Oh, could I be any more obvious. My choice for favorite website is Amazon. I know. I thought about some more clever ones, such as Perpetual Kid, and Fat Brain Toys, both excellent fun for window and/or actual shopping. But the one I visit every day, for multiple reasons? Amazon. Hands down.Amazon has good, if not the best, prices on so many things. If they don't have the best price, you can still use them for product reviews to figure out if the thing you're wanting to buy is really worth it. You can sample music, view actual book pages, and even (so I hear) download movies directly to your TiVo. Amazon is partnered with several different companies, so shipping is not always free. However, if Amazon is selling it, and you buy over $25 worth of merchandise, shipping will be free, and it's reasonably fast. It's like a game, figuring out how to fill one's cart with just enough to get that free shipping. You might as well try!
A few years back, I lost confidence in Amazon because shipping on certain items, particularly around Christmas, was slated to take approximately 10 years, which obviously did not do me any good for the upcoming holiday. I shopped elsewhere for awhile, but Amazon has since upped their game, and I'm back as a devoted customer. I've bought a wireless printer, a funky porcelain dish set as a bridal shower present, an electric razor for my husband, and Book 7 of Harry Potter (arrived on the day of release, just like they promised), all from Amazon.
Should a problem arise, Customer Service is timely in their response, as well as reasonable in resolving the issue. In addition, I have a seller account on Amazon Marketplace, where you can buy used and new products from other sellers, or sell them yourself. In a lot of ways, selling on AM is better than eBay, with the exception that you can't sell in "lots." (It also wouldn't work for dated, non-mainstream items.) You don't need to upload pictures, you don't have to pay to list; commission (also reasonable) is simply taken out of the final price once the sale is made. I've both bought and sold items on AM with much success.
Amazon is basically at the hub of all of my Internet shopping. Especially at Christmas, which some might call a cop-out, but tools like Amazon's Gift Finder, Product Recommendations, and Listmania allow for a lot of creativity and innovation. I look at it as thoughtful shopping without the long lines and elbowing crowds. Amazon also has a ton of other tools that I haven't even looked at or used much yet, but other customers seem to find them helpful: the blog that shows up on the home page, tailor-made to your buying and page view history. The Amazon Grocery store. And (someday when I'm rich, it will be mine) the Kindle, which is an electronic device created by Amazon for downloading and reading books.
Considering form, function, accessibility, and pricing--getting the most bang for your buck, whether you actually buy the product from them or not--Amazon rules for a bargain-hunting girl such as myself. And I've got to hand it to him, that Jeff Bezos (Amazon Founder and CEO) is pretty brills. Not to mention a very, very rich man.
2 tips left at the bar:
Crazy. I read the Crafty post thinking it was yours, so I was all confused thinking Ashley was writing about buying her husband stuff.
I use Amazon, but for some reason I am not totally enamored with it. I just had a long drawn out experience where I tried to order several copies of one my favorite books during pregnancy so I'd have them on hand to give to friends when I found out they were pregnant. I ordered them in early January and I went for the Super Saver shipping which meant I'd be waiting a bit longer, like the end of the month. But, it's May and I still don't have them and don't think I'm going to get them because they somehow couldn't locate them?! I continued to get emails with future estimated shipping dates for months and my sister is now nearing 7 months pregnant which renders the book I wanted to give her to carry her through her pregnancy useless and that makes me sad.
But, I did get HP7 the day of release as well, which was great because I figured I wouldn't be able to make it to a store to actually pick it up and I didn't want to be behind and knew there would be spoilers everywhere. Even though I went into Publix the night before or that day at lunch and they had a big display of them right there that I had to resist tearing into!
And I've ordered other things as well without problems. They have a great search, usually, but I can find the site confusing at times.
Hmmm. Well I'd be totally annoyed by that! I'd cancel the order and either try to order it again through them, or shop B&N. They also have free shipping for $25 and over.
Post a Comment