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I consider myself something of a consumer advocate, and I have been a frequent and loyal Amazon customer precisely because of my concerns about quality customer service and a company that focuses on pleasing its customers. I'm surprised to read some of the negative reviews on here, as I have never had a bad experience with Amazon in my 8+ years of shopping with them (hundreds upon hundreds of orders... I buy something from them almost once every other week, sometimes as much as two or three times a week).

Amazon not only has the best prices and selection of any online merchant I've shopped with, but also the best amongst most real-world purveyors I've dealt with. The sole exception is in food items, in which case their prices can be quite variable (especially gourmet items which tend to be through 3rd party sellers who charge painful shipping rates). To be fair, they only just introduced grocery sales not too long ago, and there are some major problems to trying to sell such items online. But when it comes to electronics, small appliances, movies, games, toys, books, etc... I seem to almost always be better off, in terms of availability and price, going to Amazon than to the nearest mall, even considering sales and specialty stores (like Bed Bath and Beyond or Circuit City). The sole exception is, of course, Wal-Mart, whose prices are worth comparing with Amazon as sometimes one has a better deal than the other (Wal-Mart's $5 movie bin, for example).

Amazon's shipping services, far from being slow and inefficient as some have suggests, are among the best I've ever used. It's amazing that they can still offer free shipping in the current economy and with current fuel prices. True, there are some caveats. Some items (mostly heavy or bulky items) are not eligible for free shipping. Some 3rd party sellers who sell THROUGH Amazon will charge shipping (sometimes fairly HIGH shipping). This is especially true of specialty sellers, such as those that deal in imported food items. But it's not that hard to follow, really. Amazon's storefront interface is one of the best out there. I find it fairly intuitive and very user-friendly. Shipping charges are laid out clearly enough so that, unless you are oblivious, you'll know what is and is not going to cost you S&H. Stick to items sold directly by Amazon and items that are eligible and you'll love the service. Lastly, there is a $25 purchase minimum to free shipping, which is not only reasonable, but very low compared to most other places.

As far as speed, Amazon's free shipping is more often than not faster than they claim it to be! They tell you that free shipping might take 7-10 days, but this entirely depends on WHAT you've ordered. It's not uncommon to get your stuff in 2-3 days! Sometimes even faster than their regular shipping claims to be. I've rarely had it take the full 7-10 days (then again, I often buy books, small electronics, DVDs, video games, and other easy-to-ship items). The one criticism one might make is that their warehouse can sometimes be slow. Usually, this is not the case.

Occasionally, however, an item might take a few days to get shipped out. This is a much bigger pain when you opt for free shipping and opt to have all your items grouped together in larger orders, as one slow item can hold up your whole order. Amazon does, however, tell you right on the product page how fast any given item will generally take (ex: "item usually shops in 1-2 days"). These are fairly accurate, but remember that they are statistical averages. You might get "unlucky" and be the odd one out where an item that should have shipped out in 1-2 days take weeks. On rare occasion this information will be entirely wrong, and an item will end up being out of stock with Amazon having a very poor system for telling you about this and giving you any kind of idea how long restocking might take. You could end up waiting months for an item that appears to be in Limbo. My biggest complaint about this is that they wait to charge your credit card until they actually ship the item out. While some might be angry to have prepaid for something they have to wait for, I'd rather have the charge up front, rather than have a sudden (perhaps unexpected) charge to my account when and if the item suddenly does come back in stock. One time this ended up in me getting charged an over-the-limit fee on my credit card, and could have caused me to bounce some checks had I used a debit card.

Another complaint one might make is that sometimes product information can be inaccurate, missing, or poorly construed (such as 4 different DVD versions of the same movie with little or no information on how they differ in terms of special features, content, etc).

Despite these flaws, flaws ultimately resulting from Amazon's HUGE inventory, Amazon is a great company to shop with. With only perhaps 1 or 2 exceptions, any time I've had a problem I simply called them up and spoke to a very pleasant representative who went out of their way to help me. I've had Amazon refund me my money for defective items or items damaged in shipping with no questions asked and not even asking me to return the broken products! I've gotten refunds and credits in instances where I was arguably being a bit ridiculous.

For example, one thing I find problematic with Amazon's shopping cart is that it allows you to add more than one of the same item without noticing. Twice I placed orders of 15 or so books and accidentally ordered 2 copies of one of the books. In each case I called up and not only was able to return the books for a refund, but (after persistent persuasion on my part) they even agreed to refund me for the shipping costs! Amazon has always taken responsibility any time I've ever had a problem, even when the problem wasn't their fault and they easily could have told me "oh well" as many other online stores have told me. Their return policy is also better than any store, online or brick-and-mortar, that I've ever come across. I was once unsure which digital camera to buy, so I bought both and returned my least favorite camera (within the 30 day period) after trying them both out side-by-side for a couple of weeks. I had no problem with the refund, and I didn't even have to make up an excuse--they didn't mind when I explained why I was returning it, for the price of return shipping I got the camera I wanted most without any doubts or compromises.

Amazon also does not appear to have succumbed to the trend of out-sourcing customer service to India or Mexico. So, whenever I've called in with a complaint or concern, I always got someone who spoke clear and perfect English (a commodity these days). Not only that, but their representatives have been among the nicest and most courteous of any company I've EVER dealt with, even if I was being difficult. Now, that's worth a lot in my opinion.

I would highly recommend Amazon to anyone who was concerned about how companies treat their customers. Just be sure to recognize that no business is perfect, particularly not one this huge, and be aware that Amazon has in recent years begun offering more and more merchandise through THIRD PARTIES. While I like the added selection this brings, I'd much rather buy directly from Amazon (with free shipping).

Also, be careful not to confuse the Amazon MARKETPLACE with Amazon itself. The Marketplace is like Ebay and allows ANYONE to sell any item that Amazon offers, whether new or used. The Marketplace is fantastic, and I highly prefer it over Ebay. It's more reliable, more convenient, and Amazon guarantees every purchase 100%. I feel safe buying DVDs from sellers on the marketplace and knowing that if the item is not in EXACTLY the condition that the seller stated (according to Amazon's quality standards) then I am guaranteed a refund (Amazon will give you your money back if the seller refuses). You also don't have to worry about the occasional scam, because Amazon will quickly refund you if you never get your item and cannot contact the seller. And it's really nice to be able to buy used items from the Marketplace and new items from Amazon and/or third party sellers all in one order! I've even made some money selling items on the Marketplace and Amazon makes this much more intuitive and convenient than Ebay--no PayPal needed! Just be sure to know differentiate between them... since the Marketplace usually tacks on a small shipping fee (very small for media like books and DVDs). Some of the deals are truly unreal, I've gotten books that would cost be $20-$30 in the bookstore for (not kidding) A PENNY on Amazon in decent condition. Even with shipping, it came to like $3 or $4.

In short, Amazon is my first choice for shopping. I love their functionality, their service, and their excellent support when things go wrong. I'd rather support Amazon than a local business with marked up prices, rude staff, and a worthless return policy. Amazon's review features are a huge and valuable resource to the mindful consumer, and I often wont buy something before checking its Amazon rating and reviews. I wont even buy a book in Barnes and Noble before using my cell phone’s internet functionality to look up its price on Amazon and the Marketplace, as it's very rarely worth it to buy books or DVDs anywhere else, even when you DO pay for shipping. I have no idea about the specific complaints or cases of some of the reviews here, but I'm bewildered by the 3.5 overall rating. This lengthy reviews is, hopefully, a detailed account of the experiences and opinions of one frequent customer who highly recommends Amazon and only a few minor complaints and criticisms and has never had a truly bad experience that wasn't cleaned up with more than adequate apologizes and compensation.

In summary, I think Amazon is not only an excellent online store and top rate store in general, but one of my favorite companies. For someone who is often sketchy and wary of the interests, attitudes, and practices of large corporations, I have to say that Amazon presents a wonderful alternative to what business has become in modern America, presenting a customer-centric business model that I only wish more companies would embrace.