuum is the best, and give a link to buy it at Amazon. They aren’t getting a kickback from Shark, but from Amazon. If you buy the second best Bissell vacuum from Amazon, they still get a kickback.
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### Author:  [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/4 "2022-02-09T16:32:59Z")
This is correct. If you click “learn more” it explains:
> The Consumer Reports shopping service is provided by Amazon, CJ Affiliate, Rakuten and Impact. We make it easy to buy the right products from a variety of online retailers, such as Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Macy’s and Walmart, while you’re researching and comparing models on the CR website or other digital products. Our service is unbiased: retailers cannot influence or pay for the placement, reviews or ratings of products. Clicking a retailer link will take you to that retailer’s website to shop. When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission—100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. When you leave [CR.org](https://www.consumerreports.org/) to shop on a retailer’s website, you will be covered only by the retailer’s privacy policy and user agreement.
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### Author:  [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/5 "2022-02-09T22:24:48Z")
> [@echoreply](#):
>
> They aren’t getting a kickback from Shark, but from Amazon. If you buy the second best Bissell vacuum from Amazon, they still get a kickback.
So, if I’m understanding you correctly, Consumer Reports has an incentive to say nice things about Amazon. Or at least, to avoid criticizing them. Did I get that right?
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/6 "2022-02-09T22:33:34Z")
I feel like this is one of those “you’re all right” situations.
I doubt that CR – a staple in my childhood home – ever just **pans** every copy of a product type that they’re testing, leaving the reader unlikely to buy _any_ model they tested.
But there is a slight perverse incentive to push sales, either/both by making sure _something_ emerges as a winner and/or by making a few of them sound just slightly better than they otherwise might.
I doubt it has much _conscious_ impact on how they’re operating (ie, I’m not accusing them of selling out), but that concept of ‘tendency’ is still in play.
If every brand of – to pick one – immersion blender is just pure shit, I’d like to know that. And it’s not in CR’s interest, under this model, to dissuade readers from purchasing _something_ on which CR gets a commission.
Understanding, if possible, what % of their revenue is derived from these affiliate deals would be helpful.
But they don’t report to me 😉
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/7 "2022-02-09T22:43:56Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> But they don’t report to me
Well, not yet anyway.
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### Author:  [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/8 "2022-02-09T23:00:06Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> If every brand of – to pick one – immersion blender is just pure shit, I’d like to know that. And it’s not in CR’s interest, under this model, to dissuade readers from purchasing _something_ on which CR gets a commission.
Thanks to a recent question about tankless water heaters, I discovered that [they found water heaters of each type so interchangeable that they didn’t recommend a single product or brand](https://www.consumerreports.org/products/water-heaters-32960/gas-water-heater-32970/na-gas-tanked-397348/). So, they weren’t all shit, but none stood above the rest so they didn’t feel like making a recommendation. I’m good with that.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/9 "2022-02-09T23:03:12Z")
That _is_ interesting, but if you follow my logic, that’s a ‘global rating of neutral.’
The likelihood there is that the purchases (and resultant commissions) would be X in aggregate, relatively evenly divided among the various models of water heaters tested.
“Not worth buying _any_ of these POS” might tend to have a materially worse impact on commissions.
It also might be vanishingly rare in practice.
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### Author:  [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/10 "2022-02-09T23:03:23Z")
> [@Keeve](#):
>
> So, if I’m understanding you correctly, Consumer Reports has an incentive to say nice things about Amazon. Or at least, to avoid criticizing them. Did I get that right?
CR reviews products, not stores.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/11 "2022-02-09T23:05:05Z")
When I went to buy a new mattress, I did a bit of homework.
There virtually Are No Objective Sources for mattress reviews available (possible exception of CR).
There are also pretty much no negative reviews of mattresses (could that _even_ be _theoretically_ possible ?). When that became my sense of the market, that’s when I decided to poke around a bit.
They’re all affiliate models.
This isn’t that, to be clear, but … that ‘tendency’ thing again.
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### Author:  [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/12 "2022-02-09T23:05:28Z")
I just went and looked at their innerspring mattress ratings for shits and grins, and 4 of the top 8 scorers don’t have affiliate links, including the #2 highest rated which they also gave a “Best Buy” rating. I’ll keep trusting them for now.
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### Author:  [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/13 "2022-02-09T23:10:06Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> The likelihood there is that the purchases (and resultant commissions) would be X in aggregate, relatively evenly divided among the various models of water heaters tested.
I think you misunderstood me. They not only didn’t recommend any, they didn’t even name any. There were zero affiliate links to be found for water heaters.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/14 "2022-02-09T23:11:33Z")
You’re right. I did misunderstand.
My relationship with CR goes back decades. I’d be crestfallen if they truly lost their mojo, so I’m rooting _for_ their continued objectivity, excellence, _and_ economic viability.
So … thanks for informing me.
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### Author:  [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/15 "2022-02-09T23:52:22Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> I doubt that CR – a staple in my childhood home – ever just **pans** every copy of a product type that they’re testing, leaving the reader unlikely to buy _any_ model they tested.
The only thing I can think of are subcategories of air purifiers:
- **Ozone generators** - these are bad because they make ozone, no point in testing, don’t buy
- **Electronic air purifiers** - these also can produce ozone, so no point in testing, don’t buy
- **Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation** - the UV light is neither powerful enough or long enough duration to do anything, no point in testing, don’t buy
- **Photocatalytic oxidation** - produce more bad stuff than just ozone, and probably don’t work in the first place, no point in testing, don’t buy
- **Mechanical filters** - here are our recommended models…
- **Carbon filters** - here are our recommended models…
So if you’re looking for an air purifier they have recommendations, if you’re looking for an _electronic_ air purifier, they won’t recommend anything, though they didn’t bother to test any of them in the first place.
ETA, and other things like laundry balls or whatever, that don’t actually do anything, “we tested some, they didn’t do anything, don’t bother” is what I remember, but I don’t see it on their website.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/16 "2022-02-10T00:47:51Z")
Even if CR reviews are not being influenced by product manufacturers, the existence of buying links lends an appearance of impropriety which you’d think CR would be smart enough to avoid.
There are lots of ratings sites, many of which have sprung up in recent years and whose bona fides are open to question.\* What CR has had going for it is a reputation of objectivity\*\*, which this new development could jeopardize.
\*it seems odd that when (for example) you do a search for solar-powered foot massagers, you get sites like [bestsolarfootmassagers.com](http://bestsolarfootmassagers.com).
\*\*except for stuff like ice cream and other foods, where subjectivity reigns.
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### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/17 "2022-02-10T01:00:41Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> When I went to buy a new mattress, I did a bit of homework.
>
> There virtually Are No Objective Sources for mattress reviews available (possible exception of CR).
>
> There are also pretty much no negative reviews of mattresses (could that _even_ be _theoretically_ possible ?). When that became my sense of the market, that’s when I decided to poke around a bit.
>
> They’re all affiliate models.
What are “affiliate models”?
I have bought mattresses a few times. By design it is nearly impossible to compare mattress prices among retailers because the manufacturers change at least the model numbers they sell to every major retailer, if not the mattresses themselves. I have never seen two retailers that sell exactly the same make and model of a conventional mattress (shopping Macy’s and mattress specialty stores). Maybe that’s what you mean by “affiliate models.”
Also the models change constantly so it’s hard for anyone but an industry insider to know what is what.
(Even manufacturers of other goods that normally sell the same product to every retailer will do special versions for the 800-pound gorillas like Costco and Walmart.)
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### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/18 "2022-02-10T01:02:21Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> \*it seems odd that when (for example) you do a search for solar-powered foot massagers, you get sites like [bestsolarfootmassagers.com](http://bestsolarfootmassagers.com).
I get those kinds of things in searches all the time. For tech products I ignore everything but CNET and PC Magazine. They have links like CR does but I read their reviews and they are very well written, don’t hold back if there is something negative to say, and always list some “cons” so they are not kissing anyone’s ass.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/19 "2022-02-10T01:42:47Z")
Nah. What you’re describing is an oft talked about _additional_ problem in the mattress world.
By “affiliate model,” I meant that the ‘reviewer’ makes a commission (from the mattress manufacturer/retailer) when you buy the mattress being reviewed (usually by using a link they include with the review video).
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### Author:  [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2022, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-consumer-reports-still-as-independent-as-it-used-to-be/959152/20 "2022-02-10T11:59:05Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#):
>
> > [@Keeve](#):
> >
> > So, if I’m understanding you correctly, Consumer Reports has an incentive to say nice things about Amazon. Or at least, to avoid criticizing them. Did I get that right?
>
> CR reviews products, not stores
But Amazon has its own products out there. Lots of generic office products, simple housewares or small electronics products (Amazon Basics) which are probably not worth a review; but also smart speakers, e-readers, tablets, smart doorbells (?), streaming video and-or audio services, Cloud storage, and eventually they’ll offer other stuff that’s worth reviewing and comparing.
In the same vein, just about any website today has a relationship with Google for analytics and for ad management (maybe not on CR), and also usually with Facebook (if there’s a blue Facebook button anywhere on the page, Facebook is tracking you). Google also offers smart speakers, smartphones, laptops, smart thermostats, home Internet (?), and of course lots and lots of free or billable Cloud services. Facebook makes Oculus VR headsets and probably other stuff I don’t know about.