Highly recommended - have used amazon.com for 10 years now
by chiquipixie - Written: Oct 22 '06 (Updated Oct 22 '06)
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I started shopping with amazon.com back in 1996, a little after they opened, I believe. Back then, I lived in Japan, and I wanted to be able to buy English books without busting the bank, and although I was wary of the whole "ordering online" process (remember: it was still very new back then), every order I placed with them always went without a hitch, and I managed to get all the books I could ever want. They were extremely carefully packaged, and back then, they would send you little extra gifts, like post-it notes with their logo on, or a travel coffee mug, which, although not essential, was actually nice. I must say I miss those little gifts - they made you feel just a tad "special" and valued as a customer.
Well, ten years have passed, and I still do the majority of my online shopping with amazon.com. As everyone probably knows by now, they have expanded from being an online bookstore, to selling pretty much everything you can think of, from pet food to iPods to furniture, although a lot of the merchandise doesn't come directly from amazon.com, but from a separate vendor.
I think their site is great, easy to navigate, and I sometimes spend hours just browsing for that perfect item, or for nothing specific at all. They have a great recommendations feature based on what you've purchased or just browsed, as well as a wishlist/shopping list function where you can tell the whole world what you wish for, or just list up your wishes in private.
When I order, I can choose from a variety of shipping options (I currently use their 2-day UPS delivery, after trying it for free for 3 months, I liked it so much that I paid the annual fee for it); you usually get free USPS shipping if you buy over $25 worth of merchandise from amazon, too, which was also convenient. I've always found them to be quite speedy in shipping (even before I got the 2-day shipping). An e-mail is sent to notify you when your order has shipped, and you always know exactly when to expect your order, which is very reassuring.
I have to say their packaging of items has become a bit more rudimentary in the last few years - they were more careful back in the early days. Having said that, I have only received damaged goods once in all these years (I shop on amazon about twice a month average) and on this occasion, customer service was extremely prompt in replying to my e-mail, polite and apologetic, and a replacement was arranged with no hassle or stress.
I love the fact that they have a wide selection of merchandise, but since they have expanded as much as they have, a lot of their goods comes from different vendors (not directly from amazon), which inadvertently means varying shipping rates. This is the main thing I don't like too much about the current amazon - I wish shipping/handling fees were all uniform, i.e. the same amazon.com rate, regardless of which vendor you bought from, but I guess this would be hard to do. The other thing is that sometimes, the product description of an item can be really sparse - while others have whole essays dedicated to them, and you wonder why. But this isn't much of a problem for me personally, although I can imagine some people might not like this aspect.
Overall, I love amazon.com. I feel confident when I shop with them that I will receive quality merchandise at a good price (not necessarily the lowest - I think they used to be no.1 in prices until competition sprouted all over the place). I also love being able to read numerous customer reviews on the item I'm interested in, on the same page. I'm pretty sure I'll continue shopping with them for a long time to come.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Everything from books, toys, kitchen equipment to a vacuum cleaner
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