United States of Amazon
Written: Jun 09 '04 (Updated Jul 06 '04)
| Ease of Ordering: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
|
|
| Selection: |
|
|
| On-Time Delivery: |
|
|
|
| Full Review |
Is there ANYTHING you can’t find at Amazon? I have to think that if you can’t find it there, it probably doesn’t exist – and I’ve tried. As a test, I recently did a search for some wacky items to see if I could find them. Some are keywords I picked off of CNN this morning. Others are just strange stuff. Here are the results.
Reagan - over 23,000 results in 16 categories. Lead result: Reagan: A Life in Letters book.
Ken Griffey - 1300+ results in 16 categories, with the Super NES game Ken Griffey’s Winning Run game leading the results.
stopdesign (a cool design website) – the only result was Cascading Style Sheets: The Designers Edge, written by stopdesign’s owner.
ginsu - Yep, the knives were there, one of 200 ‘ginsu' items at Amazon.
fubar - 157 results, including the DVD (never heard of it, but it’s supposedly good, I found out).
Ghidrah - the Japanese movie monster has 30 results.
Colorforms - remember them? Well, Amazon 112 results for this long lost product. Which made me think of…
Ms. Pac-Man (5,000 results), Stretch Armstrong (14,000 results in 5 categories, including industrial supplies!, Electric Moog Orchestra (446 results), and finally Shrunken Heads (8,300 results). It’s impossible to stump Amazon!
Well, if they have everything, how is their site in terms of actually finding and buying it? Well – there lies the question.
[• why AMAZON •]
Amazon offers a truly stunning diversity of categories to buy from (including industrial supplies – who knew?). Here are the MAIN listings at the top of the page, although they have dozens of others:
-- Welcome - Just what it says, a page to welcome you and offer top sellers, news, etc.
-- Your Store – One of Amazon’s best features is there personalized recommendations, and this page lists your favorite categories and gives you the latest suggestions.
-- Books – This is how Amazon started, and is still their biggest market, although I don’t know by how much any more. Almost everything that is or has been in print can be found on the main site or their auction/used marketplace Z-Shops.
– Apparel and Accessories – A relatively new section, this one focuses on clothing.
-- Electronics – Amazon has leapt into the electronics market, and while their information may lag behind some of the electronics giants, their prices rarely do.
– Toys and Games – Amazon brought Toys 'R Us online within their site, and do all of their online retail now.
– Home and Garden – Another recent addition to Amazon, almost every type of garden tool or need, home decoration or other household needs can be found here.
– Tools and Hardware – Sears wishes it could have as effective a tool store online as this.
Below that is a mini navigation which has International, Top Sellers, Todays Deals and a link to their Auction/Marketplace.
[ • methods of PAYMENT • ]
Amazon.com accepts American Express, VISA, MasterCard and Discover credit cards, as well as ATM cards with a VISA or MasterCard logo. They also have an AMAZON credit account that can be applied for on the site. Corporate customers can create an account to accept purchase orders. They do accept checks and money orders, but all orders are delayed until they clear, adding 2-3 weeks for shipping.
[ • shipping CHARGES • ]
Amazon hit a home run when they started their FREE Super Saver Shipping for orders more than $25 (on most items). Essentially, by letting them delay your shipping until they have enough items leaving a similar warehouse, you get it free. You can also do standard shipping at a reasonable cost, saving even more by grouping your items together (waiting until all of the items in an order are ready instead of shipping them as they become available). Shipping rates vary significantly by item type, but all work on a set price + per pound. They also do 2-day and overnight shipping for an upcharge.
Some items are actually available for in-store pick-up (such as Target, Borders, Toys 'R Us) for a nominal fee charged at check-out (usually a lesser discount on the item than if you got it direct from Amazon).
[ • customer SERVICE • ]
I’ve had to contact Amazoncustomer service several times, usually about shipping estimates. I had one product that was continually delayed by the publisher, but yet my order was showing a shipping date 3 weeks past. Although it wasn’t there fault, they were very helpful, moving my shipping to next day because of the numerous delays. The other time involved needing to get an order sent before I left for vacation. They assured me that it was shipped and would arrive in time. Somehow, it took 3 times longer for the package to go from Philadelphia to Wilmington, DE (about 35 miles) than it did to go from Atlanta, GA to Philadelphia, PA (about 750 miles). The package didn’t make it in time, and Amazon gave me a $10 gift certificate to compensate.
Should you need to contact them, they have a great e-form on their Customer Services page. Their knowledge base will attempt to answer your questions first, and if they can’t the form allows you to get in touch with them online. The response is very quick, usually less than 24 hours.
Overall, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Amazon.com Customer Service.
[ • shopping AMAZON.COM • ]
For me, Amazonis my number 1 stop for most online purchasing. They have almost everything I want to buy online (which 90% of the time is books anyway), and offer competitive prices, if not the best price time and again.
Amazon’s book selection is second to none for 99% of the book market (their rare book section is a little lean, but you can’t have EVERYTHING). Their software ‘store’ is fantastic, often managing to offer major brand software at nearly nothing (including at one time giving Norton Antivirus 2002 at a price in which a buyer would MAKE $7 after the rebate. Beat that!). I use them not only for books, but for nearly every type of purchase that I would consider looking online for. Music, jewelry, gifts of all sorts, poker chips, software, camera equipment – Amazon.com is nearly always my first stop.
Amazon does a great job of describing their products, both in terms of specifications and editorial/manufacturer descriptions. Even better, they offer an Epinions-like user review, in which buyers/users can leave their own impressions of the product and give you not only more information, but often praise or warnings that could help you decide. If you are buying a book, Amazon often has a "Look Inside" feature which shows several pages of the book, often including the first couple of pages (although many times you get the cover, table of contents and index – not a whole lot of help). For music, they offer clips of songs on the CDs for you to listen to (in either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player).
The Amazon recommendations section is pretty good, although far from perfect. You start it by rating certain products that you have looked at or bought. After getting a couple dozen in each category (book, music, etc.), it starts giving you other items that match your interests. You can then review the suggestions, rating the item if you already have it, leaving it blank or saying that you aren’t interested. The drawback of this system is that if you buy one item – particularly from your wish list – that is out of your norm, suddenly your recommendations are full of similar products, many times getting top billing despite you saying "not interested" multiple times. But at the same time, I’ve found many good recommendations there.
But one of my favorite features of Amazon is the Wish List. Mine is up to 8 pages so far, mostly books, but also including music, software, movies, tablet pc’s, camera equipment and more. I use it not only as a true wish list, but also as a reading list, a compilation of books that I want to read – whether I buy them on Amazon or not. It also serves as a handy gift list – if I see something that I know my wife, son or parents might like, I add it and a note so that I can go back later and remember it.
And ordering is simple. Their search engine makes it easy to find what you want quickly, offering up items that match your search by category, and then allowing you to narrow your search by further keywords or sub-categories until you find it. Once you have, you simply add it to your cart. If you are shopping for multiple items, continue until you’re ready and then away you go!
Once you are ready to order, you can walk through the payment process, entering your credit card, address, etc. if this is your first time (or you prefer not to save that info). If you are a return customer, they will prompt you to select which of your saved billing and mailing addresses to use, your preferred method of payment, and any gift certificates or coupons you want to use. Last, pick your shipment method and you’re done. If you want it even quicker, use their 1-Click Shipping to use saved settings to finish all of those steps for you!
Overall, Amazon.com has been the best shopping place I have found online. I have found tons of things that I have wanted, and when I buy, the process has been simple every time. Shipping has been easy, as well, and more often than not quicker than expected. In those few times that I’ve had problems, the company has always done their best to make amends.
Add the incredible functionality and information that Amazon offers, and you have a winning site. Whether looking for suggestions, searching for great deals or simply keeping your wish list, Amazon.com offers one of the best sites on the web for shopping.
________________________________________________________
Part of the Around Epinions in 23+ Reviews auto-writeoff.
auto :: beauty :: books :: biz/tech :: computer hardware :: software :: education :: electronics :: games :: home & garden :: kids & family :: movies :: music :: magazines :: outdoors :: personal finance :: pets :: restaurants :: sports :: travel :: WEB SERVICES :: wellness :: beer :: epinions
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Books, music, videos, software...
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.