Amazon.com Review

This review is being dedicated to the many people at Viewpoints who hear me mention amazon.com time and time again.  What can I say, I have found a place with good bargains and I'm loving it!  Reviewer11 I finally got the review posted! 

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.com for about three years and I am loving it!   I have no regrets and every time they send me a request to do buyer feedback I will with a willing heart.

There are many reasons why I love Amazon.com 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 ago I wandered into the book realm and oh, that is when my addiction really took off.  And then two weeks ago I began shopping in the toys/games department.

Amazon.com 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.com 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.com 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 have never purchased a box set so I'm not sure about that.)
• 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 is a little frustrating for me and VivaSuzi also made reference to this.  Amazon.com 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.  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.  As Vivasuzi said, it seems that all purchases must be made from Amazon and must total a certain amount.  Well, I thought I was purchasing from Amazon.  I'm at Amazon.com, right?  Wrong!  I am purchasing from private sellers and/or companies.  I just recently made a purchase that was actually being sold by Amazon.

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 purchase on a Thursday or Friday and received the package the following Tuesday or Wednesday.  But please note: Until two weeks ago I never ordered anything that just had to arrive by a certain date.  I wasn't ordering items that would be used for birthday or Christmas until a few weeks ago.  So now amazon.com will be put to the test.  I will see if ALL items arrive in time for Christmas.  So far 3 of the 7 are here-yippee!

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.  The microscope shipped out of Illinois on Thursday, arrived in Greensboro a few days later, arrived in Columbia on Tuesday and was at my office in Lexington that very afternoon.  Six days from the time I placed the order for me to receive it!  I've probably ordered 30+ items from amazon.com and I've probably had the ability to track 20%, if that.

So how do I decide if I am going to purchase from amazon.com?  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 book cost and then I go to amazon.com.  I begin my search with used items.  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.

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. 

I love amazon.com 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.com.  One evening a few months ago I was online and getting ready to purchase the Pippi Longstocking DVD (it's a review).  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 item.  Uh, that's not what I wanted.  So, I went to customer service and explained what had happened.  I couldn't edit my order because it had already been processed.  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.  Uh oh-I'm only supposed to get one!  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.

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.com is that they let you make wishlist.  I can find a really good deal on something and then save it for later.  I'm not having to try to figure out, "Now where did I see that item or who was selling it for the best price?"  You can share your wish list with others too.  And if I put an item on my wishlist amazon will let me know each time the seller changes the price or if it has been purchased before I buy it. 

GeorgeChabot did a review on Audie Murphy: To Hell and Back and hermiepvs did a review on The Wednesday Letters, both were books.  Well, after I read their reviews I went straight to amazon.com and purchased both books brand new!  See, even Viewpoints is encouraging me to shop at amazon!

I was picking with Reviewer11 and told her that I should be a spokesperson for amazon.com 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!