Fortunately, we have the internet and its vast resources. This includes online kit reviews found on most modeling newsgroups and forums. Additionally some of the modeling magazines cover the new releases before they hit the shelves and have online archives full of kit reviews.
One of the best sources for information I have found is people just like me. In this forum alone, we probably have a large enough group that we have owned or built just about any armor kit on the market. I learned by watching posts on rec.models.scale, Missing Links, Hyperscale, AOL Scale Model board, Kithobbyist and here, among others.
Other lessons were learned the hard way (by buying the kit) like Wasan=Trumpeter and early Trumpeter=waste of money. Although this company came a long way in a short period of time (T-55 series, M1 series).
Any way, before you make a big purchase, it never hurts to shop around for the best price, right? And ask about a particular kit. It may be that there is a better kit of it, the same kit may be available in a different box and a little cheaper, or that you may be better off carving one yourself out of a bar of soap
