Is Angie’s List Worth the Membership Price?

Angie’s List is Web site in which consumers share their reviews of thousands of home improvement and repair companies. The site offers chapters in more than 120 major cities. The purpose of Angie’s List is to give consumers the opportunity to share unbiased reviews of these companies. To see the reports on Angie’s List you have to pay a membership fee. Is it worth it?

The membership fees vary from city to city, but range between $59 and $67 annually plus a one-time $15 sign up fee.

I signed up last winter in hopes of finding companies to refinish my bathtub, remove some concrete in my backyard and stain my deck among other projects. As I wasn’t ready to make any home improvements until the spring I browsed the site for the time being. I was impressed with the number of businesses already reviewed on the site in my area- Metro Detroit.

I found the Angie’s List site easy to navigate. If you’re looking for someone to do landscaping, it is easy to pull up a list of reviews within a minute or two. If the company provides more than one home improvement service, the other services are listed as well. However, I found that a few listings of interest that were not up-to-date on the contact information.

As a consumer you can read the reviews as well as submit your own report. You can help others by warning them about poor service. You can also praise a company for excellent work. Each listing allows you can see how far a company is from your home and if they offer any discounts to Angie’s List members.

One thing I like about Angie’s List is that it sends members a small monthly magazine. I like to flip through these for home improvement ideas and tips. I also like that if you have a complaint about a company Angie’s List representatives will try resolve the problem on your behalf. Also if a company is aware that you’re a member of Angie’s List they may make more of an effort provide quality service.

Overall: As for whether or not the Angie’s List membership is worth the price I will say that you can find reputable service by word-of-mouth if you’re only going to need a job or two done a year. In fact, I found a company to do most of the work I mentioned above through the referral of a coworker. If you have a lot of home improvement jobs planned for the year, Angie’s List could save you a bit of time searching the Internet and phone book.