"Once again , they continue to surprise me. Super fast shipping, great prices and a overall excellent experience."

"I feel that I must re-review my thoughts on Amazon.com...it is true that their shipping policy stinks if you choose free shipping (only b/c of the length of time it might take to get to you) but when I recently returned two items (separately) they were fantastic! They could not have made it easier. I spoke to their customer service and was treated wtih respect and understanding. The return postage was free and they keep emailing you to keep you abreast of our return process..thank you, Amazon.com!!!"

"Ugh. This is by far the worst experience I've ever had in the 7 or so years I've been shopping at Amazon. It's so nice to know that they can turn round and casually shaft their repeat customers without a care in the world.

This particular order was for a little over $200 of miscellaneous stuff. Part of the order was for a couple of SD flash cards, which I figured (correctly) we would need for an upcoming holiday.

The order was placed in plenty of time, but Amazon decided to wait a week before informing me that part of the order was delayed. By the time the cards shipped, there was no way they would be able to make it here before we left, and as a result I had to run to a local Best Buy the night before the trip to buy replacements.

After we got back, after consulting with customer service I refused the package when the post office tried to deliver it. This is supposed to be an acceptable method of a return with Amazon.

This evening I received an email with details of the return and the refund. Instead of the full $36 refund amount, Amazon then had the nerve to:

1. Deduct from that some $5 for the use of a prepaid shipping label that they claim was used in the return (it wasn't),
2. Deduct the amount quoted as saved for free shipping (despite a policy that if the return is due to their error, no such deduction will be made),
3. Perform the elementary school math so badly in subtracting the two deductions that the final amount is far less than what the simple sum would otherwise come out to if someone competent had done it. Perhaps Amazon needs a calculator? They have pages and pages of 'em listed on their site, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

I have written back to customer service contesting the whole thing, but I'm not going to bother waiting for their reply to post this writeup. This whole transaction went badly enough before they tried to pull this nonsense, and this is simply the final straw.

Amazon, don't expect me to order anything from you again. This farce you dare to call a refund is bordering on criminal, and I'll get the remaining funds back from my credit card company if need be.

Edit: one of their reps wrote back to me and (in less than apologetic tones and with no explanation for the discrepancies) promised the full refund. The review still stands - this has been the worst experience I've ever had with Amazon."

"I have ordered many things from Amazon.com in the past. I have had a good experience almost every time. My latest order was no different. Amazon is a reliable retailer that seems to get me to return to them to buy something else. My problem with Amazon is the shipping. Though, not a terrible thing, they are usually slower than most store online at processing my order. This would not keep me away. They have kept me coming back, and they will continue to do so if the price is right. "

"I order through Amazon probably about once a month - sometimes with them directly and sometimes with an affiliate or marketplace seller. I've always been happy with them and haven't had a problem. One time I had an issue of not getting a promotion reflected in my cart. I emailed them, and within a day, they emailed me back and refunded me the money owed."

"Ordered a Nikon D40 kit, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens, extra Nikon battery, and SanDisk 2 GB Extreme III SD Memory Card ( SDSDX3-2048-901 ) all at the same time.

I opted to pay the reasonable $9.50 for 3-5 day delivery instead of getting the SuperSaver shipping 5-9 day for free.

Ordered arrived on the 3rd day, all the things in one box with decent packing (just some plastic bags with air in them). Packing wasn't tight, but was sufficient and all the objects looked fine.

I've been enjoying the camera since and will continue to use Amazon. Please note that I chose to get all the things from Amazon.com and NOT one of their so-called authorized dealers. I've ordered stuff from their authorized dealers before and they all jack up the S/H charges. Overall, I was very pleased."

"I have ordered from amazon many times (many books and a set of ear buds) and every time the order came nicely packaged, undamaged, and in a timely manner. Will shop from again."

"I've ordered at Amazon.com several times and always been satisfied. Once I ordered from Amazon France while I was in Italy. No problem at all.
However, the only time I made a "big" order (a latex mattress, ~600$), I decided to pay giving them my bank account number rather than use my credit card as I usually do when I buy online.
Wish I never done it! I made a typo entering my bank information. Amazon accepted the order but after few day, when my error came out, they suspended my account and put my case to a debt collection agency, without even dare to ask me a question. The agency charged me 25$ only to treat me like a half delinquent, harassing me, claiming they could report my name in the list of "bad guys" who checks are not accepted in any store... a nightmare...

I understand the error in first was mine, but the story showed me how much Amazon care about their customers. Never had a problem, but the first mistake you are out. Notice my account is still suspended, after more than one year from this issue.
Not that I want to make any more business with them anyway..."

"I've ordered from Amazon several dozen times. Books, electronics, computer components and accessories, hand and power tools and accessories, kitchen items, and even a comforter.

Their free super saver shipping is sometimes unreliable - pay for expedited shipping or Prime if you need something urgently.

I've received defective goods once. One email later and they issued a replacement out and paid for me to ship the item back.

I received a previously opened item once. It was a candy thermometer which was used and had fingerprints. One email later and a replacement was issued and they paid for me to ship the item back.

I've received damaged goods a few times - cosmetic damages to a textbook and a Leatherman giftbox. They issued 10% refund off those items.

Amazon also pricematches themselves so check prices on high priced items up to a month or so after you order them.

Amazon's Friday Sale sometimes has incredibly prices, but be prepared to be awake at 3am EST to take advantage of them - some items sell out within an hour or less.

All in all, I'm quite satisfied with Amazon. Although you cannot just call them up for assistance (you have to click on a link and enter your # for them to call you), their email support is decent. I'm not quite sure if I can comment on their customer service though. Instead of preventing problems from happening (like putting 20 dents in a metal gift box and shipping out a dirty and used candy thermometer), they throw money at return shipping and the customer via refunds to rectify problems once they've already occurred.

Their prices are decent and occasionally phenomenal, but don't expect a perfect experience. But then again, there's comfort in knowing that you can almost always send an item back for free, or have a few bucks refunded should something go wrong."

"I have used Amazon for years. The last order was for some books. I have never had a problem with Amazon and I have probably placed 30+ orders with them over the years. The shipping is often free and the items arrive in a reasonable time. I even bought my 42" Plasma through Amazon and the shipping was free even though I live in a remote area and they had to hire a third party shipping company because UPS and Fedex couldn't deliver it."

"I ordered overnight from this store, and was very pleased with the service and speed of delivery on my notebook - thank you."

"We used amazon several times during the last 12 months, all items arrived on time, in perfect condition.
One time a wrong address led to delay in shipping and they sent out a second item even before the first was back at the seller.
So far for me: great service."

"I purchase a set of very nice new earbuds from Amazon.com who apparently was selling these for Digital Media Source. After paying for express shipping to get to me before I go out of town I expected to have great service from them and to this point it was suitable. Once the package was inteh post offices hands they royally just messed this whole transactions up. Keep in mind I said post office, they could not use something with tracking like UPS or FedEx. The post office supposedly delivered it to me, at my office where someone at the front desk signed for it as I was told by the post man himself. Though he can not tell me who out of 2 people or produce a signature since he professed they signed for it. I have turned my front office upside down to call the post office and the post master tell me I have not looked. At this point I try to contact amazon for assistance since the combination of them and Digital Media were the shippers. They just passed me off that they could do nothing and Digital Media can not even return an email since they do not post a contact number. Amazon was the company that I paid through and the name on my card statement one of the two need to step up as a business and assist with this. At this point after calling amazon for the second time and "Our systems are going through an upgrade and are down for several hours" as I was told I am going to my bank to rectify this since no one involved seems to care if a customer is satisifed. Watch out for Amazon and pay close attention on where your package is actually coming from. I highly suggest going else where to buy any sort of small electronics, you might pay more but it is well worth it not to have the headaches or spend the time on the phone or web trying to locate your package. Triple team efforts to ruin a sell way to go Amazon, Digital Media Source, and the USPS."

"Amazon has drifted away from quality service. They ship items without proper packaging which results in damaged goods. Even though it is easy to return items, the fact that one has to even try is not a good business practice. 4 out of 5 orders I made in the past month have ended up damaged. No matter what type of shipping method I use, the boxes arrive either opened or crushed on one side. UPS and other companies would never allow packages that can collapse on the top lid if pushed down with one hand. But somehow Amazon seems to be an exception. They ship boxes without foam packing or air bladders to protect the contents. A baby can easily press down on Amazon boxes that ship out to customers.

C'mon Amazon. We love your fast service and huge selection but let it arrive to your customers' home intact and new. Not like it is used and abused."

"I ordered one Canon TX1 and two Lenmar NB-4L batteries and got these items on time and in good condition. They could have packed the box a bit more (no packing material around the camera box inside on the bottom) but I'm pretty satisfied with what I got. I was expecting the worst because UPS beat the box up a bit. The shipping cost was very fair."