Shop Smarter Where to Look
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inside May 2015 Cover story 16 Amazing cheap products 2 The best bargain appliances, electronics, food, and more. 22 Save more at your favorite stores How to get the best deals at Target, T.J.Maxx, and 9 other major retailers. 2 23 Departments Amazon has great deals, if you know 5 Shop smarter where to look. this month When not to shop, new deals at Amazon.com, and more! 7 Shoptalk Hot new stuff Our take on Apple’s smart watch, a robotic vac that really works, and glue that can fix almost anything. What’s the deal with ... Web retailers opening walk-in stores. Reader poll Why we argue about donating things. Now you know Makeup stars. Silly stuff The bacon edition! Does it really work? Wolfgang Puck’s ‘revolutionary’ oven. Site to see Lily & Strum. In every issue 3 Editor’s note 12 Ask our experts 14 Purse Smart: Travel deals 80 ShopSmart Extra: What we’ll do for a bargain 83 Recalls & safety alerts 84 Back in the day 2FEATURED ON OUR COVER 35 43 The Buying Guide B Home&Yard 29 Sleep better and saveThe top mattresses for the money. Plus what not to buy. 2 31 Fast, fun bathroom redos Designers share their favorite low-cost decorating ideas. 34 Hot spring trends at home-goods stores Check out the great new stuff at Ikea, Pottery Barn, and other top retailers. 33 30 38 Home news A money-saving dryer and top dehumidifiers, plus organizing finds under $25. Food &Drink 39 15 healthy food bargains Stock up on these and eat better every day. 2 44 New grocery store services you’ll love Great freebies that can save you money and time at the supermarket! 46 5 surprising things Crunchy, munchy celery. 60 69 47 Food news Three veggies to spring for now, an ice cream alert, and more. Health&Safety 49 What to buy organic Fruits and veggies that can cut your pesticide exposure. 2 54 7 drugstore mistakes you’re probably making Stop overspending now! 58 Health news Why coffee is good for you, timing meals to prevent diabetes, and more. 49 67 Beauty&Fashion 59 Beauty in a box Discover great new cosmetics with these monthly services. 64 ShopSmart shops with ... YouTube beauty guru Michelle Phan. 66 Great buys at Forever 21 You don’t need to be a teenager to love these fashion finds! Cars &Tech 69 Cutting cable You can save by firing your telecom company. Here’s how to do it. 2 73 Better-sounding music We review the new high-res audio players. 74 Tech smart Cool things Windows 10 can do. 75 Tech news Speedy new printers, and more! 76 The safest cars for the moneyAffordable models that aced tough crash tests. 2 Cover photograph by Monica Buck; peanut butter: Elizabeth Watt/Getty Images; peaches: Natikka/Getty Images; bed: 78 What if you need to haul something big? Karam Miri/Veer; facing page: Walter B. McKenzie/Getty Images. The do’s and don’ts of getting home safely. ShopSmart.org MAY 2015 | 1 Join the conversation! www.facebook.com/shopsmartmag JD514F editor’snote Good and cheap! he best things in life are cheap. OK, the free stuff is even better— love, family, friends. But it’s the cheap treats that make my day: jasmine green tea (Bigelow’s my favorite), dark chocolate with Talmonds (Dove), gel stick pens (Uni-ball), fleece sweat shirts (Uniqlo), and cherry chocolate chip soy ice cream (Trader Joe’s). And after putting together this issue, I have a few new favorites, including the cute $13 tassel necklace on page 67, which I can’t wait to wear with a T-shirt and flip-flops—it’s my ultimate cheap chic summer outfit! Throughout our bargain issue, you’ll find tons of amazing low-priced goodies. This really should be called the “Cheap Issue.” But put the word cheap in front of another word, and it can sound like an insult—a cheap person, a cheap suit, cheap perfume. Yes, cheap can be bad. And it’s not always easy to tell the difference between the bad and the good. So in addition to our roundup of amazing cheap products (see page 16) we list stuff that’s cheap for a reason—including a paint that will make stains stick to your walls, detergent that’s only slightly better than plain water, a door Throughout our bargain lock that burglars will love, and a treadmill that comes up short, literally. issue, you’ll find tons In this issue, you’ll also find amazing cheap vacation deals (page 14), of amazing low-priced mattresses (page 29), bathroom makeovers (page 31), drug prices (page 54), and cars (page 76). And on page 39 we’ll tell you about healthy foods goodies. This really should that are too cheap not to buy if you’re trying to eat better—no more excuses! be called the “Cheap Issue.” So get ready to read up and cheap out. Lisa Lee Freeman Editor in Chief P.S. I’d love to hear from you! Please e-mail me at lisa.freeman@ cr.consumer.org. Also, you can follow me on Twitter (@lisaleefree). Get ShopSmart to go Look for us on your Kindle or Nook. Or The ShopSmart promise download the Zinio or WE WILL ALWAYS TELL YOU THE TRUTH. If we think Next Issue app. It’s also a product is great, we’ll tell you so. If it’s not, we’ll tell you available on Google Play. that, too. We can tell it like it is because we are nonprofit and For more info plus our we don’t take ads or free samples. As part of the Consumer blog, go to ShopSmart.org. Reports family, we spend millions of dollars a year to buy products so that we can test them in our 50 labs and at our Tell us what you think! auto test track. We also fight for laws to protect you from E-mail us at ShopSmart.org/letters dangerous products and unfair sales practices. Our mission Join us on Facebook is simple: to help you make the best choice every time. To us, go to LOOK FOR THESE SYMBOLS INSIDE: facebook.com/shopsmartmag B EXPERT TESTED C NOT SO HOT DDO NOT BUY Find us on Pinterest Go to pinterest.com/shopsmartdotorg ShopSmart.org MAY 2015 | 3 The advice you President and CEO need before Marta L. Tellado Executive Vice President Ricardo A. Castro you buy Vice President, Brand, Product Strategy, and Integration Leonora Wiener Vice President and General Manager, Magazine and Newsletter Products Brent Diamond Editor in Chief Lisa Lee Freeman Design Director Timothy LaPalme Creative Director Melissa Paterno Plonchak Deputy Editor Susan Millar Perry Senior Editor Jody L. Rohlena Managing Editor/Online Editor Scott Nyerges Art Directors Tammy Morton Fernandez, Julie Schrader Photo Editor Karen Shinbaum Contributing Editor Kenrya Rankin Naasel Vice President, Integrated Content Creation Liam McCormack Senior Director, Content Strategy and Development Diane Salvatore On Sale Autos Mark Rechtin, Editor; Jonathan Linkov, Managing Editor Electronics Glenn Derene, Editor; Eileen McCooey, Deputy Editor Health & Food Ellen Kunes, Health and Food Content Development Team Leader; NOW! Chris Hendel, Associate Director, Health; Marvin Lipman, M.D., Medical Editor; Orly Avitzur, M.D., Associate Medical Editor Home Shax Riegler, Editor; Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, Deputy Editor Money Margot Gilman, Editor; Nikhil Hutheesing, Deputy Editor; Amanda Walker, Senior Project Editor Contributing Photographers Rebekah Nemethy, Pete Pezzella, John Powers, John Walsh Imaging Specialists Frank Collado, Mark Linder Production Eric W. Norlander, Editorial Production Manager; Aileen McCluskey, Production Associate Essential Guide For: Content Operations David Fox, Director; William Breglio, Content Production Manager Copy Noreen Browne, Alison France, Michael A. Goodman, Wendy Greenfield, Copy Editors Research Jane Healey, Associate Director; Sarah Goralski, Senior Researcher; David Schipper, t Product Ratings Senior Research Specialist; Kathleen Adams and Sharon Riley, Researchers Administration Decarris Bryant Contributing Writers Jeff Blyskal, Patricia Calvo, Dan DiClerico, Dani Forshay, Kimberly Goad, t&YUFSJPS*OUFSJPSQBJOU Gordon Hard, Sari Harrar, Joyce Hendley, Kimberly Janeway, Adam Kaplan, Amanda Lecky, Hallie Levine, Carol Mangis, Ed Perratore, Maria Ricapito, Amy Roberts, Nicole Sarrubbo, David Schipper, Ginger Skinner, Donna Tapellini, Jim Travers, Zoey Washington, t0VUEPPS4QBDFT James Willcox, Catherine Winters, Genevieve Yraola t #VZJOHBEWJDF ShopSmart (ISSN Violations of CR’s No Commercial Use policy 1932-3557) is published Our ratings and reports may not be used in by Consumer Reports, advertising. 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Available at bookstores or at A note about prices: Generally we list the amount that we paid for the featured product. © 2015 Consumer Reports ConsumerReports.org/books SSPUB02 CUSTOMER SERVICE You can contact us about your subscription by phone at 866-428-5812. 4 | CONSUMER REPORTS SHOPSMART 5 ways to shop smarter Give better wedding gifts. Used to be that if you didn’t know what to get a new bride 1 and groom, you were stuck buying an expensive place setting or gravy boat from an old-style department-store registry.