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What can Consumer Reports do for you?

Consumer Reports is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to provide consumers with unbiased product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Consumer Reports wants to improve the marketplace for consumers to get better value and create a market that protects consumers over the long run.

How does the work of Consumer Reports influence the consumer? When consumers find a product that that interests them, they look to see what Consumer Reports has to say about that product. If Consumer Reports gives the product excellent ratings, that can influence the consumer to go ahead and purchase the item. If Consumer Reports gives the product bad ratings, that can influence the consumer not to purchase the item.

Take a closer look at some of the more popular products that Consumer Reports gives ratings to. Click on each picture to learn more, and then use this information to help you answer the interactive question below. Compare your answer with the answer given.

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Automobiles and automotive products are the most popular reviews from Consumer Reports. These ratings go into deep detail about the cars, from reliability to value—including long-term costs, gas mileage, comfort, price of the vehicle, etc.

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Another popular area of review for Consumer Reports is home appliances—including washers and dryers, dish washers, refrigerators, microwaves, vacuum cleaners, and small kitchen appliances. The reliability of these items makes a huge difference in consumers' decision to buy one product over another.

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Electronics is the other major category of products that Consumer Reports reviews. Included are personal electronic items like cell phones, tablets, and computers, and larger items like televisions and home theaters. Since these items can have very high prices, reliability and quality become even more important to consumers as they make their purchasing decisions.

Question

Jameel wants to buy a specific brand-new television for his bedroom. It is priced at $900. He goes to the Consumer Reports website and sees that the reviews for this television are not that great, especially for such a high price. What decision do you think Jameel should make about buying this television?