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That’s what it says on the front of the 2009 Consumer Action Handbook, and that’s what this book is trying to help us all become. Created by the GSA ( U.S. General Services Administration) Federal Citizen Information Center in conjunction with several other federal agencies and corporations...
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It's actually not that hard to find recent user manuals online, using Google. But the MakeUseOf blog has linked to a site that not only provides access to a bunch of manuals in one convenient place, but also allows you to register and then store all of your virtual manuals in a "filing cabinet...
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A customer was in today looking for the book she used many years ago to buy a new car. The book gave a breakdown for each model, what the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price was, and what the vehicle actually cost the dealer, showing her how much room there was to negotiate a lower price. We finally...
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One of the library's most requested resources, Consumer Reports magazine, is now available online . Not only do the magazine's articles appear here, all of the product testing and review information is archived there as well. This is sure to become one of the most used databases available at...
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It seems that the more prominently web-based a business is, the harder it is to contact customer service, particularly a human via telephone. A website called ContactHelp maintains a database of tricks for bypassing the customer service circus and getting to a real person. Just type the company name...
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Having second thoughts about buying a new car this year, but need to replace your old one? In the October 2008 issue, Consumer Reports said "choosing a three-year-old car instead of a new one can save you thousands of dollars over the first five years." But choosing and buying a used car can...
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The Indiana State Department of Health is urging Hoosiers to routinely check the growing list of products and brands associated with the expanded Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) voluntary recall, which now has reached more than 2,000 items. A complete product listing is available here . State health...
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The "Webware" blog at CNET has an excellent post about finding how-to-do-it information on the web . For a variety of sites such as eHow , Howcast , and Instructables , the author assesses the quality of the instruction, the level of expertise and authority, and is especially concerned whether...
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The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was scheduled to become law on February 10th of this year, and it had librarians all over the country worried, in that it would have required every book in the children's library - and possibly in the entire library - to be tested for the presence...
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We often talk to people at the library who are confused about how to get their free annual credit reports . The source of the confusion is almost certainly the ubiquitous commercials for a site called freecreditreport.com. That site is owned by one of the standard credit bureaus, Experian, which has...