About UsCostHelper launched in November 2007 to help people know how much they should pay for hard-to-price goods and services. Our team researches projects like painting a house or buying a wedding cake and provides price guidelines for how much people should expect to pay. Once that information is on the CostHelper website, our community of users contribute how much they've paid, give advice, and ask questions. To our knowledge, we are the first site of our kind to offer cost information about a variety of services.Our ValuesFrom the outset, we wanted to make sure we gave objective, honest information. By following a publishing model like a newspaper or a magazine, we have the independence to give readers honest and complete information. Many other websites that advertise similar information don't list the do-it-yourself option (when it's appropriate), but CostHelper covers all the choices because we think that is what is in our readers' best interest.Our staff created our Editorial Ethics Policy, and all of our writers are required to follow it. While the website is supported by ads, all of the links within the articles are there because our writers felt they provided the best information for our readers. Any advertisement or sponsorship is kept separate, and our writers are not permitted to accept any outside gifts or other financial consideration to influence our content. Our PeopleMost of our writers have a newspaper journalism background. We carefully vet new writers to find ones who can figure out tough prices like car repairs and home improvements, and we work with them over time so they can specialize in and explore interests like dog care, tattoos, and gardening.All of our writers have been based in the United States because we focus on providing accurate US prices. When we research shopping for a service, our writers can drive out and talk to people face-to-face or look at products on the shelves. And when we write about taking a cat to a local vet or getting a cavity filled, we can often use our own life experiences. CostHelper's founder, Ed Lee, previously worked at leading technology companies including Intuit, Oracle, and Microsoft. He uses CostHelper to find things like How Much Does a Car Window Cost, and How Much Does Dog Grooming Cost, but he's also used CostHelper.com to research the prices for wedding cakes, baby delivery and childcare. He graduated with degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Stanford University. We hope you find our website helpful and that you'll share information about your purchases and shopping experiences. We are working on a lot of new things to make the site even more complete and more helpful, and we are excited about our future plans. Get active on the website -- share your purchase details using the form at the end of each article; or send us an email using our contact form. Our offices are located in Silicon Valley at: |
