Oh, the Strength of the Amazon
by cemery1000 - Written: Nov 24 '01
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The Bottom Line
I heartily recommend Amazon. Nothing is better than the ease, speed, selection and price if you know what you want and you don't want to go to a store.
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| Full Review |
I have shopped at amazon.com for at least four years, possibly five, and have been extremely pleased, with rare exception. I would say that over the years, I have placed at least 20 orders so Amazon has provided quite a track record for me to examine.
My most recent experience with Amazon epitomizes what I've come to expect from this e-tailing giant. I ordered a handful of books about a week ago. At the time they were all in stock and shipping within 24 hours. Of the five books I ordered, four of them arrived very quickly, 5 days later (I had not paid for any fancy shipping). The last book is still en route. Tracking data informs me that it will probably arrive today.
I haven't had to leave the warmth and comfort of my little office, and books I really want are arriving right and left! Nothing is better than the ease, speed and price of Amazon if you know what you want and you don't want to go to a store.
Of the books I ordered, four are somewhat rare - I probably couldn't find them in my local bookstore, or they wouldn't all be in stock at the same time. The fifth is a current bestseller, for which I received a very healthy 40% discount, which easily paid for my shipping costs and then some.
About a year ago I was taking some college courses and had a very lengthy textbook list. I bought a couple books at the university-recommended store, just to get started. When I checked Amazon for the rest of my books, not only did I find out that every single one of them was in stock, but I saved about $100 on my total textbook cost. Cost-conscious students have to LOVE that!
I also regularly use the package tracking feature and find that it quells any question I may have about the arrival of my books. And, in fact, I have found it to be absolutely accurate and updated regularly.
This past summer I started using another Amazon feature - selling Used Books. I am hooked! What better way to recoup some of the costs of books you only read once and reduce clutter in your home at the same time! I have found this service incredibly easy - just register your used book, set your price, describe the condition of the book and wait for the order to roll in. I found that certain types of books (recent reference, nonfiction, self-help, etc. - NOT fiction unless it's absolutely current) sell better than others but altogether this is a great feature for someone who wants to clear the shelves for new purchases.
I have only had a couple problems with Amazon over the years and I truly have to search my memory to come up with them. I received the wrong book once, but a quick call to customer service had the correct book to me within a couple days, no questions asked. And on a really big book order once (around the holidays), some books became out of stock and were delayed beyond what I had been promised when I ordered. It was inconvenient and I wasn't very happy but that experience was really the exception, not the norm for me.
Amazon rates very high on my list of online stores and stores in general. The website is fairly easy to navigate, their selection of books in unparalleled, and prices are good. It's the first place I go when I hear about a book I may want to buy and it's usually the ONLY place I go. Unless I really want to TOUCH the book and riffle through the pages...
Recommended:
Yes
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