I find it curious that I read this thread immediately after the GD thread asking whether it is possible to live like in the 50s-60s.. Both strike me as reflecting people’s ever increasing desire to get more and more stuff, faster and cheaper.
I agree that you could never be an informed consumer. Heck, I never even thought Consumer Reports was all that useful, but it was SOMETHING. It was possible to identify the priciest best models and the cheapest crap, but really spotting meaningful differences in the middle was a crapshoot.
One of the best approaches was to rely on friends/family who made similar purchases, or known and trusted experts. Today the internet wants you to think EVERYONE is your friend/family and/or a trusted expert. And A LOT of people buy into that.
Folks’ desire for faster and cheaper has lessened the brick/mortar experience. There are fewer stores and their stock/service is worse. Of course, going store to store to try to make meaningful comparisons was always time consuming. At least w/ Amazon you have easier returns…
Also, a good part of just about any purchase is a crapshoot. Pick ANY item and you’ll find people who say it is the best, and others who maintain it is overpriced crap.
A mindset that has often done us well was Sears’ good/better/best. We generally find ourselves well-satisfied with “better.” Chances are we’ll be dissatisfied with the cheapest version, but we likely don’t need the bells and whistles on the deluxe model. I you are just buying something reasonably cheap, you are well-served to make sure your expectations reflect the price.