By Kate Harvey
Content Manager | Pou Whakahaere Ihirangi
We look at thousands of products each year and find plenty of duds that aren’t worth their price tag.
These seven are the ones that currently stick out as things you won’t catch us buying.
1. Carbon-zinc batteries
If a packet of batteries says carbon zinc, we put them back and look for alkaline ones instead. Carbon zinc batteries perform terribly compared to other types, despite often being labelled as 'heavy duty'. Some of them are even more expensive than alkaline ones, but alkaline batteries will last you much longer.
See the 6 disposable AA batteries we recommend you buy.
2. Vitamin gummies
Many brands of vitamin gummies contain added sugars but they don't have to say how much on the packaging. Our 2017 test found some gummies had more sugar than lollies. That’s just one of the 7 reasons to not waste your money on them.
3. Fabric softener
While this product might promise soft fluffy towels, there are too many downsides to fabric softener for us to use it. Fabric softeners can react with laundry detergent to create scrud in parts of your washing machine you can’t see. But even more worrying, they can make flame resistant fabrics, such as kids’ pyjamas, more flammable.
4. Laundry detergent sheets
On the topic of laundry, we also think you’re wasting your money if you buy detergent sheets. We tested two products in our latest laundry detergent test, where they claimed two of the lowest scores. Watch this space though, as we wouldn’t be surprised if laundry sheets become better over the next few years, given they’re still quite a new product.
Like the idea of throwing something in the wash instead of mucking around with liquid and powder? We found four types of laundry capsules we recommend.
5. Cold and flu medicines with phenylephrine
The US pharmacy chain CVS has announced it’ll no longer sell oral medicine that contains only phenylephrine because it’s ineffective. Unfortunately, cold and flu medicines containing phenylephrine are still being sold at supermarkets and pharmacies here. We think you’re better off taking a few days off work and using paracetamol and ibuprofen.
We’ve also looked at what the science says on other cold and flu remedies.
6. Printer cartridges
Your days of constantly buying pricey ink cartridges will be over if you make the move to a printer with refillable ink tanks. These printers cost more than a cartridge printer, but you won’t have to buy ink anywhere near as often, so they pay for themselves quickly.
See the 3 ink tank printers we recommend.
7. Extended warranties
Don’t pay hundreds of dollars for protection you already have under the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) by being talked into buying an extended warranty. The act gives you rights beyond the manufacturer’s warranty period anyhow. And your home and contents policy can be used to claim if you have an accident.
If you’re thinking about paying for an extended warranty, read about how to use the CGA and the times these warranties can be worth it in our guide.
Best and worst shops in New Zealand
The results are in. More than 3,000 of you have told us about your shopping experiences over the past year and we can now reveal the five stores that make buying a breeze.
