This is my favorite place to shop online...I'm the Amazon Queen!
Written: Aug 22, 2012
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This review is being dedicated to my friends and family who I'm always telling about my latest deal at Amazon.com. Oh, and to those who I have helped establish accounts so that they could do their own shopping and to my best friend who refuses to shop online so gives me the money to place her orders. What can I say, I have found a place with good bargains and I love it!
I was introduced to amazon.com by way of another website. I was listening to some Southern Gospel music on the Internet Radio (live365.com. Whenever you hear a song you like you can click on “buy.” Well, curiosity got the best of me and by clicking “buy” it rerouted me to amazon.com. I didn't know what this place was but all of a sudden I was looking at a list of people/companies selling the CD with the song that I wanted and so the southern goddess made a trip to the “Amazon!”
I have now been shopping at Amazon for about 8 or 9 years and I love it! I have no regrets and every time they send me a request to do buyer feedback I will with a willing heart. I have never had to return/exchange an item because it was defective, broke, missing parts, the wrong item or not what the seller described.
There are many reasons why I love Amazon and at the top of my list would probably be the deals I find. In the beginning I only purchased CDs and then in time I began purchasing some DVDs and even 3 out of production VHS movies. About a year later I wandered into the book realm and oh, that is when my addiction really took off! Now I check out the deals at Amazon for almost anything and everything under the sun.
Amazon uses a secured site so that my personal information including debit card number is kept private. I love that I am able to enter that information safely and then anytime I come online I don't have to re-enter my card number. Through the years I have shipped products to various locations. Every time you change a shipping address Amazon will make you re-enter your payment information so that they know you are actually choosing a new shipping address. I like this feature because that prevents someone from accessing my account and sending stuff to themselves.
Another feature I really love is the ability to buy with 1-click. I use this most of the time because I have gotten familiar with the shipping and handling fees so I know what my total will be even though I don't see it until I get my email confirming the order. If you use the regular checkout process you can see an itemized list of your order including shipping charges for each item. With the regular checkout you can also edit your order BEFORE you finalize your purchase. The editing feature comes in handy, as I will explain in a moment.
I believe Amazon has some set shipping fees because the following charges have always applied to my purchases no matter how big or small:
DVDs ship at $2.98 each even if it is a 2-disc set (now the shipping might change if it is a box set.) I did order the entire Little House On The Prairie series on DVD and they were displayed in a cardboard covered wagon. Don’t quote me on this but I don’t think they charged me extra for that package.
CDs ship at $2.98 each even if it is a 2 or 3-disc set.
Books ship at $3.99 each no matter how big or small. One time the shipping was more than the book!
Now, the following was a little frustrating for me until I finally called customer service to get them to explain it to me. Amazon always promotes free shipping specials but for some reason I have never qualified and didn't understand why. At first I thought it was because I wasn't purchasing enough monetarily or because I wasn’t using the Amazon credit card. Nope, that wasn't the reason because even when I ordered an item over $25 and a few weeks ago a microscope for $70 I still didn't get free shipping. Okay, so I thought perhaps I needed to purchase at least 3 items at one time. Wrong again! I ordered several books and a few DVDs and got charged shipping for it all.
Well, the Customer Service Rep informs me that all purchases must be made from Amazon and must total a certain amount. Hmm… I thought I was purchasing from Amazon. Not always: I am purchasing from private sellers and/or companies who are allowing Amazon to be their “store” to sell their product. In order to qualify for the free shipping promo your item(s) must be sold directly from Amazon not a third party. Got it! Since that was made known to me I will sometimes shop around and see if the same product is being sold via Amazon. If so, I compare the difference in prices plus/minus shipping fees and determine if it would be to my advantage to purchase from Amazon or the other seller.
While on the issue of shipping: When I get a confirmation email about my purchase it says to allow 14-21 days for package to arrive. I have no qualms about time frame because I have always received my package within 7-10 days. On several occasions I have purchased on a Thursday or Friday and received the package the following Tuesday or Wednesday. But please note: I always honor the 14-21 days so that if I am ordering for a birthday, Christmas or other special occasion I won’t be pacing the floor wondering if it will arrive on time. I always use the standard shipping (cheapest) as discussed above unless of course I qualify for the free shipping. I allow time for a purchase to be delivered even for special occasions so I don't invest in expedited shipping.
A final issue with shipping that may or may not matter to you but matters to me: the ability to track your order. It is up to each seller whether or not you have the ability to track your item. I love tracking the item because it gives me an idea where it is. I get all packages delivered to my office because I am there during the main part of the day and don’t want a package left on my front steps. Tracking allows me to let the people in the mailroom to know I am expecting a package.
I also like that Amazon sends you emails to let you know the status of your order: Order confirmation, order received by the seller, processed/shipped, etc.
So how do I decide if I am going to purchase from Amazon? First of all, I price the item in a few stores. Since I deal mostly with books, CDs, and DVDs I usually go to Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Barnes & Nobles. I get an idea of what the item cost and then I go to Amazon. I begin my search with used items, unless it’s going to be a gift. I look for the condition of the item under comments and I go after items dubbed: “Brand new/factory sealed, in original box with all pieces, no scratches, all artwork/linear notes, little or no shelf wear, etc.” What I am looking for is a “new” used item. I keep in mind the cost of the shipping and determine if I would be saving money to purchase the item and pay shipping or to go to the store and get the item myself.
However, most of the time the reason I go to Amazon is to try to secure an item that is no longer in stores, is a rare find, or almost obsolete. In that case if the person I’m wanting to give a gift to really wants that I don’t mind giving them a “new” used item because I know I’m giving them an item they really wanted but couldn’t get their hands on. Such was the case 2 years ago at Christmas when Sandy and I went in together to get my pastor several John Wayne movies. Many were “new” used but they were also on his wishlist for movies that he wasn’t able to find.
Another qualm I have with Amazon is that they obviously do not require the seller to notate the condition of the item. Well, I don't want to purchase a DVD and discover it has so many scratches on it you cannot view it. Nor do I want to purchase a book that is missing the cover jacket, some pages or that has had something spilled on it and now all the pages are stuck together. Because the condition doesn't have to be notated many times I believe I am purchasing a more expensive item that may have been bought at a lower price if I knew the condition of the product. But in the end, if I am still ending up with a better deal than I would have gotten by buying it in the store then I'm not complaining. Also, because I am OCD I generally will not select an item that doesn't have a condition description. I figure I am already taking a chance that the seller is being honest if/when they provide their opinion of the condition of the item so I'm not going to take a chance on something that you have no idea what you're getting.
I love Amazon because I have been able to find many items that were no longer being marketed. A song or movie from my childhood will come to my mind and I will jump right over to Amazon to see if they have it. That is how I found the movies Savannah Smiles and Spring Fever. When I got my hands on Savannah Smiles I bought all the copies available and gave them to my family and friends. I have also found some rare finds for my oldest brother and Daddy and it is pure joy to see the excitement on their face when you give them something that they thought they would never be able to own. And then wonder of wonders is when I tell them just how cheap it was! Oh yeah!
Go back up to where I was speaking of the ability to edit an order. I am going to share a wonderful story of my experience with the customer service department at Amazon. One evening a few months ago I was online and getting ready to purchase the Pippi Longstocking DVD. Well, just as I clicked the item I wanted the computer shutdown. I restarted the computer and went back to Amazon. I located my DVD and purchased with the 1-Click. The next day I got an email confirming the purchase of not one but two of the same items. Uh, that's not what I wanted. So, I emailed customer service and explained what had happened. I couldn't edit my order because it had already been processed. It seems you only have so many hours (I "think" 5 or 6) from the time you place the order to edit/cancel. After the order has been processed you cannot change it.
The CSR and I have a daylong email correspondence. She lets me know that she has tried to edit the order and believes I will only receive one DVD. She notifies my bank of the mishap and has them remove the charges for one DVD. Two days later I get an email from the seller that they have shipped the two DVDs. Another uh-oh, I'm only supposed to get one so I contact CSR and she promises to look into this for me. She emails me and says she “believes” I will only get one DVD and my bank account shows that I have only been charged for one. However, should I get both DVDs I am told that I can keep the other one as a gift from Amazon for the inconvenience. A week later I get a package and I did get both DVDs with an invoice showing payment for one. I contact CSR and let them know what happened and they tell me not to worry. They have taken care of it on their end and I am free to keep both copies. So, I sent the other copy to my niece.
If I would have done the regular checkout I could have seen the duplicate order and deleted an item before I paid. I still do the 1-click if I am already familiar with the shipping. Recently I ordered the Barbie Prom Night Game (they still have some) and the shipping was $5.49 so I'm thinking that is standard shipping for toys/games. The microscope cost $70 and the shipping was $6 or $9.
Another feature I love about Amazon is that they let you make wish list. I can find a really good deal on something and then save it for later. I do not have to try to figure out, “Now where did I see that item or who was selling it for the best price.” And believe me, it’s a lot easier to find a product through Amazon’s search engine than Epinions. You can share your wish list with others too and if I put an item on my wish list Amazon will let me know each time the seller changes the price or if it has been purchased before I buy it. I am also given the option to delete the item from my list at any time and each time I add something to my wish list I can send it to my Twitter profile.
I don't share my wish list. A few weeks ago I clicked the Twitter icon after I purchased a Parisian print. I thought it would be cool to let my friends see what I ordered. But when I saw my comment on Twitter lo and behold my account name was in the Tweet. Well, not everyone following me on Twitter is a personal friend so my real name isn't made public. I went to Twitter immediately and deleted the comment.
George Chabot did a review on Audie Murphy: To Hell and Back on another site and after I read his review I went straight to Amazon and purchased it for my dad.
My family thinks I should be a spokesperson for Amazon because I am always making reference to them and endorsing them. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with them and will continue to use them. If you need a good deal on an item head over to the wonderful Amazon. This southern sun goddess has found a place to belong-I am now the “Amazon Queen!”
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? This review covers my oveall experience with Amazon for 8 or 9 years.
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About the Author
Location: In the here and now
Reviews written: 129
Trusted by: 18 members
About Me: I'm a Christian who loves to sing, dance and write!
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