Amazon.con - One-Stop Shopping Online and Very Dependable/Great Prices.
Written: Mar 18 '07 (Updated May 01 '08)
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Amazon.com is an extremely trustworthy place to shop online and have a huge selection of many products. It is easy to navigate, allowing you to search for a specific item or browse by category. The vast array of offerings include:
Books, Movies and Music
Clothing and Accessories
Computer and Office
Consumer Electronics
Food and Household
Health and beauty
Home and Garden
Kids and Toys (I don't think they sell actual children...)
Sports and Fitness
Tools and Automotive
And More!!!!
If you can't find it here you probably do not need it! Most of my purchases have included computer/electronic related items, books (for my child, wife and I), toys and some DVD's. I was even able to find Death on a Sunday Morning, an HBO Academy Award winning documentary about a black teenager that got forced into confessing to a murder he did not commit in Jacksonville, FL. It stars a public defender named Pat McGuiness that I happen to know personally as my sister was his peer awhile back.
The point of that lengthy description is this is not something you will find at your local DVD retailer's storefront more than likely. This is part of the value is that you can find items quickly that otherwise you drive around or call all over trying to locate.
Also, the prices are more than reasonable, often the lowest you will find online (that I would be willing to trust) and at other retailers with storefronts. I have found items brand new that were more expensive used on e-bay, though e-bay sure can be a place for great deals as well.
Setting up your account
Upon your first purchase, you set up your own account. It will keep your credit/debit card information making your next purchase that much faster. You can have multiple mailing addresses and they do not seem to mind that you are shipping an item to another address not associated with your card.
This is a bit of a concern, perhaps, but I have yet to have anything fraudulent be charged to our account. Well, unless you count the stuff my wife bought that I did not think we needed in particular!
It also tracks your purchases for later review and makes suggestions of products that may be of interest to you based on your buying habits when you log on. They now also have "Plog" which sends you messages to your account (not your e-mail) about new products again based on your spending tendencies. If nothing else, many of them are interesting reads with comments from others as to their usefulness.
Reviews
You do not get paid for doing them, but they can be helpful in your product selection. I often cross-reference them to e-pinions as I trust e-pinions to allow more negative information since they are not selling the product. I have, however, noticed that there are many negative reviews on Amazon.com and the concerns listed steered me away from a purchase as they seemed likely to occur in the manner I wanted to use the item.
Shipping and Handling
They do not gouge you here and, in fact, if you purchase $25 or more of *eligible products, you qualify for FREE standard shipping (they quote 3-5 business days typically, but up to 5-9 days depending on the item). I have not ever noticed it taking 5 business days, normally 3 or so. Two-day and overnight are a bit on the exorbitant side and I do not see their worth as it gets to you fast enough for FREE.
An example: if you purchased some blank DVD's for $26.99, you can choose the free option, 5-9 business days or pay an additional $7.35 for 3-5 business days, $13.45 for 2 business days or $23.45 for overnight (weekend orders arrive on Tuesday).
*Also, Amazon.com uses other vendors at times and then this merchandise will not qualify for the free shipping, so you have to watch that as it is not always clear where it is coming from. I typically will only buy things they sell directly because getting a 3rd party involved seems to leave room for mistakes.
Packaging
Amazon.com does this very well and it does eliminate much of the chance an item will be damaged in transit. They use bubble wrap where necessary as well as peanuts (not the kind you eat, though I think my son gulped one down, but he won't eat his veggies... Go figure).
Customer Service
I really have never had the chance to use it, but they do have a system in place that I like. Instead of calling them, you give them your number and they call you. No more endless loop of questions and pressing buttons for issues that really do not fit into categories offered. You also are able to leave the time as either "right now" or in 5, 10 or 15 minutes.
You also have the option to e-mail them should you prefer, but instead of an address, you fill it in right on their site. I really think this is a novel approach with the call back especially as long as they honor the commitment you entered. I do not care if they tell me it will be 24 hours as long as they do not go over their own, self-imposed deadline. That irritates me to no end. Again, I believe they will honor their commitments based on how well they take care of everything else. Also, there are many FAQ's and helpful tracking information on their site.
As always, look at a few other places to make sure you are getting the best price, but I would pay $5 more to get an item at Amazon.com rather than save some money at a site I have never heard of for sure!
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? A variety of over 50 items.
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Epinions.com ID:
mongomad1
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Location: Actionville, FL (Jacksonville)
Reviews written: 58
Trusted by: 67 members
About Me:
I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
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