8 of the worst products we've tested

After that will come the Boxing Day and then January sales. No matter how cheap these 8 products get though, we think you’re better off avoiding them. Our test team have given them some of the lowest scores on our website. 

JBL Wave Flex 2 ($100) 

We’ve got test results for 148 headphones, so if you’re thinking of getting some in the sales, we can help you find a good buy. But these JBL in-ear headphones are definitely not worth your money. They got the worst overall score in our test. Their sound quality is terrible, and they were uncomfortable to wear. There are a few other in-ear headphones around the same price that earned our Consumer Recommended tick you could look at instead.  

Sunbeam Café Barista EM5000 ($301)

One of the worst espresso coffee machines we’ve tested is this widely available Sunbeam model. Our expert taste-testing panel rated the coffee it makes as terrible. You can do much better in the sales. Some of our Consumer Recommended coffee machines are around the $500 mark. Their price is sure to drop over the next few weeks. Get ready to hit the sales by checking out which coffee machines we think are the best. 

Withings Scanwatch Light ($479) and Scanwatch 2, 38mm ($669) 

These two smartwatches share our lowest scores. They’re both very inaccurate at heart-rate tracking. We give smartwatches a score for the usefulness of their smart features, like calling and messaging – and these Withings watches got terrible scores. You can spend less and get a much better watch by checking out our test of smartwatches and fitness trackers.   

Baccarat ID3 hard anodised saucepan with lid, 20cm/3.7L ($190) 

For such an expensive saucepan, you’d expect the best. But this one’s induction area doesn’t go right to the edge and doesn’t cook evenly. Price is no guarantee when it comes to saucepans – some of our favourites are very cheap. We’ve given this Baccarat one the lowest score in our saucepan test. 

Bosch WQG24200AU ($1,734)

You’ll be waiting 4 hours for your load of washing to dry in this Bosch dryer. It’s one of the reasons we’ve given it such a low score. There are much cheaper dryers, including one that’s under $600, that will do the job heaps faster. You’ll find them at the top of our clothes dryer test results.  

Haier HRF454TW3 top-mount fridge ($1,367)

You wouldn’t catch us buying this fridge-freezer. It's poor at minimising temperature fluctuations, and owners of Haier fridges report the lowest satisfaction with their purchase. This fridge-freezer ended up with the lowest score out of the dozens we’ve tested. There are other fridge-freezers around the same price that get some of the highest scores in our fridge test results.  

Living & Co Multi-Cyclonic bagless, corded vacuum ($99) 

It’s one of the cheapest vacuums we’ve tested, but unfortunately this vac from The Warehouse also gets our lowest score. The good news is, you can get a much better vacuum for no more than $200 by taking a look at our vacuum test results. 

Amazon Echo Pop ($87) and Echo Dot (5th gen) ($87)

Their low price might tempt you when you’re walking around the tech stores. But step away from these speakers. You can definitely do much better than these little Amazon ones. Out of the 68 Bluetooth speakers we’ve tested, they share the worst score. You’ll find some much better and cheaper ones in our Bluetooth speakers test.