Yesterday, my husband and I were discussing how to clean the exterior windows of our house. The house sits on the side of a hill, so many of the windows are too far off the ground to reach. I suggested standing on a ladder and cleaning them. But, given that we’re both short people, my husband thought that was a very bad idea.
So, I researched options online and discovered a spray solution that involves a plastic canister, garden hose and “specially formulated crystals” to wash exterior windows. I showed my husband the ad, and he immediately said, “Great, buy it.” The product cost between $10 and $31, depending on the seller.
However, I run a company that reviews PreK-12 instructional materials. I believe in and have avoided many expensive mistakes by reading product reviews. So, I started reading the online reviews. After five minutes, I realized that this product was not worth our time or money. I showed him the reviews, and he agreed. We saved $31.
This experience reminded me of why we started Learning List. How many hundreds of thousands (even millions) of dollars has your district spent on materials that are gathering dust in closets or on warehouse shelves because they failed to live up to the product’s claims … of alignment, of rigor, or technology compatibility?
Make reading and comparing high quality, in-depth reviews an integral part of your purchasing process. If you read reviews for small purchases, doesn’t it make sense to read reviews when considering a multi-million dollar purchase with taxpayer funds? Learning List’s reviews and comparison tools will save your district money – both by reducing the amount of time staff spend reviewing materials themselves and by avoiding expensive mistakes. The $1 per student you invest in a Learning List subscription will yield far greater savings.
3 thoughts on “Save Time & Money: Read Reviews”
Comments are closed.