10 products to avoid in 2011

  It's the end of the year—time to reflect on our hits and misses. Consumers Union, publisher of ShopSmart, did this with more than 3,000 products and services for their January 2011 issue, to see how the items held up in lab settings and in real life. This year's list of 54 winners and 22 losers has several things we'd had our eye on, like the new ales and lagers from Costco's Kirkland brand ($18 for 24), tummy-flattening Levi Strauss & Co. Perfectly Slimming Jeans 512 ($44), and the expensive-but-gorgeous looking Dyson Air Multiplier fan ($300) all of which were on the "good buy" list. But these 10 products, including many as-seen-on-TV bargains, didn't make the cut.