I haven't used it, but I know people who have and were happy with it. If it saves you from making one mistake, I think it's money well-spent. And, unless they've changed the web site recently, you can dig through the menus to see what companies are reviewed in your area for free. You could call their toll-free number to get details if you can't figure out the steps. Finally, I believe that they have a money-back guarantee on membership.

I've been a member for about 3-4 years in Central Ohio. Although I DIY most everything, the huge jobs I hire out.

Using the list has been a huge timesaver for me. I simply do not have time to contact 5-6 service providers every time I want a bid and then evaluate that bid and all that goes with it.

Loads of providers are represented here in Columbus - I imagine in Pittsburg you'd also have a ton of reviews for a great many providers in all sorts of trades. I don't believe you'd suffer from a lack of reviews.

I've never had a bad experience with a provider I selected by using the list. I never look at a tradesman with a grade of less than 'A'. Why would I want that hassle?

All the guys I have talked to are very sensitive of their rating on the list. They ask how I found out about them and when I tell them they many times offer a small discount on the overall price.

The thing I like most about using the list is you can blister the provider if the service stinks. I ripped an orthodontist that my kids had gone to for years.

The ortho called me later (I gave plenty of detail in the complaint so the Dr. could figure out it was me) and tried to make the situation right. Nope - too late buster.

For me, it's worth the $.

we use it and love it. there are not a TON of reviews listed fo rmy area, but even so, we have used it quite a bit.
good luck!

It's definitely worth the $50 to sign up but some categories are more useful than others.

I found a great closet company and a great gutter guy on Angie's List, both top-rated, and they ended up being as outstanding as their ratings.

However, I had no luck finding landscapers and general contractors.

For me, Angie's List works great for those small jobs where you don't have any clue about who to call or you want to add a 3rd bidder to the process, but for the bigger contractors, it's not been very useful for me. I haven't found that the really good large contractors are even listed on Angie's List. Anyway, I'm not sure I'd make a decision for a big job based on an Angie's List rating...in my mind, its real value is just having another option and more information to throw into the mix, and I don't think I'd ever hire a contractor based solely on his Angie's List rating, but it sure is nice to have.

Other sources to check are kudzu.com and yelp.com, and both are free. Not sure whether kudzu operates everywhere in the U.S.

live in the area between Dallas and FTW--more referrals for some types of companies are for the Dallas area --Fort Worth was more recent addition to the list
and with Angie's list there is no guarantee that the person/company you choose will be the cheapest--there is no way to price-check a bid except by getting more than one

have been Angie's List member about 3 yrs--found a good electrician and a plumber who saved me over $500 when my water heater needed to be replaced--did a great job and because it was a retrofit it was difficult to bring it up to code...

we found the guy who painted the interior and did some other work at house we bought last year and he is doing remodeling for older one we are getting ready to put on the market--he does not have a web-site and is a smaller operation but has a real desire to do a good job

the gutters for that house are being replaced by company from the list--
we had the motor on the security gate for our new house replaced by company from the list as well and got some bids for landscaping--they were really higher than we wanted to pay but frankly the job probably would have been better done if we had used one of them then our regular yard guy

when we had our old house re-roofed I should have used someone from the list but went with another roofer that a friend recommended--her job was done well--think ours with a different salesman/agent was not so well-done...

I think most of the reviews are really from people who have used the list--not like Apartment search reviews on something like Google which are often from other apt people--
but like anything--there is no guarantee that your choice will be perfect
what I like about the Angie's pages is that there is usually a link to BBB site so you can read about the company--which is helpful to me...
I just wish there was some way to contact posters about the longevity of the job--did it hold up--how were later problems handled--
that is where quality comes into play...