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A father and two sons go shopping for household appliances in a large warehouse store

Savvy consumers consider price, performance and reliability when making a major purchase, such as a car or home appliance. The greatest of these is reliability — particularly lately.

Supply chain disruptions can mean long waits for parts or replacements if something breaks. Getting a new refrigerator, dishwasher or other major appliance now often takes weeks or even months, says Paul Hope, home and appliances writer for Consumer Reports. Plus, the microchip shortage means many manufacturers prioritize making their most expensive models, which are typically the most profitable, Hope says.

“It’s getting increasingly difficult to get some of the inexpensive models of any given product,” Hope says.

Even in normal times, of course, you don’t want to waste money on unreliable products. Plus, buying stuff that’s built to last can help save money and create less waste.

“It's a huge expense to have to replace products prematurely. It's also extremely detrimental to the environment,” Hope says.

Finding truly reliable and durable products isn’t always easy, however. You might assume that more expensive products will last longer, but that isn’t necessarily the case. For example, you can spend $5,000 or more on a premium range that breaks down frequently or $850 on one that provides years of trouble-free use.

“We actually find that many of the pro-style range brands are some of the least reliable products that we test,” Hope says. “On the contrary, we often find very good performance out of very inexpensive brands.”

Consumer-generated reviews, like those on Amazon, may alert you to products that break quickly or don’t perform as expected. But such reviews can be skewed by a grumpy few who had bad experiences or a torrent of fake reviews designed to boost a product’s star rating.

To create reliability ratings that are actually, well, reliable, you need large sets of data. Consumer Reports surveys tens of thousands of people each year about their experiences with various products. Similarly, J.D. Power, which rates cars, bases its dependability ratings on reports from more than 80,000 owners of 3-year-old vehicles, who detail the type and number of problems they’ve encountered in the previous 12 months.

Even then, reliability ratings are predictions, not guarantees. You might luck out and have a great experience with a product that’s usually flawed or get the rare lemon in a product line that’s generally solid.

So it’s also important to check out a product’s warranty. A long warranty can signal a company’s confidence in its product’s reliability. (You can typically add a year to a manufacturer’s warranty, by the way, if you purchase the item with a credit card that offers such extended protection as a benefit.)

A one- or two-year warranty is standard for major appliances, but some brands offer longer guarantees on certain parts, Hope says. An LG refrigerator typically has a one-year general warranty for parts and labor, for example, but compressors, which circulate the refrigerant, may be under warranty for five or even 10 years.

Lifetime warranties are obviously the gold standard, although companies differ considerably in their definition of “lifetime.” With Craftsman hand tools, for instance, “lifetime” essentially means indefinitely. According to the company’s site, if a Craftsman wrench, screwdriver, hammer or other hand tool “fails to perform for any reason,” the company will replace it, with or without a receipt.

Meanwhile, Manduka, a manufacturer of yoga supplies, offers a lifetime warranty for many of its mats — but it’s for the expected 10-year lifetime of the mat, not your lifetime. Some lifetime guarantees are limited to defects in materials and manufacture, not normal wear and tear.

Some products are better built than ever before. Cars used to be ready for the junkyard at around 100,000 miles, but you can expect a typical new car to last over 200,000 miles, or roughly 15 years of average driving, without major problems if it’s well maintained, according to J.D. Power. The average price Americans paid for new cars exceeded $47,000 last year, according to Kelley Blue Book, so hanging onto your cars longer can be a smart financial decision.

Other products may not last as long as their predecessors, which means we have to budget for more frequent replacements. Your grandma’s clothes washer or refrigerator may have chugged along for 30 or 40 years, but most major appliances these days have an expected life span of around 10 years, according to Consumer Reports.

That said, today’s products may offer energy savings, convenience and technology the older versions lacked. A new refrigerator is typically twice as large as the workhorses from the 1970s and runs on a fraction of the electricity, Hope says. Many have ice and water dispensers. Some have smartphone apps, interior cameras and internet connectivity so you can check the contents of your fridge while you’re standing in the supermarket.

“Yes, things have become a little bit more disposable, but they actually have become far better in a lot of ways,” Hope says.

Consider having your sale near a common payday (the first or 15th of the month). Avoid scheduling your sale on a holiday weekend or during a widely attended community event.

Walk through every room with a laundry basket and grab what you no longer need.

Plan sufficient time to prep items. Clean, tidy items will sell faster than ones where the buyer will have to do extra work.

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

Pick a spot, such as a basement or spare bedroom, as a staging area. Organize according to function: kitchen, clothing, books and music, toys and tools.

Photo by HiveBoxx on Unsplash

Use preprinted price tags from an office supply or hardware store, or ink the price on painter’s tape, which won’t leave a mark or tear paper. If you have an interesting idea about how to use an item or a fun fact about what you’re selling, include that information on the price tag.

Have these essentials at the ready on sale day: tape measure, yardstick, calculator, extension cord and batteries (so shoppers can make sure items work).

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Make your signs big, bold and easy to read. Use wording such as “HUGE sale TODAY.” Tie balloons to your mailbox or a highly visible spot near the street.

Follow local ordinances, and include grocery stores and coffee shops in your plans. Yard sale signs should feature directional arrows, cross streets and time and date information. If you have toys or children’s clothing, post a sign near area playgrounds.

List your sale on gsalr.com, a site that helps people plan their shopping by finding sales on a map. Also post in the Garage Sale section on Craigslist, cross-referencing items in special categories.

A yard sale is a two-person-minimum job. One person should tend to the checkout while the other helps shoppers.

Have plenty of grocery bags and boxes — anything that will make it easy for shoppers to tote things home. Rubber bands and string are helpful to bundle loose items.

A day or two before the sale, get plenty of small bills and coins from a bank. Keep money to make change in a tackle box, a cupcake pan or a fanny pack.

Shoppers can’t resist a final opportunity to dig for a deal. Likewise, make a “free with purchase” box and include small stuffed animals, children’s books, bouncy balls, bags of loose crayons and other similar items. Young shoppers will appreciate a little token.

People will be enticed to stop in rather than cruise by.

Designate sections for housewares, media, clothing and toys.

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Adult clothing can be the hardest thing to sell, but it has a better chance of moving if you merchandise it well. Use a garment rack, clothesline or ladder.

This technique works on the subconscious: shoppers think your items are worth the price you ask. Place items at eye-level.

Photo by Simone Pellegrini on Unsplash

Wrap a section of cardboard with fabric and pin pieces to it to show off small items. Keep anything valuable near the checkout.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

People will need to walk past everything else to get to these popular items.

It gives the eye something to see beyond the tables. And on the tables, create varied levels by using supports, such as small covered boxes. The changes in height force the eye to stop rather than simply scan.

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press. 

Liz Weston, CFP® writes for NerdWallet. Email: lweston@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lizweston.

The article How to Buy Stuff That Lasts originally appeared on NerdWallet.

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A father and two sons go shopping for household appliances in a large warehouse store

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