Amazon.com Review

Bottom Line -- It's hard to top Amazon for prices and good deals. And with free shipping on many items, you probably won't find a better deal anywhere on the Internet.

What started as a mere online bookshop has exploded into one of the biggest retailers on the net. Books, music, toys, clothing, tools... you name it, they probably have it. What's better is that they have it at equal or lower prices than almost anywhere else. They have particularly good deals on new books and music. Add to that their competitive "Spend $25 and Get Free Shipping" deal, and you have yourself a no-brainer for inexpensive, reliable online shopping.

While I certainly use and recommend Amazon, there are a few things to note. For starters, the site is very bulky. Whenever you view an item, you will be exposed to dozens of links to other items. You will see recommended items based on the item you're viewing. There will be a list of items purchased by people who bought the item you're viewing. Then there are customer-created lists that offer you recommended items similar to the one you're viewing. A lot of these links are great ways to discover new products, new artists and new authors. However, the pictures also take time to load up on the screen. With a slower connection, this site could be torture to browse.

Add to that customer reviews, media players, advertisements and product information, and each item can have a four to five page scroll - a blitz of information that can overwhelm shoppers.

One of the best things you can do is browse and research products on other, less content-intensive sites. Then, when you know what you want, go to Amazon to purchase them.

Another thing to be careful about on Amazon is the customer reviews. As is typical with online reviews, you mostly get a mixture of extremely positive or extremely negative reviews -- rarely detailed enough to be of any true help (unlike the excellent reviews on this site). What's worse is that you see a lot of "This book rocks!" or "This wuz horible" kind of reviews, which just further the insignifance of some of the star ratings on the site. Sometimes you have to browse thoroughly through the reviews to find someting of substance.

Also, the free shipping deal is not an all items. Some of the items sold on Amazon are actually processed and shipped through other companies. For example, a number of items are sold through Target and a lot of apparel comes from various companies. Because they're not sold directly through Amazon, they don't always contribute to the free shipping deals Amazon offers. While the prices are still good, you may find yourself paying typically high shipping costs that outweigh the great discount.

Still, as mentioned before, Amazon is a reliable source for great prices and quality products. Just be careful not to get lost in its jungle of content. (Pun seriously not intended.)