Every year, our experts test and review thousands of products from hundreds of brands to help you find the best.

They assess appliances, groceries, tech, insurance and more to sort out the great-value buys from the duds that just aren't worth your money.

On this page:

• Bad-value contents insurance
• Cheap but disappointing TVs
• Washed-up cleaning products
• Baby products that fail key safety tests

Bad-value contents insurance

Taking out insurance is always a cost-versus-reward balancing act: is paying for insurance worth the peace of mind? If you need to make a claim, is the amount you'll get back proportionate to what you're paying out in premiums?

This balance is especially important right now, when cost of living and astronomical rents and house prices are squeezing and even crushing many of us.

That's why it's so important to make sure you're getting value for money in any insurance product you buy. Policies that cost a fortune but don't provide much cover particularly grind our gears because we think it's only fair that you should get what you pay for.

If you've decided you want to take out contents insurance (and you can afford it), there are some policies we recommend you steer well clear of – they're either overpriced, or don't give you much cover, or both.

GIO sells three levels of home insurance: Classic, Classic Extras and the top-shelf cover Platinum. That last one may be platinum by name, but it's barely stainless steel (at best) by nature.

Our experts rate it 1% on price. And that doesn't mean it's cheap: the higher the price score a policy receives, the cheaper it is compared to others. 

To put this into perspective, some of the best policies are rated 90% and higher for price. And the next-lowest score for price after these two policies is 37% – so GIO Platinum isn't just expensive compared to others, it's wildly expensive.

GIO is selling a policy that offers quite good cover but at a price that should send you running in the other direction

Daniel Graham, CHOICE home insurance expert

"When we look at pricing we score policies on how affordable they are for the two groups of people who usually buy contents insurance: renters and strata owner-occupiers. For both groups GIO Platinum scored 1% on price," says CHOICE home insurance expert Daniel Graham. 

"When it comes to making this policy competitive on price, GIO seems to have thrown in the towel. When we last looked at contents insurance, GIO Platinum was the most expensive policy in 97% of the 3858 scenarios we obtained quotes for. 

"While you've got to respect the consistency, it means GIO is selling a policy that offers quite good cover but at a price that should send you running in the other direction."

Cheap but disappointing TVs

Everyone loves a bargain, but the thrill of snagging a steal will be short-lived if you buy a TV from Aldi or Big W.

Aldi TVs make regular appearances in our list of TVs to avoid buying, and the two Big W TVs we recently tested are the telly equivalents of straight-to-video movies. Our reviews don't paint a pretty picture of their performance.

Both Big W and Aldi make big screens at small prices, but they're still not worth buying.

Their prices may be hard to beat, but their scores most definitely aren't. The Big W and Aldi Bauhn TVs we've tested are only rated as OK by our experts, and generally sit at the bottom of the leaderboard for TVs their size. Read our expert analysis of Aldi TVs here.

If you're looking for a big screen on a small budget, there are better options than Aldi and Big W TVs

Denis Gallagher, CHOICE tech expert

"Whenever we've tested TVs from Big W and Aldi's house brand Bauhn, they've been among the lowest scorers," says CHOICE tech expert Denis Gallagher.

"They deliver underwhelming picture quality in both standard and high definition and sound quality that definitely won't be music to your ears.

"If you're looking for a big screen on a small budget, there are better options than Aldi and Big W TVs."

These are the ones not to watch:

EKO K420FAT 42 inch LCD TV (Big W)

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 58%
• Price: $269

Bauhn (Aldi) ATV58UHDC-0517 58 inch LCD TV*

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 59%
• Price: $799

Konka UDE50QR315ANT 50 inch LCD TV (Big W)

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 61%
• Price: $389

Bauhn (Aldi, with WebOS) ATV40UHDW-0124 40 inch LCD TV*

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 61%
• Price: $329

Bauhn (Aldi) ATVUHD48-0417 48 inch LCD TV*

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 62%
• Price: $499

Bauhn (Aldi) ATV65UHDG 65 inch LCD TV*

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 62%
• Price: $699

*These TVs have since been discontinued, but we're listing them here to give you an idea of how Aldi TVs generally perform. (We get the latest Aldi Bauhn models in for testing whenever we can get our hands on them.)

Washed-up cleaning products

Never-ending cleaning chores are one of the least fun parts of being an adult, so anything that makes this soul-sucking task even more sucky gets a big thumbs down from us.

These products performed so poorly that you'll have to use your own elbow grease to actually get things clean.

Steer clear of these products – they'll lighten your wallet but do the opposite for your cleaning workload.

Lucent Globe dishwasher detergent sheets ranked last in our tests.

Dishwasher detergent sheets

On the face of it, dishwasher sheets sound like a brilliant invention: biodegradable, plastic-free, low-allergenic and less packaging than traditional dishwasher detergents.

But while they tick the boxes for enviro-friendliness, they're not quite there in terms of performance. 

In our testing, Lucent Globe Ultra Concentrated Dishwashing Detergent Sheets scored just 30%. The second-lowest score (33%) also went to a detergent sheet product: Earth Rescue Dishwasher Detergent Sheets.

They were the lowest scoring detergents by quite a margin, with the next-worst product coming in at 44%. 

For a dishwasher detergent that actually works, go for Aldi's Logix Platinum 18 in 1 Dishwashing Tablets, which tied for first place with a score of 76%. (Plus they cost just 26 cents a wash.)

If you're looking for a greener option, try Ecostore Ultra Power Dishwasher Tablets, which shared the top spot with Aldi and a Finish Powerball product that costs almost twice as much per wash.

Bloody Awesome? Not according to our tests.

Stain removers

Some products are worth every cent you pay for them, but some products are the complete opposite. And it turns out money can't buy you laundry love. 

The lowest scoring powder in our stain remover tests was one of the most expensive: Bloody Awesome Laundry Stain & Odour Remover. 

It's $3.20 per 100g, so the 500g pack will cost you $16 at the checkout. Ouch!

Admittedly, it did work better than soaking with just plain water but it did barely any more for removing stains than running a regular wash with laundry detergent. 

You might as well not add it to your wash for all the good it'll do to your stained clothes. 

You might as well not add it to your wash for all the good it'll do to your stained clothes

If you're trying to save money by buying home brand products, unfortunately supermarket powders won't do much for stains either: products from IGA, Coles and Woolworths were among the lowest scoring soakers.

These are the powders to cross off your laundry list:

• Bloody Awesome Laundry Stain & Odour Remover (CHOICE Expert Rating: 56%)
• Community Co Loads Cleaner Oxy Action Multi-Action In-Wash Booster & Soaker (59%)
• Woolworths Clean Laundry Soaker and In-Wash Booster (60%)
• Black & Gold Laundry Sanitiser, Soaker and In-Wash Booster (60%)
• Woolworths Clean Boost In-Wash Booster, Soaker & Stain Remover (61%)

Some pre-wash stain remover sprays were even less effective: our tests showed that some sprays were barely any better than not using a stain remover at all. 

Here's how they compared to washing with only laundry detergent:

• Laundry detergent only (no stain remover) (CHOICE Expert Rating: 56%)
• Earth Choice Ultra Power Stain Remover (57%)
• Magic Solvent-Power Stain Remover (58%)
• Oz Kleen Prewash Power Amazing Stain Remover (59%)
• The Pink Stuff The Miracle Laundry Oxi Stain Remover (60%)
• StainGo Stain Remover Spot and Prewash (60%)

A special mention goes to StainGo Stain Remover Spot and Prewash for being the most expensive spray we tested while simultaneously being one of the lowest-scoring. It's a steep $9 for a 200mL bottle (that's $4.50 per 100mL – almost a full dollar per 100mL more than the next most expensive spray) but was barely better than not using anything.

It won't do much to get the stains out of your clothes, but it'll certainly remove money from your wallet.

Find out more about the best and worst stain removers.

Baby products that fail key safety tests

Sweet dreams definitely aren't made of the portable cots and prams that failed key safety requirements in our testing. 

CHOICE testing uncovered multiple portacots that pose suffocation risks because of mattresses that don't fit properly or are too soft, and head and limb entrapment hazards. And 18 of the 16 prams we tested have serious fall, head entrapment, strangulation and other risks.

We consider all of these issues to be serious safety failures.

Even a $2699 price tag doesn't mean a product is safe.

Prams

Almost 30% of the 61 prams we tested failed to meet key safety requirements. 

Like portacots, prams sold in Australia need to meet mandatory safety standards, but we test to a voluntary standard that's more stringent to assess whether products are safe.

"While the CHOICE labs have seen an overall improvement in pram safety, there are still many models on sale which have serious fall, head entrapment, strangulation and other risks. In fact, 18 out of 61 models in our latest review failed our key safety tests," says CHOICE testing expert Kim Gilmour.

In case you're thinking that spending more will buy you a safer pram, think again: models at both ends of the price spectrum failed our safety tests, from $179 cheapies all the way up to a designer pram costing $2699.

These are some of the lowest-scoring prams we tested that have serious safety issues. Click through to see full reviews and risks.

• iCandy Peach 7 ($2699)
• Silver Cross Wave 3 ($1899)
• Kmart Anko Compact Stroller – also available at Target ($179)
• Mamakiddies Reverso II ($179)
• Pouch 2 in 1 ($360)

These five prams are among our lowest scoring, but our testing has identified others that also have serious safety failures, many of them still on the market, and some of them costing well over $1000.

Check our pram and stroller reviews to make sure you're buying a model that's safe for your baby.

Our experts found six serious safety failures in the Vevor portacot when they tested it in our labs.

Portable cots

A portable cot (also known as a travel cot or portacot) is a handy item to have in the first few years of your child's life.

It's great for holidays and sleepovers, and a convenient option if you want a second, collapsible cot at the grandparents' or another carer's house.

But CHOICE experts recommend proceeding with caution when you're buying a portacot, as many popular brands pose serious safety risks to babies.

"We regularly test a selection of portable cots currently available on the Australian market in our labs," says Kim.

"More than half of these products failed key safety requirements in our tests, which is a really disappointing result. Unfortunately, this is something we are used to seeing with this particular baby product.

There are still many models failing to even meet the minimum mandatory requirements

Kim Gilmour, CHOICE household expert

"We assess all models in our labs against a voluntary Australian safety standard for portable cots which goes above and beyond mandatory requirements. But there are still many models failing to even meet the minimum mandatory requirements, such as mattress firmness," says Kim.

Find out the portable cots to avoid buying.

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

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