newest Baby Bargains arrived from AMZN

[niq]

I am in pig heaven over here. That is all.

[jennlin]

what? what did you buy?

[jennlin]

oh okay.....what does it have the internet doesn't? (not trying to be snarky..but that sounds bad...but you know what i mean).

[sarack]

i thought that the baby bargains book doesn't come out until 4-18??? i was lied to!!!!!!!

niq- you must share good advice!

[jennlin]

hmm..sounds interesting.

[catbus]

I loved Baby Bargains, but definitely pay close attention to what they actually write about products, not just what grade they give them. For example, in the last edition, they give AngelCare monitors an "F," but if you read the actual text of the review, they say the monitors work great and have excellent sound quality, but because they believe the motion-sensing pad preys on the fears of new parents, they can't recommend them. Sigh.

[catbus]

Mar 28, 2013 11:46:37 GMT -5 @jennuinne said:

Mar 28, 2013 11:30:04 GMT -5 catbus said:

I loved Baby Bargains, but definitely pay close attention to what they actually write about products, not just what grade they give them. For example, in the last edition, they give AngelCare monitors an "F," but if you read the actual text of the review, they say the monitors work great and have excellent sound quality, but because they believe the motion-sensing pad preys on the fears of new parents, they can't recommend them. Sigh.

I agree.  Britax infant seats score lower on a lot of reviews based only on ease of use, which must been installing the base, b/c everything else is easy.  I think cost lowers its rating too, but I still plan on getting it.

Then the Britax chaperone has a low grade, but I think it's the seat the recommend if money is no object. 

Yeah, the information they provide is solid, but sometimes they arbitrarily weigh one aspect really heavily when assigning a grade.

[niq]

Mar 28, 2013 10:55:16 GMT -5 @jennuinne said:

Mar 28, 2013 10:25:25 GMT -5 jennlin said:

oh okay.....what does it have the internet doesn't? (not trying to be snarky..but that sounds bad...but you know what i mean).

Well, for one, it's all in one place.  But, I had a hard time finding good carseat reviews online, this is much more thorough.  It also makes suggestions for the best options at different price points.  It's cool, really, if you're an over-researching freak.    The crib reviews were really helpful too.  It also suggests good places to guy things, what you should and shouldn't buy online, etc. (like you'll probably get better prices on most things online, but never buy furniture online b/c it can easily be damaged in shipping and then can be very difficult to return or exchange). 

Ink & Paper is still useful technology . I always use a printed book for my fantasy baseball draft because I can actually look things up in it faster than I can online.

The Baby Bargains book is very well organized. It walks you through what features you should actually care about, how to think about whether you want to spend more money on a fancier monitor/stroller/carseat/whatever, and then does a half-page review of many major brands. It's way quicker than even reading well-organized sites like car-seat.org because you don't have to wait for pages to load.

[niq]

Mar 28, 2013 11:30:04 GMT -5 catbus said:

I loved Baby Bargains, but definitely pay close attention to what they actually write about products, not just what grade they give them. For example, in the last edition, they give AngelCare monitors an "F," but if you read the actual text of the review, they say the monitors work great and have excellent sound quality, but because they believe the motion-sensing pad preys on the fears of new parents, they can't recommend them. Sigh.

Yeah I saw that and that was my first "bwuh"? The pure audio monitors got better reviews -- I think they are a B. THey said they're good but the Sony ones are just as good yet cheaper.

The stroller reviews where they talk about the Bugaboo and its competitors are funny .

[niq]

Mar 28, 2013 12:24:04 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Mar 28, 2013 12:18:15 GMT -5 niq said:

Ink & Paper is still useful technology . I always use a printed book for my fantasy baseball draft because I can actually look things up in it faster than I can online.

The Baby Bargains book is very well organized. It walks you through what features you should actually care about, how to think about whether you want to spend more money on a fancier monitor/stroller/carseat/whatever, and then does a half-page review of many major brands. It's way quicker than even reading well-organized sites like car-seat.org because you don't have to wait for pages to load.

is it like Zagat, sort of, multiple opinions compiled into one, or just one group's opinion of what to look for?

It's like Zagat or CR. They say things like "we found lots of reviwers complaining that carseat XYZ was hard to install" or "despite the high price tag, customer service for the Bugaboo stinks; we read many stories of long waits for replacement parts".

I don't know how scientific they are in measuring the number of complaints. But it's more thorough than the stuff I've found online.

[cdmay]

Mar 28, 2013 12:18:15 GMT -5 niq said:

Mar 28, 2013 10:55:16 GMT -5 @jennuinne said:

Well, for one, it's all in one place.  But, I had a hard time finding good carseat reviews online, this is much more thorough.  It also makes suggestions for the best options at different price points.  It's cool, really, if you're an over-researching freak.    The crib reviews were really helpful too.  It also suggests good places to guy things, what you should and shouldn't buy online, etc. (like you'll probably get better prices on most things online, but never buy furniture online b/c it can easily be damaged in shipping and then can be very difficult to return or exchange). 

Ink & Paper is still useful technology . I always use a printed book for my fantasy baseball draft because I can actually look things up in it faster than I can online.

The Baby Bargains book is very well organized. It walks you through what features you should actually care about, how to think about whether you want to spend more money on a fancier monitor/stroller/carseat/whatever, and then does a half-page review of many major brands. It's way quicker than even reading well-organized sites like car-seat.org because you don't have to wait for pages to load.

We got it, too.  I've barely looked at it so far, but i like that it's all in one spot, and with the book (non-digital) format, you an highlight, make notes, etc.  I do NOT like the shape of the book.  It would be easier to use if it were not so narrow.