What do people like the most about Amazon?

I’ll tell you what I like the most, but I still rarely use it even though I do a good amount of online shopping:
1. fast
2. a lot of reviews
3. they saved “The Expanse” (TV show)
4. Amazon gift cards have good resale value
5. it’s one more option, and obviously more options is better.

You can get an out of print textbook for $0.01. sometimes even free shipping.

Delivery is very fast and straight to your door.
A marvellous range of products are available.
The reviews provide pros and cons you might not have thought of.
No questions return policy should you need to use it.

The reviews from everyday idiots.
An easy free return policy.

The variety of merchandise
Easy to return – just take the item to a participating store; I use ups. They box it, address it, and it costs nothing
I don’t fully trust the reveiws but do read them and take them into account
Delivery time is ok
I can have large items like a chair delivered

From a disabled person’s perspective, it allows me to go shopping in one place without leaving my home. Shipping is quick and easy and, for me, almost always free. I can get many items delivered same-day or next-day. I know Amazon handles returns fairly well. I can subscribe to frequently used items at a discounted price. My Amazon account is linked to my television and Alexa devices throughout the house, which enable my kids to communicate with me whether I am home or not and gives us access to TV shows and movies to watch. Each family member has a handy Amazon wish list, which makes gift-giving easy.

The ease of shopping from home. The ability to compare items and prices and check reviews.

I have worked at Amazon for over two years, but I was a customer 2 decades before that.

One thing I like most about Amazon is I can look at details of all my orders, back to1999.

Everything mentioned here are things I like about Amazon and it would be difficult for me to say I like one thing more than another. I like the quick and free shipping. I like being able to browse through a large quantity of merchandise with specific criteria. I like being able to compare prices and look at lots of reviews. Returns are easy. 99% of the time, the delivery person gets it right but on the rare occasions when I don’t receive a package, or if an item is damaged, I call customer service and they put a new one in the mail right away without a hard time. I like Prime Video for streaming. I don’t think I watch it as much as I watch Netflix and others but it’s an option. Last but not least I like that if I’m curious to see an item I ordered a long time ago, to see what it would cost now or for whatever reason, I can search for it in my orders and find it to reorder or to look at it for any reason.

I’ve had Prime for around 11 or 12 years and prior to that, I found that when I ordered things during the holiday season, with the minimum for free shipping which was 25 dollars worth of stuff, even without Prime the stuff came within days. I speculated that it was because it was the holiday season and they had a lot of extra staff on hand getting stuff shipped out quickly. Not sure if that’s still the case and I couldn’t compare it now because I have Prime but it was a nice thing, that fairly quick free shipping during the holidays with the minimum.

Stuff on Amazon is not always the cheapest so like anything, you have to know your prices. Recently I was looking for coffee filters, and on Amazon they were not a better deal at all, even the generic ones, even with a huge quantity. The local supermarket had the best price. Costco and Walmart often have better prices on many things, like shampoo, soap, fragrances, etc.

@Call_Me_Jay Yes! I love that I can go back and see all of my purchases. In one click I can “purchase again” or I can remind myself that I didn’t really like an item.

BTW, my first Amazon purchase in 1999 was two CDs:

Bug Music: Music Of The Raymond Scott Quintette, John Kirby & His Orchestra, And The Duke Ellington Orchestra(album)

Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

I still like the Sinatra. I listen to Bug Music often.

I was recently thinking about putting my Prime account on hold but I do like that it’s there when I need it. My phone charger isn’t working too well and I just looked in my account at chargers I bought recently, and I bought them again. They’ll be here tomorrow and it’s easier than driving to Walmart, where there’s no guarantee they’d even have a charger for my phone.

@jca2 Do you have a friend who has an account they’d let you use? My sister lets me use hers for free deliveries. Jeez I’ve seen the addresses they ship to on her account and I think she lets about 10 people use it! I never counted, but it’s more than a few It doesn’t cost her anything, and for all Amazon knows she’s simply shipping gifts to people. I know… a little underhanded, but hell it’s Amazon!

@smudges I agree Prime isn’t always necessary. I ship things to friends and family often with my Prime account, regardless whether they have a membership or not.

1) How slow is non-Prime shipping? I honestly have no idea.
2) And for much less than the yearly fee, one could overnight or 2-day a few vital packages

I joined Prime for the streaming TV (I wanted to see The Man in the High Castle). I don’t have cable TV, it is a very inexpensive alternative. The shipping etc. are just gravy for me.

^^ If I remember right, shipping without Prime isn’t that much, but it can take several days longer. I think it’s free if it’s over a certain amount, like maybe $25…? but it costs more to get it there within a certain time, just like the post office – overnight is more, etc.

@capet, I realized one thing I hate about Amazon…ORDERING!! omg, either I’m stupid or my brain is really slow. I was on the site trying to order a children’s book for my nephew and was on there for 30 freakin’ minutes before I called my sister for help. She got it done in less than 10 minutes! My eyes are darting everywhere because it’s so distracting. I didn’t even see that the book that I had in my cart was for a child who could read; my sister caught it. They have so much crap on every page, including the checkout pages! There’s just so much to read so that you don’t make a mistake and sign up for something you don’t want or order the wrong type of delivery. <sigh> but know what? It must be me because I just realized I have the same problem ordering on almost any site and it’s always been that way, not just since I got older.

Thanks for listening. ;)