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Amazon.com is the REAL “revenge of the nerds.” I can say this since I am a nerd (though in the closet mostly) and come from a family of nerds (my brother has a PhD in computers).

Jeff Bezos is the poster child for nerds and the mother (if a guy can give birth) to an Amazon. When I saw this guy on Oprah, I thought, “Hum, yep he is one.” Bright. Creative. Innovative. Funny.

The way Bezos told it on Oprah is that he was riding along and thinking (nerds do that a lot). His wife was driving (gotta love that girl). He thought that maybe an online to sell books would be a good idea. There are only so many books a store can stock locally. An online opens the doors for any book at any time and at a great price too for anybody to buy and get in the mail and then read. WHAT A CONCEPT!

Bezos turned in his “quit slip” at a NY investment company and went with his online book company in 1994-1995. This was “family” and neighbors boxing up books and sending those out. And, HEY, it worked. If you’ve seen the commercials where the net folks watch the counter, and then it zips at the speed of lightning . . . then that is what you’re seeing here. INSTANT HIT!

I could say: “The rest is history.” That would not really tell this Amazon story though. Nerds do not invent the mousetrap and then sit back and wait for mice. They are constantly looking for ways to improve the mousetrap and to catch other vermin. This is just the nature of the nerd beast.

Amazon nailed the book thing. Although some of the other companies do match or do better at times on price, overall Amazon is always a safe bet. The only real contender, I think, would be half.com (an Ebay company) which sells used books. Amazon noticed this, of course, and they do the used bit too. While the selection is not quite half.com yet in terms of selection, it is running neck and neck. I always check both spots on used, and it is usually a close call. Amazon would be safer overall, but half.com slides in with better prices (by a hair).

The real plus on books with Amazon would be the reviews and suggestions. The reviews are skimpy for the most part (and not Epinion quality overall—Amazon doesn’t pay reviewers either), but you can read about the books at the site. Half.com has that option too but not the volume that Amazon has built in a short time. The suggestion section was a bit buggy in the past. You would get all kinds of strange suggestions if you bought for a friend or your kid. Suddenly, Amazon would think you liked WWF stuff. That has been customized more now, so you get better suggestions overall. Sometimes I do see things I want on the suggestions though I don’t really like when companies put a cookie on my computer and track where I go and what I do.

Since Amazon was such a good book place, they managed to suck up some of the other book onliners like Borders. You can go to Borders, but you are back at Amazon. This tells you that Amazon has a good thing going, but it also means that small companies are going to have a hard row to hoe. Amazon is rapidly going to Wal-Mart of the online world. This does mean that prices are great though. It is hard to object to good prices, but it does mean that fewer companies play and then prices can go up overall.

Speaking of the Wal-Mart focus. Amazon now carries almost everything under the sun. They quickly jumped from being the best bookseller online to selling just about everything that you could think of. Some of the items I have bought include boom boxes, bird feeders, and a leather jacket. The prices were the best. I ran checks through several online checks including My Simon which is my favorite.

When you click to Amazon and look at a wide variety of products, you are clicking through to a variety of companies that started off as independent onliners. Some examples would be Toys R Us and also Target. You can click to these sites, but you are going to Amazon for all practical purposes. You even find situations where you buy locally like at Circuit City and pick the item up locally but pay by credit card to Amazon (they find the item and price and then send you to get the item). That is where I got cameras for my boys. The price indirect through Amazon was lower than walking into the store for a cold buy. That is, indeed, strange.

I’ve been buying from Amazon almost from the start. The products are quality. The prices are excellent. They don’t have as many coupons as some onliners, but that keeps prices low for all. Shipping can run a tad high, but it is not off the deep end. I would just as soon pay a little more and know the item will come in. Amazon has always been good on that from my experience.

The only downs I can think of would be:

1. Competition is down when one company does it so well. And, yes they do max out on working with you. I have seen a VERY FEW complaints, but those are the exceptions.
2. The company is running in the red. The old saying is that you have to spend money to make money. Amazon has gone for the gold. I only hope that they do not fizzle. The concept is good and a lot of people believe in this idea, so I suspect that they will weather fine and turn that profit soon. (YEP! Four days after I wrote the original on this review, Amazon posted a profit. This certainly bodes well for this dot com).
3. I spend too much at Amazon. I buy too many books to start with. When you add other stores and selections and easy navigation, then I have to be careful. I didn’t really need that Target leather jacket, but it was over half off. I do love it. It was cheaper though Amazon than through Target (YES—I checked), so I am glad I got it. If Amazon had not hooked up with Target, then I would not have even thought about a leather jacket.

Overall, Amazon is a starter and a survivor in dotcom land. You can get great products at great prices and know that they will really come. They have added “used” to cut prices even more. They have expanded stock to give you items in more categories. While you might shop around and get a little better deal on books and other items, overall Amazon is a really safe bet and one that I use more than I want to or should.