Folks I've worked with know that I have a thing for gum.
I was doing the math at $0.10/piece, but then figured "what the heck" and asked if I could buy the whole bucket. That seemed to piss off the store owner.
He said he would only sell me $5 worth at $0.10/piece. The bucket said "180ct" and was about 1/3 down. I tried to chat him up. "You can't get this at at Costco, can you?" "No, not at Costco." He wouldn't tell me where he got the Dubble Bubble buckets wholesale.
An hour later, I'd chewed through half of my stash and was thinking there had to be a better way to get quantity gum.
Enter Amazon. I'm happy to say that 1,260 pieces of Dubble Bubble (in various-sized plastic buckets) are now on their way to me. I'll have them tomorrow.
Recently I've found that my online purchasing has increased, and consolidated, through Amazon. I did 80% of my christmas shopping through Amazon. I've bought scissors, wall thermometers, toys, video games, a camera, a bunch of DVDs, and of course books...
A couple of things I've had to go outside to get..MREs (ebay), and a coffee machine for the office (amzn didn't have the model we were looking for.) But if amzn has it, I use them to buy it.
Give credit to Bezos ... he's built the best ecommerce fulfillment platform in the business. One-click purchasing, Amazon Prime, reviews, "Where's my stuff?", multiple credit cards and shipping addresses on file in my account... it all just works.
And with their merchants, they offer just about everything.
When I go somewhere else on the web to buy stuff it's invariably a rude shock. Basic gaps in the checkout process. Delayed or missing order confirmation emails. Bozo shipping policies. Stuff that I don't have to worry about with Amazon.
When I want to know something, I go to Google.
But when I want to buy something, I go to Amazon.
Comments (20)
I couldn't agree more. I buy a ton of stuff on Amazon: CDs, DVDs, books, watches, computer mice etc... they even have rattlesnake meat on there. Its pretty ridiculous.
The Amazon Prime thing is amazing too. A major reason I wasn't shopping there too much in the past was due to the shipping lag. But now that's all gone and my shopping has increased 10 fold. i Love it.
FYI: There was a little segment on Amazon on Modern Marvels: 90's Tech the other night. It was pretty short but it was cool to see their NV warehouse. You might be able to catch a rerun
-arin
Posted by Arin | February 12, 2008 3:00 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 15:00
+1
Me too.
Posted by Jeremy Zawodny | February 12, 2008 4:34 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 16:34
Isn't it illegal to resell MRE's? MRE's are Property of the Federal Government?
Posted by Mark | February 12, 2008 4:59 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 16:59
I thought I was the only one who felt this way about Amazon.
Whenever possible I buy from them. They're not always the cheapest - but damned if their stuff doesn't get there exactly when they say.
I've bought most of my Christmas gifts there as well - and will continue to do so. They also operate THE cheapest place to buy new cell phones (with contracts),
Their free shipping (Amazon Prime) is a great thing and I gladly pay the annual fee to be a member.
Wayne Schulz
http://www.s-consult.com
Posted by wayne schulz | February 12, 2008 5:32 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 17:32
Why would he have been upset that you wanted to buy stuff in his store [at the posted price]? I don't get it.
Posted by Jeffry Houser | February 12, 2008 5:54 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 17:54
I agree totally. I am an Amazon whore, and I'm on a first name basis with my UPS driver. I love not having to get out. I just wish more of the merchants were part of Amazon Prime.
Posted by Rick Roberts | February 12, 2008 6:05 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 18:05
For years, amazon has been my #1 place to visit for online shopping but last month I was in for a rude shock.
I live in an upstairs apt with no elevator (and the driveway is also far from stairs). I ordered an exercise bike [comes in a huge 120 lb package] from amazon - great price + free delivery to doorstep and the fun began.
At first, ups and then fedex played cat-and-mouse with me. When I waited the whole day at home they just didn't show up for delivery (no explanation given).
amazon refused to change the shipping category to deliver the package on Saturday. Fedex won't let me pay for it either. I spent far more time on phone talking and arguing with them on phone than was worth.
Bottom line:
They are the best for books and cd and all that small stuff. If you're shopping for bulky stuff, read the fine print at least 3 times to see if it is still worth going to them ...
Posted by AM | February 12, 2008 6:46 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 18:46
Couldn't agree more...and with the Kindle, Amazon's taking the 20% of books I used to buy in a physical store as well. Can't beat the immediate gratification of digital goods.
Posted by Michael Parekh | February 12, 2008 6:49 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 18:49
I go to Amazon for model numbers and reviews, then Froogle & eBay for price comparisons. If Amazon has the lowest price then I go that way, but often enough they don't so I don't.
Posted by Ayrkain | February 12, 2008 8:19 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 20:19
I forgot to mention that their support is pretty good too...
I order an xbox 360 game a couple months back w/ the 2 day shipping (im a member of prime). Anyways... the tracking said it was supposed to get to the office on Friday and even by the following Monday morning it was a no show. The UPS tracking info was dead; it had the shipment listed as "out for delivery" since 6am on Friday (no updates at all). I called Amazon and they sent out another game with essentially no questions asked via overnight delivery. Tuesday morning both packages showed up ;-)
Posted by Arin | February 12, 2008 8:33 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 20:33
Bad anology! Google is the soon to be distant #2 to the MS-Yahoo jagernaught!
Posted by steve ballmer | February 12, 2008 9:01 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 21:01
I feel exactly the same way. I use Amazon for everything from DVDs to textbooks. Everything is so convenient and efficient over there.
Posted by Joe Smith | February 12, 2008 11:29 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 23:29
MREs? When did you become a survivalist? ;-)
Posted by jeremy liew | February 13, 2008 12:27 AM
Posted on February 13, 2008 00:27
Totally agree with this. Which is why I think the new Product Ads beta from Amazon is interesting as a potential competitor to Adwords.
Posted by Liam | February 13, 2008 2:47 AM
Posted on February 13, 2008 02:47
Amazon in the US are indeed fantastic, and I spent hundreds of dollars in gifts and purchases there over the years.
There's one problem though -- they offer a terrible service to the rest of the world. I've had to abandon the Amazon habit since moving to Ireland, where they will no longer ship games, software, hardware, or appliances, or sell MP3s -- in other words, unless it's plain ol' books or CDs you're after, you're out of luck. :(
pretty ironic, seeing as I work in the same building as Amazon's EU network operations centre....
Posted by Justin Mason | February 13, 2008 3:09 AM
Posted on February 13, 2008 03:09
The last two sentences sum it all up for me and a whole lot of folks as well.
I love Amazon.com. I use a little site called jangle.net to help me find their best bargains.
Posted by J.D. | February 13, 2008 7:55 AM
Posted on February 13, 2008 07:55
I agree. The one notable exception is Pooter Parts. NewEgg is the End-All Be-All of pooter part shopping.
Posted by Dan Isaacs | February 13, 2008 9:05 AM
Posted on February 13, 2008 09:05
MREs suck. I'd recommend ditching them in favor of Bachelor Chow (TM)
Posted by Kevin Burton | February 13, 2008 8:31 PM
Posted on February 13, 2008 20:31
Where do we go when we want to *understand* something? =)
"My problem is not finding something. My problem is understanding something." – Danny Hillis
"Understanding answers why questions." – Russell Ackoff (paraphrased)
Posted by Nivi | February 13, 2008 10:18 PM
Posted on February 13, 2008 22:18
I generally agree, though I've got the weird situation that a good few months of my shopping history seem to have disappeared from their servers. At least I've got gmail for my receipts, but you'd think Amazon would be more reliable.
Rich, what are you doing with MREs anyway?
Posted by Rocky | February 14, 2008 2:38 PM
Posted on February 14, 2008 14:38