You can substantially improve your chances of spending your money wisely if you consult your fellow customers first—by checking into a crowdsourced review site like TripAdvisor (vacation spots and hotels), Yelp (restaurants), IMDB or RottenTomatoes (movies), Edmunds (cars), Angie's List (contractors), Amazon (books) and so on.

But those are the big-name review sites—just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. For everything you might spend money on, somebody has set up a Web site where fans and foes can exchange reviews. Here are just a few:

• Recipes (Epicurious.com). Here it is, one of the Internet’s most useful clearinghouses of recipes. Recipes are backed up by photos, videos, a place for you own notes—and reviews by people who’ve made the recipes in question. (“Well, I have to agree with all other reviews. This was without doubt the best roast chicken I ever cooked. I am now wondering if it would work for turkey.”)

• Musical instruments (Harmonycentral.com). Click "User Reviews" to read the tales of veterans who’ve already bought these horns, drums, guitars, keyboards and headphones, so you’ll know what you’re getting into. (“The action is heavy, much heavier than many of the newer Digital Pianos; it [weighs] a ton…. It needs a Z-stand or it would just break the X-stand.”)

• Online stores (ResellerRatings.com). Suppose some Web store is offering you a great price on something. How do you know if you’re in for some grey-market scariness? Check here first to make sure the store has a good track record. (“I canceled an order before it even shipped…and was not given a refund. After long hours on hold, dealing with rude and dismissive customer service, and just plain being ignored, I finally left it to my credit-card company to deal with.”)

• Movies on DVD (Netflix.com). Most people think of Netflix as a place to rent DVDs by mail (or stream movies), but the consumer ratings of the movies are often more literate and thoughtful than those at the big-name movie-ratings sites like IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes. (“A house lifted from its foundation by an enormous collection of balloons. If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to get past that concept, then you have a real treat on your hands.”)

• Makeup (MakeupAlley.com). Find find out how good some makeup product is before you shell out for it. (“I am in love with this foundation. [It] blends onto my skin so easily and sinks in like no other, it gives the most healthy and beautiful glow without [looking] oily…. [Ask] for a sample to see if you like it first, because this foundation is verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry expensive.”)

• Doctors (ZocDoc.com). There are plenty of doctor-rating sites, but many of them stir up only people who’ve had bad experiences. ZocDoc accepts reviews only from patients who’ve actually seen the doctors. It also lets you book an appointment with one click. Available in only five major cities so far. (“He is gentle, remembers [my children’s] names, does not rush, speaks to us appropriately, and returns his own calls. He is truly a class act and a spectacular doctor all around.”)

• Frequent-flyer programs (Flyertalk.com). Yes, there’s even a site where people rate frequent-flyer programs. ‘Nuff said. (“Delta offers award seats at more than one redemption level. A business class transatlantic trip requires 50,000, 100,000 or 162,500 miles in each direction.”)

15 Comments

1. 1. rachher20 04:30 PM 6/23/11

   Thanks for this article. I was looking for a <a href="http://rpsmiles.com">dentist</a> and I logged onto zocdoc.com. It really helped me find a great dentist! I am really pleased with my dentist. It was a great site to use. I highly recommend this site to others.

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2. 2. PremierAutoBody 09:27 AM 11/29/11

   Great article. Great sites. We are Premier Auto Body. We are located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Specializing in auto body repairs, automotive services, auto body paint and collision repair. We offer fast and accurate collision services.Our shop has state-of-the-art equipment - downdraft spray bake booth, 5 angle cameras, as well as Chief E-Z Liner with a measuring system. With that being said we have a lifetime guarantee on paint and body repairs as long as you own your vehicle. Check us out at http://www.premierautobodyva.com.

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3. 3. rbchurst 11:03 AM 12/20/11

   Great article! I will have to check some of these sites out. I want to find someone that does home staging, so hopefully there are some reviews for that!
   
   
   
   
   http://www.myenglishtouch.com

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4. 4. 1plus19 11:52 AM 12/21/11

   This article is really helpful. But in addition I would to recommend this review site also: http://www.customerreview.com.au

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5. 5. justmoretravel 12:38 PM 1/7/12

   Thanks for these great links. I mainly use FlyerTalk because I'm into travel and own my own travel site (http://www.justmoretravel.com), but I can definitely find uses for the other customer review sites.
   
   Thanks for the read.

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6. 6. JeffDavey88 05:19 PM 6/11/12

   Are there sites that deal with home repair and cleaning reviews such as <a href="http://asapamelia.com">carpet cleaning</a> and window cleaning? It would be useful to know the quality of companies before one spends more money then needed on mediocre or worse service. If anyone knows, please share! Thanks!

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7. 7. JeffDavey88 05:21 PM 6/11/12

   oops! links didn't work. This is a place I'd check out,
   http://asapamelia.com/

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8. 8. WhoRatesIt 08:52 PM 7/3/12

   Nice list of review sites. For USB 3.0 flash drives I always use:
   
   http://www.whoratesit.com/Best-Flash-Drive/Comparison/1
   
   rgds

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9. 9. tinadole123@gmail.com 03:51 PM 8/6/12

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10. 10. tinadole123@gmail.com 06:51 PM 8/14/12

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11. 11. gingersanders2 03:33 PM 9/13/12

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12. 12. SamMaclaren22 01:42 PM 11/13/12

    I need some info on, <a href="http://WWW.ramelectricsummerville.com">hvac summerville</a>.

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13. 13. thiagodaluz7 02:21 PM 4/15/13

    I can definitely get behind what was said about Netflix, and if as much thought has gone into the other subjects, I think we can rely on those sites to. I've actually used zoodoc, too, to find <a href="http://ptnorthwest.com">physical rehabilitation Salem Oregon</a>. We've got a winner on our hands, folks.

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14. 14. thiagodaluz7 03:59 PM 4/25/13

    I spend about fifteen minutes trying to find an<a href="http://www.astrokeofcolor.net">Overland Park painting company</a> with zoodoc, but finally remembered that its for finding medical help. Heh, how things work.

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15. 15. robinzgoda 12:15 PM 4/26/13

    I'm looking for a reliable <a href="http://www.iconservicehvac.com/services/">hvac contractor in North Aurora,</a> but I'm not sure where to begin. Any suggestions?

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