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Products to avoid in the EOFY sales

CHOICE experts name the products you should avoid, regardless of how cheap they are.

worst eofy buys westinghouse eko kitchen couture nescafe haier
Alice Richard
Last updated: 11 June 2024

Planning to buy a washing machine, TV, dishwasher, air fryer, stick vac or fridge in the end of financial year (EOFY) sales? 

There are some products you should avoid, even if they're massively discounted. It's hard to pass up a bargain, but these products just aren't worth it, no matter how tempting the sale price may be.

CHOICE has done the hard work for you so you don't end up with a dud in the sales. Our expert testers put household appliances through their paces in our labs so we know which ones are the good buys, and which ones to avoid. 

Plus, we have tips for how to save money on new appliances in the EOFY sales, as well as extra advice for shopping in the EOFY sales.

On this page:

Fridges

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Look out for poor-performing fridges with whopping price tags.

A fridge is often a grudge purchase, made hastily when your existing fridge dies. But if you're thinking ahead and want to upgrade your current fridge with a good deal from the sales, take a breath before you get swept up in the bargain frenzy.

If you shop without researching, you could end up with a fridge that'll cost you more in the long term in the form of big power bills and food that's gone off too quickly. 

You'll also lose out twice over if you buy an expensive fridge that performs poorly. Two such doubly disappointing fridges are an almost $4000 Smeg fridge and a $3000 Bosch model, which both scored just 43% overall. That's a big price tag for poor performance.

Their biggest sins? A temperature stability score of just 13% for the Bosch fridge and a shocking 0% on temperature stability for the Smeg fridge.

This metric measures how much the fridge temperature fluctuates. A low score means you can expect things like your ice cream melting and refreezing, or your food spoiling or not staying at safe temperatures to prevent food-borne illness. 

So for the low, low price of $3000, you can expect spoiled food or a delightful case of food poisoning.

Lowest rated fridges in our test:

westinghouse wwt8084j7wa

Even on sale, the Westinghouse WWT8084J7WA isn't a good buy.

Washing machines 

Let's be real: there's probably a thousand things you'd rather spend your money on than a washing machine. But if you're going to buy one, you might as well make sure it's good. 

A lacklustre washing machine won't only fail to make your whites whiter and your colours brighter, it'll chew through electricity and water – which will cost you (and the environment) even more in the long run. 

Check our washing machine reviews to make sure you're buying the best. 

Lowest scoring washers in our test:

original mattress factory refresh

The worst-performing mattresses in our test could leave you sleepless.

Mattresses

A mattress should last you about eight to 10 years. If you're clocking up the recommended eight hours' sleep each night, that means you'll be spending more than 29,000 hours up close and personal with your mattress. 

And some of them cost as much as $6000. This is one purchase you definitely don't want to mess up.

We use high-tech labs in Europe to test mattresses, assessing things like comfort, sagging, stabilisation, sweat resistance and more. 

One of the mattresses at the bottom of the heap costs nearly $3000 at full price, so it just goes to show there's no correlation between price and performance. 

In fact, all of these mattresses scored worse than a $365 foam mattress from Clark Rubber – which really demonstrates the value of doing your research before buying. 

Lowest scoring mattresses in our test:

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Don't be blinded by sales discounts - ensure you're buying a TV that's worth the cash.

TVs

Poor sound quality, so-so standard definition picture quality and humdrum high-def picture quality are some of the delights that await you if you buy a TV that performed poorly in our expert tests. 

TVs from Aldi's house brand Bauhn are often amongst our worst performers, but in our latest batch we also saw a poor showing from TCL and Samsung.

Lowest scoring TVs in our test:

Omega Benchtop Dishwasher ODW101W

'Very cheap to run' was about the only good thing our testers could say about this benchtop dishwasher from Omega.

Dishwashers

A good dishwasher will save you hours of slaving over a full sink. A bad one will create even more work for you and will empty your wallet. 

Our kitchen experts have tested almost 50 currently available dishwasher models, comparing them side-by-side on their ability to handle dried-on foods like egg yolk, spinach, butter, oats, rice starch and more. 

We've been doing this for decades, so we know exactly what makes a good dishwasher and what will leave you elbow-deep in greasy washing-up water. 

Lowest scoring dishwashers in our test:

nescafe dolce gusto piccolo xs 9781

If you think life is too short for bad coffee, you might want to leave these models on the shelf.

Coffee machines

If you're as serious about coffee as our experts are, then you'll know how important it is to buy a coffee machine that ticks all the boxes. 

Whether you're looking for a manual coffee machine so you can geek out on grinds, dosing and tamping, or you're a lazy coffee lover who just wants a caffeine hit at the press of a button, it's important to get it just right – is there anything worse than a bad coffee first thing in the morning? 

When we test coffee machines, we enlist industry experts to blind taste test coffee from each machine, and we also assess ease of use, milk frothing and temperature consistency in our testing labs. 

To make sure you don't end up with a dud machine that'll leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth, check out our reviews of coffee machines, along with our coffee grinder reviews. 

Lowest scoring coffee machines in our test:

fisher paykel de7060g2

Cheap to buy, but expensive to run: this Fisher & Paykel will cost you $1642 over 10 years to run.

Dryers 

The key to shopping for a clothes dryer is to find the sweet spot between quick drying and low energy use. There are a few different types of machines on the market, so if you're not sure what's best for you, check our clothes dryer buying guide first. 

There's also a little more to using a dryer than just chucking wet clothes in and pressing 'start': check out our laundry expert's tips to avoid dryer disasters.

One word of advice from our whitegoods expert Ashley Iredale: "Don't splurge on an expensive heat pump dryer if you don't use your dryer very often – they're more energy efficient than a vented dryer so they cost a lot less to run.

"But because they cost so much more to buy, unless you're using it regularly you may be better off overall buying a cheap and cheery vented number, as you might never make back the initial outlay."

Lowest scoring dryers in our test:

kitchen couture 34l air fryer black model no 301465

This Kitchen Couture air fryer is all style, no substance.

Air fryers

The kitchen appliance du jour is on many people's EOFY shopping list. 

Converts rave about their convenience, ease of use and ability to cook foods that previously could only be done in the oven – think marinated chicken wings, roast pork, chicken nuggets and more. 

Their running costs are also cheap as chips (air fried ones, naturally), so if you pick up a bargain air fryer you'll save at the till and hopefully on your power bill, too. 

However, not all of them live up to the hype. Here are the ones to avoid in the sales, no matter how cheap you find them. 

Lowest scoring air fryers in our test:

dirt devil cordless vacuum dsv22g2 ec223602245

Barely a pass mark: the Dirt Devil cordless vacuum scored just 50%.

Stick vacuums

A good stick vacuum can make quick cleans a breeze – but poor performers can give you the rough end of the stick. 

Our experts thoroughly tested more than 50 popular models, and found these sticks that you should give the flick. 

Seeing a Dyson on this list might surprise you. This model is designed solely for hard floors, so unsurprisingly it does a poor job on carpet. However, we also found it isn't great on hard surfaces either.

Lowest scoring stick vacs in our test:

We're on your side

In more than 60 years of making a difference for Australian consumers, we've never taken ads or sponsorship.

Instead we're funded by members who value expert reviews and independent product testing.

With no self-interest behind our advice, you don't just buy smarter, you get the answers that you need.

You know without hesitation what's safe for you and your family.

And you'll never be alone when something goes wrong or a business treats you unfairly.

Learn more about CHOICE membership today

We care about accuracy. See something that's not quite right in this article? Let us know or read more about fact-checking at CHOICE.

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

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