At first I thought what a great show this will be. I was very disappointed by the style it was presented in, apparently to engage and be popular to the younger generation. This was the wrong move by the producers its not the younger generation who are watching TV it is the Baby Boomers. Would have been a great show given the opportunity to be formatted in a different way. Perhaps big business also got to this show?
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Is it fact vs fiction and not style that is important? The once very popular program Top Gear had a style, but was more fiction than fact.
As I don’t know how the younger generation think it’s hard to be sure they were the main target. We have three children in the younger generation (in their 20’s) and none of them watched The Checkout. I’m well and truely a “baby boomer” from the 1950’s and enjoyed it immensely.
For some of us better versed in consumer law and knowledge of marketing, I’m not one who is. The program may have been a little simplistic in it’s messaging. It was certainly clear and memorable which is what matters most I feel. For those more cerebrally challenged there is always Gruen to feed the mind. Apparently you could alternately watch the televised sessions from our parliament if you have a need for greater style and fact?
For my partner also a “baby boomer” with more romantic viewing interests “The Checkout” doesn’t rate but neither do shows such as "The Bachelor. That’s OK with me and nothing to do with generations. Too much reality is the answer from one who doesn’t usually look at the prices in the super market, does not read the unit prices and prefers the long rolls because they need replacing less often. Her words not mine if you dare to hold it against us and post it to face book etc.
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Sad indeed. I will have to rely on Choice now. The Checkout complemented Choice very well. I am known as a Doubting Thomas. I wonder how many businesses brought pressure to bear?
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So wrong for this to happen. This show was for us. The government running s ared?
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I’m going to be the odd man out here, but I personally found the Checkout to be presented in a way which was too irritating to watch. Fabulous information, and great research, but just like Planet America, lost me as a viewer by presenting it in a “dumbed down” format. I’d love to see it restored, but in an adult format for adult viewers.
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Some of you are missing the point
It might not be everyones style but the point is they were highlighting the truth of products. I believe they just won a tv award and presume ratings are pretty decent, so you would think it would be one of the shows to be funded. But they probably have trod on some toes that have influence, the old story.
So the problem is how do we keep getting informed. Maybe Choice and checkout can get together in some way and create some outlet.
I am happy to pay more subscription if i get better informed about products and services. They would have to tone down the presentation to meet the expense, but thats ok the information is the main point.
A lot of products Choice test which are stated as recommended are not so good over time anyway i find and theres product reviews and other reviews to cover most products as well as over time. So i would personally like choice to become more like Checkout anyway. Being public funded you would hope there would be no negative influence. Theres no other way really.
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There are some really interesting options for having a limited content Choice Streaming Chanel or more imbedded video content available on the Choice web site.
Funding is certainly the biggest item to consider.
Availability of Content is not a likely concern.
Being legally challenged is certainly a risk.
There are some great examples on the web, although how you expand on line without advertising support is a unique challenge.
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The best program on all fronts - informative as well as hilarious.
I have signed the petition to Malcolm Turnbull: Do Not Allow the Axing of ABC’s “The Checkout” on :
https://www.change.org/search?q=ABC%20The%20Checkout
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The action of a government that cannot tolerate consumers who are informed or capable of critical thinking.
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There are far too many, 7 right now! I think that Change.org need to adopt a policy to prevent such proliferation.
I think I’ll vote on the most popular one.
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I too am sad to see The Checkout go. It informed. entertained and affirmed me in many of my opinions about consumer issues. I do think it may have gone over-the-top in trying to catch the attention of the younger audience in the end. Has anyone else seen RIp-off Britain? Definitely aimed at the “baby-boomers” and much more dignified in its presentation. It seems to successfully get the messages across and is required viewing for me when I am in the UK. It aims not only to highlight the issues but, also gives practical help to some consumers with difficult issues.
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I was not a fan but reading between the lines i feel the show was on it’s last legs anyway.Personally i think using budget cuts as a excuse is not correct
Been there, done that, but the request for ‘donations at the end’ at first glance was to promote The Checkout but after the fact it looks like a generic Change.org solicitation. Happy to help The Checkout any way I can, but I do not feel warm or fuzzy about possibly having been taken advantage of, so be cognisant.
edit: The thank you for a contribution is worded per: Your contribution goes towards featuring this petition XX more times on Change.org to potential supporters. What that means in practice is an exercise for the imagination but I interpret this as it goes toward the operation of the change.org platform and those ‘XX more times’ are nominally what my donation covers for their service.
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There is opportunity to also change the Checkout model which seemed a little tired in the last series.
Maybe a series where consumers with problems were followed to see if and how they obtained resolution under the ACL?
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Perhaps they could get some of their stories from the topics on this community. A great opportunity for CHOICE to grow it’s links perhaps.
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Great suggestion.
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Choice just asked me to vote on whether they should campaign to bring back the ABC show “The Checkout”. I voted Yes. But I need to seriously qualify that (there was no provision in the poll to make comments): the producers resorted to such a degree of “amusement” in their presentations that the underlying message often got lost. Tone it down a bit!
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I also think that short posts of it should be shown on social media, as is being done with different topics/tests by Choice. I am regularly astounded that many people have no awareness of their consumer rights: I think the more that Choice can do to improve awareness of them, the better!
And at the same time, hammer home Choice’s impartiality etc etc - I have read quite a few posts where people seem to think Choice is paid by producers/maufacturers for good reviews…
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I never watched it, because I never watch free to air television. It seems like a valid thing to keep though, in among the plethora of valueless rubbish I hear of from others whos lives are in a state where they have time to watch tele 
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