Research products, services, software, and major purchases before you commit money. Every guide covers hidden costs, alternatives, and a buyer decision checklist.
In one March 2026 survey of 1,007 shoppers, 73 percent researched electronics before buying. Only five categories have a measured number. Here are 25 purchases worth researching, and the facts we found in each.
Apple raised the MacBook Air by $200 in June. Samsung raised its flagship phone by $100 in October. The old advice to wait for a sale just got more expensive. Here's what to check before you pay for any gadget.
Whirlpool says 2026 brought its largest price increase in over a decade. Consumer Reports says 30 percent of refrigerators with ice makers have a problem by year five. And a repair visit can take weeks. Here's what to check before you buy.
The FTC says one dealer group charged an average of more than $3,350 above its advertised price in over 92 percent of sales. The group neither admitted nor denied it. Here's what to get in writing before you sign for a car.
Every car seat sold in the U.S. has to pass the same federal test. In an NHTSA survey, more than 46 percent of children rode in seats that were misused. And our count of infant gear recalls since 2025 is 76, mostly marketplace listings. Here's what to check before you buy baby gear.
The government's recall database lists about 55 dresser recalls since May 2024. One retailer's recalled dressers were later sold to shoppers through liquidators. And the tip-over rule only covers units 27 inches or taller. Here's what to check before you buy.
A software contract is where the vendor's promises stop. Most renew on their own, can't be cancelled mid-term and cap the vendor's liability at one year of fees. Here's what to read before you click buy.
Home equipment runs $990 to $6,695 at the prices we checked. The connected versions add a bill that never ends. Heavy equipment also arrives by freight, need floor space and carry a public recall record.
iFixit scored every AirPods generation 0 out of 10 for repairability for ten years. The newest gets 2. One cheap earbud listing showed a $299.99 reference price on a $23.98 pair. And one 50-hour battery claim measured 42. Here's what to check before you buy headphones.
You'll sit in this chair about 2,000 hours a year. Recalls since 2016 cover about 370,000 office chairs, from $60 chairs to $430 ones. Here's what to check before you buy a desk or a chair.
A policy is a promise you only test on your worst day. The premium is the small number. The deductible, the exclusions and the way your claim gets handled are the big ones. Here's what the records show.
Makeup sits on your eyes, lips and face, and you can't see most of what matters. The FDA doesn't approve it before sale. Here's what a mini really costs, what you can return once it's opened and which recalls to know.
Skincare sells at huge markups with little proof. Consumer Reports found most sunscreens it tested fell short of the label. Some products are drugs held to drug rules. Most are cosmetics that need no FDA approval.
The camera is cheap. The plan is the bill. Belkin switched off Wemo's cloud on January 31, 2026, and Google ended two Nest thermostat generations in October 2025. Here's what you're really signing up for.
A camera that launched at $1,599.95 was listed at $2,255 on Best Buy's own site, sold by a marketplace seller. One f/2.8 zoom lens runs $799 to $2,448 depending on the mount. Here's what to check before you buy a camera.
A $1,000 dining set was recalled after about 178 of its chairs broke. A $300 designer chair drew 149 broken-leg reports. And we found no federal strength standard for an adult dining chair. Here's what to check before you buy a dining table.
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all raised console prices in 2026. On our math, the box is only about a third of a three-year bill. The rest is storage, subscriptions and games you license, not own.
You hand a contractor tens of thousands of dollars in stages, inside the house you live in. The contract is your main protection. Here's what a remodel really costs, who can put a lien on your home and what you can cancel.
On the median $417,500 home the mortgage is about $2,313 a month. Taxes, insurance, repairs and utilities add about $1,770. Rates jumped from 5.98% in February to 7.40% in October. Here's the bill nobody puts in the listing.
The MacBook Neo launched on March 11 at $599. By June 25 it cost $699, and it still has 8GB of memory you can never upgrade. Here's what to check before you pay for a laptop this year.
A 100-night trial can leave about 70 nights to decide. A sag has to run past one or two inches before the warranty pays. And two mattress sellers settled claims over website discounts for millions. Here's what to read before you buy.
The iPhone 17 says from $899. The price with no carrier attached is $929. The trade-in credit pays out over 36 months, and only if you stay. Here's what to check before you buy a smartphone this year.
One maker's lifetime frame warranty ends at ten years. Another's made-to-order sofa can't be cancelled after 24 hours and can't go back even if it doesn't fit. Here's what to read before you buy a sofa.
Same brand. Same size. Same store. One 55-inch TV costs $999.99 and the other costs $299.99. The box won't tell you which gap is real. This guide does, and it shows the bills the tag leaves off.
The FTC says a travel app showed a total price while pre-selecting fees you only saw by scrolling. It proposed a $35 million settlement in July. Meanwhile the airline bag-fee display rule was rolled back. Here's what a trip really costs before you pay.
In 13 months, Roomba's maker went through Chapter 11, Neato began shutting down its cloud, and a flaw let one owner see data from about 7,000 DJI robot vacuums. And the most common vacuum failure isn't the motor. It's hair.
OTC hearing aids run about $399 to $2,000 a pair. The company behind Eargo, Lexie and Go Hearing began winding down in July 2026, and Sony's models are discontinued. Here's what FDA on the box really means and what to check before you pay.
A payroll company can send your taxes. It can't take over your liability. The IRS says the employer stays on the hook, and one provider owner got 50 months over $20 million in unpaid taxes. Here's what each tier really costs and covers.
The average timeshare sold for $24,740 in 2025. The seller often lends the money at about 14 percent. Maintenance fees rose from $1,120 to $1,550 in four years. Here's the 10-year bill and the cancel clocks before you sit down.
The $4,000 used EV credit ended September 30, 2025, and the home-charger credit ended June 30, 2026. The battery is the one part priced like a second car, winter takes 30 to 41 percent of the range, and used EV prices are rising. Here's the math and the checks.
The bigger federal tax credits expired after 2025, and what people paid each month after credits rose 58 percent on average. Here's what a bad year can cost on a 2027 plan, the income line that ends federal help, and the sales tricks to dodge.
The federal window credit ended after 2025. ENERGY STAR's own modeling puts whole-house savings at $253 to $568 a year, so a $12,000 job takes decades to repay in bills. Here's what to put in writing before you sign.
Shingle makers announced 6 to 10 percent increases for June 1, 2026. Texas regulators' own example pays $0 on a 20-year-old roof under an actual cash value policy. And in Texas, Florida and Oklahoma, a roofer who promises to cover your deductible breaks the law.
The federal heat pump credit ended for work finished after 2025. At 2025 average prices a typical heat pump costs about as much to run as an 80 percent gas furnace, and more than a 95 percent one. It wins against oil, propane and electric heat. Here's the math.
ChatGPT Teams is now ChatGPT Business. A Standard seat is $20 a month on annual billing and a Premium seat is $100. Seats bill whether anyone logs in, and annual seats stay locked until renewal. Here's the full bill.
The price on the hosting page is a multi-year prepay divided by months. The renewal is the list price, and it runs from 1.5 to 6 times higher. Here are the real numbers, the refund rules and what the contracts say about backups.
A three-year-old truck averages $40,335, up 35.7 percent from 2019, and the average used loan runs 10.6 percent. A Ford recall on 741,195 vehicles has no fix until about April 2027, and the federal ban on selling open-recall vehicles covers new ones only. Here's how to check before you pay.
The 30 percent homeowner credit ended for installs finished after 2025. At the US average electric rate the default system takes about 11 years to pay for itself, and a dealer fee can add 10 to 30 percent to a financed price. Here's the math and the traps.