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Pros: Pros: Vast selection, lots of stores to browse, decent prices
Cons: Cons: Inferior customer service, somewhat expensive shipping costs
The bottom line: Amazon is fantastic selection-wise but I pity the poor soul who might have to contact Customer Service.
I'll give my update here simply because I want everyone to see Amazon's Amazing Transition from "then" to "now". "Now" is as follows: Amazon has drastically improved Customer Service since my initial review. And again, my revelation came because I ordered a CD. I was beginning to think buying CDs at Amazon meant “Constant Disorder”. But how wrong I was. Being bold, I chanced the Two-Day shipping option. And waited. And waited. Suffice it to say, the wait stretched into a period when most children pitch royal fits and fall directly asleep from wailing so long.

I’d tracked the package – again, to my delightful home city with its UPS distribution center – and felt that familiar, foreboding creeping into my brain once more. The package was already two days late. This time I contacted Amazon to let them know UPS has a sneaky little gnome hiding the Two-Day packages for two extra days then allows them to be delivered. Then I asked for the difference between Two-Day Delivery and Standard Delivery to be credited to my account. Amazon’s customer service did better than that. They refunded my entire shipping charge. How can you beat that? In ending my update I’ll finish by saying:

I think UPS fired the gnome at Amazon’s behest. I think Amazon’s customer service should win a blue ribbon for Outstanding Performance.

Please read the original review to see the radical improvement Amazon has gone through the past couple of years. Someone’s doing something right at that place and should be commended. I therefore and hereby commend thee, Amazon.

The Original Review is as follows:

First, I’ll give a general explanation why I gave Amazon only three stars. For selection and ordering ease, they would get 5 stars. Selection at Amazon is quite amazing and is sort of like the Mall of America of online ordering and I’ll explain this later. But heaven help you if you have a problem with an order. They get low marks for customer satisfaction and this is why I settled on three stars as a whole. What good is ordering from a wonderful selection if, when a problem arises, you can’t get it resolved in a timely manner?

Replacement orders are harder to obtain than grabbing a greased pig. Their key word is evidently “stall”. Asking customers to wait basically two weeks for Next Day Air is just flat silly. It took numerous e-mails and phone calls to get the problem resolved and even then I realized their customer service reps don’t pay attention to details such as shipping methods. I was told if I preferred USPS, they would ship USPS. Yet, the next e-mail tells me, “When the merchandise is back in stock, we will ship it UPS.” And they did although I called and asked for USPS before it was shipped. Now I could understand if it was an issue of weight. If I’d ordered a kitchen sink, for instance, I wouldn’t ask my postal carrier to deliver it. But this was a compact disc. Without going into too many details, I’ll explain what happened. First week in August I order a cd and have it shipped UPS Next Day Air. Normally I wouldn’t ship Next Day Air but it was a last minute gift and I needed it fast. (This teaches me two lessons – no last minute gifts with Amazon AND learn how to shop earlier for occasions.) By the last week in August I receive the replacement order but only after contacting the company (and UPS) umpteen times and getting, “Just wait one more business day” each time I received e-mail or spoke to someone. All this was due to UPS misplacing the package somewhere in the continental United States, namely here in my own city, and refusing to own up to it. It was tracked to this city and from the distribution center, it either got lost or thumbed its way back to Amazon because it didn’t like the weather here. Now about the rest of Amazon which isn’t nearly so bleak.

This review is primarily based on my experience purchasing books from Amazon. The cd in the above paragraph is the only other thing I’ve purchased from them. Amazon has a fantastic selection and since Borders, my most preferred bookstore merged with them, they have an even bigger selection of books, music, DVD and video. I’ve ordered from Borders for quite a while also and was more impressed with them than Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon itself. They have dozens of stores at Amazon – just consider it an at-home mall. You name it and somewhere on this site they most probably have it. The only drawback is no food court to grab a quick lunch while you shop.

A general listing of what you can find at Amazon is listed below:

Auctions – From what I’ve noticed, nearly everything but air has a place on this auction site.

Books – Incredible amounts of books. You’ll spend hours swimming through the selection.

Camera & Photo – Binoculars, camcorders, frames, filters, photo processing, scanners, printers, telescopes, tripods and more. I’d be surprised if they didn’t have that embarrassing baby picture we all try to forget was taken.

Cars – Yes, even cars. If you need wheels and the chassis and cd player to go with them, this service is courtesy of CarsDirect.com

Cell Phones & Service – Service plans, phones, and accessories. What would life be without accessories?

Computers – 7 different brand names are listed. There are notebooks, desktops, PDAs, software and more.

Computer & Video Games – They sell games for every platform from Playstation 2, Game Cube, X Box and Game Boy. Oh, and we can’t forget computer games. And if you’re stumped on a game, they sell strategy guides to bail you out.

DVD – If it’s released, Amazon probably advertises it. From Action, Arts, Sports, Westerns and more.

Electronics – OK, there’s too much to mention here. Suffice it to say, if you don’t hand-crank it, it’s probably listed here, even MP3 players. It mostly seems to be a conglomeration of cell phones, computer, DVD players, cameras and software.

Health & Beauty – You can actually fill a prescription on this site. It’s got a pharmacy, skin care, GNC Live Well Store, and anything to do with making yourself feel and look better.

Kitchen & Housewares – Cookbooks, grills, cutlery, cookware and my personal favorite – the ice cream maker. And, yes, there’s more. Even gourmet food. Look out Hickory Farms, here I come… There’s also Omaha Steaks and probably even some “feelay mig-non” somewhere around there.

Music – All kinds of music here. From alternative rock to jazz, latin, pop and Broadway.

Outdoor Living – Patio furniture, a thing called Backyard Birding, lighting, and pest control. They have specialty stores all over for each category so you’ll be here a while.

Software – Education and children’s software, games, business and office, language, Linux, Mac, web development software also. So that’s how spiders spin ‘em…

Tools & Hardware – Drills, screwdrivers, routers, planers, sanders and you don’t even have to go to Sears anymore.

Toys & Games – A kid’s paradise. The word “no” takes on new meaning when a kid finds this store. They’ll find things you didn’t know existed. They have everything from action figures, scooters, bikes, dolls, models, puzzles, die-cast, and even stuff future internet surfers can use from infants on up.

Video – Same as DVD except with the video category, you get a yoga sub-category to explore.

Z Shops – Independent and 3rd party sellers on Amazon’s site.

I believe it would be impossible not to find something somewhere on this entire site. Even the cds are cheaper than other online stores. Prices are dependent on what a person wants to pay, of course, and prices on their books are fairly good, in fact cheaper than local stores sell them for. I’ve found the selection in the reading department is stellar. They have category on category of books but it’s arranged in a simple yet efficient manner. Say you enjoy art and want a book on Ford Madox Brown. You can perform a general search through the site or click on “Books”, then “Art, Architecture & Photography” then click “B” on the listing “Artists A-Z”. Now for everyone wondering who Ford Madox Brown was, he was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter. And for those wondering why I chose Mr. Brown as an example, it merely proves that Amazon has an enormous selection of most books. At the time of this writing, they had 7 books available about this artist. If you’re looking for an out of print book, do a search on Amazon and sometimes you’ll be surprised what they can find.

Ordering is easy and according to their web site, “We accept Visa, MasterCard/EuroCard, Discover, American Express, Diner's Club, JCB, check, postal money order, and check cards or ATM cards, as long as they are connected with one of the major credit card companies listed above”. I like companies who give people the option of paying via money order, at least. But those who, like me, can’t resist exercising the plastic, they have a secure order form.

They also have a clever 1 Click Ordering system. Once you’ve ordered with Amazon (with a credit card), it will automatically be in place for your next order. You can place an order to any address you've shipped to before by clicking just one button and they access the billing and shipping information automatically. It’s nice to have this option when you don’t have a lot of time to fill out order forms online.

My biggest gripe about ordering is shipping. Amazon uses USPS – my preferred route – or UPS, my never preferred route. The choices are Standard, UPS Second Day Air or UPS Next Day Air -which is never overnight for me, no matter if I live across the street from the UPS distribution center. On shipping: I can’t honestly complain about the 99 cent charge for every book because I make sure I get my money’s worth, unfortunately at the cost of the delivery man’s back. He’s lugged ten pound boxes to my door and all I paid was $3.00 base shipping and an additional $1.98. However if a person enjoys “light” reading, the cost will add up and they will have to gauge whether the additional shipping is worth it. The 2nd Day charges range from $4.99 to $9.99 without the per item charge. If the package is shipped Overnight, the cost ranges from $8.99 – $16.99 not including per item charges. To be fair, the $16.99 was for computers and $8.99 is for cds, cassettes and DVDs. The books are charged $12.99 base shipping for Overnight, which makes you re-evaluate how important that book really is.

I said “Yes” to recommending Amazon because I know in most cases orders are delivered without a problem and Amazon does have a good selection.

I also rated Customer Service with a 2 but they did eventually resolve the problem even if it took an act of Congress to get it done.

Amazon’s merchandise is vast and it is shipped out quickly, and if you’re lucky enough that UPS delivers correctly or at all, then you’ll be happy with your purchase. However, if you order from Amazon and end up having to use their Customer Service, I recommend taking Valium for an extended amount of time. You’ll need it.

Thanks for reading!