"Though Im not a fan of online sales tax, Amazon always has competitive pricing, and the product reviews cant be beat. Thats the main thing for me is the reviews.

Ive never had a problem with Amazon service or their merchants. And I always make sure to choose merchants with high ratings if I cant get the item supplied from Amazon themselves.

Shipping has always been top notch in terms of keeping me updated. And I usually get my item by a week later.

One thing I wish Amazon didnt do though, was allow SquareTrade to sell their scam warranties to people. SquareTrade has notoriously poor customer service and Ive read too many reviews of people not having their warranty honored.

Oh wells."

"Amazon's new pay-by-check feature? Don't bother. May save them money, but it costs you in grief. These very stupid people pass the check to Telecheck. If Telecheck isn't up to date, you're screwed, your check bounces, your credit history is annotated and so on. Jeff ain't minding the store, and it shows in this ill-considered process."

"I have always been satisfied with Amazon's prime 2 day free shipping and return policies If Amazon has it in their stock. If the item you order is coming from another company you might have a different experience. They are not the cheapest place to shop at times, but have always been as fast and reliable as any place I have shopped online and at times, even faster than most. It now cost $99 per year, but if you order a lot like I have it will more than pay for itself and with free movies to watch if you have a TV or DVD that can connect to the internet, it is cheaper than netflix. I don't know if its selection is as good, but we have watched a few really good movies we must have missed over the years. Although I am not a big movie watcher, it is a plus that I have that opportunity. I have probably saved over $200 in shipping costs in the past year too. I had to put an order number in this review to complete it so I picked the last one. My ratings also reflect the many other orders I made, including a few returns."

"I ordered a pair of running shoes at $49.00 in late June for a 4th of July run. No problem--I'm a Prime member, I know this shoe, and Amazon is great at fulfillment so I didn't even consider going to the local shop. I got confirmation of the purchase, and then, four days later, wondering why this order never arrived, I got a cancelled notice from Amazon claiming the product was out of stock. This note came complete with a link to prove the product was out of stock. Clicking the link showed that it was indeed in stock, but now priced at $113.00.

Great.

So I called them, wasting more of my time, and all trust that I had built up with Amazon over the year completely eroded in a matter of minutes. The person I spoke with just reiterated that it was out of stock and there was nothing that could be done about it, despite the fact that it was indeed in stock with links proving that fact. I asked to speak to a manager, who, after an infuriating exchange of utter nonsense, told me he couldn't help and would hang up on me; which he did. Flabbergasted, I called back, spoke to another customer service person, who finally spoke the truth, that being: "We messed up, and the link showing it is in stock is fulfilled by another supplier, and we cannot offer that price." In his defense, he was civil, apologetic, human.

Given this experience, I would advise you to not count on Amazon to fulfill orders of any product that is needed on a specific date at a specific price.

Given the options, I believe that zappos.com and 6pm.com are both far superior in shoe sales, fulfillment and customer service, as are local shops.

Happy Trails!"

"Don't get decieved by their prices ,most of their sellers are not authorized.you can buy cheap stuff from amazon but don't ever buy electronics or expensive stuff!!they won't refund you or replace your damged product.
I bought a $500 product (silk'n xl)that supposed to have a 65,000 pulse that would be more than enough for me and my spouse for life and it just broke down in the 3rd or 4th use!!! And the company refused to replace it because the seller is not an authorized seller ,and amazon as well refused to do anything about it though i trusted them not the seller!!! "

"Amazon is getting worse and worse every day.
The package arrived torn up, without any padding.
The customer service is always incognito , no real person to talk to.
The return has been refused and the representative was rude and unskilled. When I started complaining about it - they just canceled my account.
Not buying from Amazon anymore"

"SUCKS! People think they have the lowest price so they dont check anywhere else. I just did some research and found almost everything I was buying from them at lower price in other online stores. They seem to have outsourced their customer India. I can't get a reasonable answer from anyone over their. I'm done with amazon"

"Amazon is becoming the poster child for the Caveat Emptor doctrine (let the buyer beware). Shopping on their site has become an unwelcome exercise in research as we lowly shoppers have to read not only the product description, but all the reviews and questions and answers from fellow shoppers, just to see if the description is accurate and to get basic information such as country of manufacture, since Amazon can not be bothered to verify details of products they sell or allow to be sold on their site. If we end up purchasing from Amazon, we have to keep our fingers crossed that the item(s) will arrive undamaged, as their packing process is a crapshoot. One might receive a beautifully padded order that does not shift in its box even with the most violent shaking, or (more probably) a half empty, half unsealed box with the order floating around the bottom with no protection in sight. I usually order elsewhere now, rather than support their slipshod operation."

"I can't speak to Amazon's many resellers as I tend to avoid them, but when Amazon is the seller they are frickin awesome. They seem to sell everything at a fraction above cost. Shipping with Amazon Prime is ridiculously cheap. The particular order I'm reviewing was for a garden fountain. Amazon's price was over $100 less than Home Depot. As a Prime member, I got that huge box shipped overnight for $15. Incredible.

They're not perfect of course. I recently ordered a 12 pack of flexible PVC connectors. They shipped one rather than the 12. I sent an e-mail. They responded within a few hours. They told me to keep the one they sent and then they shipped a new 12 pack by overnight shipping. That's just how they roll."

"I placed an order for a double vanity sink from Amazon. For several days, I received updates on the order then the updates were less frequent. Amazon pushed out the delivery date a couple of times and after two weeks, I cancelled the order realizing I was never going to receive the vanity. I wrote a negative review on their website (without profanity) just stating the facts (as shown above) and Amazon came back stating that they would not post the review. That is hilarious because as a seller on Amazon, they do not mind lowering your rating if you (the seller) continually push out the delivery dates on a customer's item. Never shopping Amazon again."

"Amazon middlemans everything and owns nothing.Do a little searching and you will get the item cheaper supporting the original seller without supporting a skinhead ripoff artist."

"We are Amazon Prime customers who order something about once a week.
All kinds of items. Light bulbs, concrete sealer, dishwasher detergent, etc.
All arrive as scheduled.
All arrive unbroken.
Prices are good, but the real reason I shop so much at Amazon is the SELECTION."

"Quick shipping and average pricing. Weird phone system to contact them. "

"Amazon blows every other online store I've ever ordered from completely out of the water. Their customer care, unbelievably fast order processing, shipping, pricing, and overall quality of service are second to none. I've been loyal to amazon for a number of needs for many years and they've been just as loyal to me. :)"

"I shop Amazon for just about everything! It's my go-to store before I look anywhere else for online purchases. I've read other reviews where people are dissatisfied and you have to understand that most of the time you are dealing with 3rd party sellers on Amazon's site. When you are dealing with slow shipping, it isn't necessarily Amazon's "fault"; it is a bad reseller who is sitting on his/her hands and not following the rules he/she signed up for when deciding to be an Amazon reseller. And yes, I am one. Unless you are purchasing through Amazon Prime (which is a guaranteed two-day shipping from one of Amazon's distributing centers), look for a seller who has a 98% or greater score when purchasing. Look at the description of the item you are purchasing. Look at their reviews. Do some research before clicking on the "BUY" button. It takes some time on your part, but you'll be much more satisfied. Amazon isn't "going downhill fast" as one reviewer put it. We, as consumers just need to be a little more diligent in our purchasing.

As for me, I usually get my items very quickly and the items are packed professionally and arrive without incident. Maybe because I am also a 3rd party reseller on Amazon, I'm a little more "picky" about who I do business with. But I trust Amazon and love it there."