When I first got here a couple of years ago, I was sent a free edition of Ktipp. Obviously they were looking for new subscribers.

I never read it, because at the time I couldn't read German. I can read German now and I received another such free teaser in the post. I have read it adn am actually quite pleased with it.

It includes product comparisons, from toilet paper to car insurance. It tells you all about how filthty spas are, how dangerous old piste lifts are etc. My Swiss GF looked at it and said to me 'ah, it saves me saying I told you so'.

Apparently you can buy it at Kiosk, the subscription will only make it marginally cheaper.

I think for the price (3:- but 10:- subscription will get you 7 editions) you can't really go wrong. I have seen some good information in them.

Are there any other Ktipp readers out there? Can you also recommend this publication?

Don't forget to watch Kassensturtz on SF as well. It's basically the television version of Ktipp (which they plug in every show). Unfortunately, it's mostly in Swiss German. (or fortunately, if you're trying to learn SG)

It's one of the better shows on Swiss television. They're a combination of consumer reports, 60-minutes, and occasionally run some humourous product tests and evaluations.

Yes, I am a regular subscriber. I find it to be very informative.

Yep we subscribed to it too, together with the Beobachter,the Beo is looking more into stuff that touches the legal side of things, worker's or tenants rights,inheritance and tax stuff. Whereas the K-tipp is more geared towards the consumer ( but both magazines carry other articles too)

There is also PC-Tipp, which covers all things Techie,Computer,newest soft and hardware and I am thinking of getting that as well, since my Pc crashed mightly two weeks ago I think they are very reasonably priced for the heap and bunches of info you can get from one issue only.

http://www.beobachter.ch/

http://www.ktipp.ch/

http://www.pctipp.ch/

There's also Saldo, a magazine similar to k-Tipp. Because much information is available on the internet, I'm just an occasional reader of the consumerism press now.

A Swiss French magazine of the same kind is Bon à Savoir.

I get/read both Ktipp and Beobachter occasionally. All in all, I think they are good publications.

But I have seen some articles and reports in both which tend to be slightly sensationalist (K-Tipp) or one-sided (Beobachter: online-shop bashing and questioning the necessity of children's therapies).

I particularly dislike the shopping basket comparisons of Migros, Coop, Aldi and co, which are really not comparable. If you do go for the cheapest basket, you'll probaby pay more in petrol in getting there.

So, whilst lapping up the information, try to think if there is another side to the story, too... You never know who is the lobbying force behind the stories.

Ktip started as a paper version to Kassenstutz. Then there was a fall-out between the creators of Kassenstutz so Saldo was created. Now they all exist in peace and harmony and are all great sources of usefull information to Swiss daily life. Defenitely a recommended read.

They translate quite well using Google language tools.

dave

Are there equivalents to, say, Which? Magazine - either online or printed - in Switzerland?

I came across ktipp.ch. Is that my best bet?

Right now, I am interested in a microwave oven.

If you understand French, there's Bon à Savoir, which has good reviews and comparisons.

Ktipp is your best bet.

I find K-Tipp to be an excellent consumer magazine and their subscription rates are very reasonable.

for 20 annual issues:

1 year = 31.50chf
2 year = 58.- chf.

kTipp is good. Some of the material is derived from the Swiss TV program "Kassensturtz" (broadcast every Tuesday at 9PM). Associated with kTipp are the magazines kGeld (focus financial topics) and Gesundheit Puls (health topics).

Addendum: kTipp has an online database of all published previous reports. Subscribers can search and read the contents of several years.

If German language is not an issue you might want to look at these sites:

Ciao (German test site with lots of reviews)

Testberichte (German site, not so many reviews)

I also often go to Amazon (co.uk or .de) just to start off with.

If you do your research on a German site you will have to take into account that some manufacturers' products may not be available in Switzerland. So it's best to do a quick CH-google for availability, before reading all the reviews.

Thanks for those German links.

I wanted to avoid that because (I might be wrong) it's difficult to compare stuff side by side. Also, I'm inclined to distrust customer reviews.

Are they print only? I tried to subscribe, but it looked like there was only the print version to pay for. I know I can pay per article, but coughing up CHF 21 for a year is not a big deal.

I have a subscription to the printed version, I never look at the site. Being that I'm a non-native German speaker I find K-Tipp an easy to read publication as the articles are very direct and to the point.

You subscribe for print. You then also get free access to the internet version. And access to the database of older articles going back many years.

I like the Beobachter when you subscribe to it you have a host of experts you can ask questions. Only in German though.