[Hoot Gibson]

I have bought books from Amazon.com for years but recently I have begun to buy everything from toilet paper to coconut juice and chocolate milk from them. The traffic is so bad here and Wal-Marts are scattered much more than other places where I have lived, that I have decided to let somebody else fight the traffic whenever possible.

Amazon's service amazes me more all the time. I often receive shipments the day after I place orders without paying for next-day delivery. (I pay $70/yr. to cover nearly all shipping charges.)

Does anybody else order much besides books online on a regular basis?

[Westside]

I mostly just order used books and used dvds.

[vundy33]

Hoot, Amazon is great. On deployments I've ordered everything from food, books, games, rifle parts, clothes, all that kind of stuff. They're good about taking care of their good customers.

[Bob Seger]

I have never bought anything off Amazon, but when I get on the website and click on a category, it refreshes itsself about every 5 seconds. How do get it to stop so I can scroll down the list of items?

[Ballers]

Never have.

[LWC]

I have bought a few things. If I was still in college though, I would buy the Kindle. a friend of mine got a Kindle and bought all their text-books as E-books. She carries the Kindle, a notebook and a pen....that is it! How convienient!

[vundy33]

I'm old school LWC. I still carry a chalkboard and plenty of chalk.

[Hoot Gibson]

I carry a Kindle with me to read on the train most days. I love it but I would like to have one of the new models. I subscribe to US Today and a few blogs in addition to the books that I have downloaded.

[Hoot Gibson]

I have never bought anything off Amazon, but when I get on the website and click on a category, it refreshes itsself about every 5 seconds. How do get it to stop so I can scroll down the list of items?

I have never had that problem. What kind of web browser are you running? I usually run Chrome or Firefox but I don't remember having that problem with IE either.

The $70 I spent for free two-day shipping was one of the smartest buys that I have ever made. With the exception of perishable groceries, I have almost decided that if Amazon doesn't sell it, then I probably don't need it. The product ratings are a nice feature too. It makes it easy to cull the lemons and to see which products are selling well.

When you pick a product, Amazon automatically displays alternatives for you too. If you do not have a fast connection, that may be what is causing your problem with frequent refreshes. Amazon is a state-of-the-art site and is constantly doing partial screen refreshes in response to your actions. I don't know if there is anyway to disable the refreshes.

Browsing the site with Google Chrome might help because it is the fastest web browser available. For anybody using a dial-up connection, Amazon would probably be painfully slow.

[Hoot Gibson]

Hoot, Amazon is great. On deployments I've ordered everything from food, books, games, rifle parts, clothes, all that kind of stuff. They're good about taking care of their good customers.

Because I have been on foot for a few weeks and did not want to walk to the store, I ordered 18 mega-rolls of Charmin on Thursday. It arrived on Friday. No shipping. No sales tax. The price was comparable to Wal-Mart and I didn't have to fight the traffic and crowd to pick it up.

[Bob Seger]

I have never had that problem. What kind of web browser are you running? I usually run Chrome or Firefox but I don't remember having that problem with IE either.

The $70 I spent for free two-day shipping was one of the smartest buys that I have ever made. With the exception of perishable groceries, I have almost decided that if Amazon doesn't sell it, then I probably don't need it. The product ratings are a nice feature too. It makes it easy to cull the lemons and to see which products are selling well.

When you pick a product, Amazon automatically displays alternatives for you too. If you do not have a fast connection, that may be what is causing your problem with frequent refreshes. Amazon is a state-of-the-art site and is constantly doing partial screen refreshes in response to your actions. I don't know if there is anyway to disable the refreshes.

Browsing the site with Google Chrome might help because it is the fastest web browser available. For anybody using a dial-up connection, Amazon would probably be painfully slow.

I dont have dial-up, it is a DSL connection, so it should be moderately quick, shouldn't it?

It doesn't go through the refreshing mode until I get into a specific sub category. Then it refreshes so quickly that I dont have time to get but just a very short distance down the page before it refreshes again.

[Hoot Gibson]

I dont have dial-up, it is a DSL connection, so it should be moderately quick, shouldn't it?

It doesn't go through the refreshing mode until I get into a specific sub category. Then it refreshes so quickly that I dont have time to get but just a very short distance down the page before it refreshes again.

Yeah, even a slow DSL connection should be plenty quick for any website. The only time I can really tell a difference in a really fast cable connection and DSL is when downloading big files. I usually just search Amazon for what I want by typing directly into the search box.

Do you ever run a spyware scanner like Adaware or Spybot Search-and-Destroy? One of my sons used to pick up so much spyware and adware that it made his computer seem extremely slow. I had turned on pop-up blocking for him but all the junk was still trying to load in the background. Once those programs build up it can be a big job getting rid of all of them. I used to run three different programs to clean up the mess on his PC and it took hours.

One more thing that you might check. Web sites like Amazon.com use a programming technique called AJAX. AJAX allows partial refreshes of the screen. Google Maps is the best known example of AJAX. It lets you continue to work while it is refreshing part of the map as you drag it around or zoom. AJAX requires that you have JavaScript enabled in your web browser. If you have JavaScript turned off, AJAX won't work, so Amazon might do full screen refreshes instead. The display would jump back to the top of the window with each refresh. See how Googlemaps.com works for you. If it lets you pan and zoom almost instantaneously, then the JavaScript setting is not the problem.

[Hoot Gibson]

It has been almost three years since my last post in this thread but I am still amazed at the customer service that Amazon.com provides. Not only do they sell almost everything that I can imagine online, but here in northern Virginia, the delivery time is almost always earlier than expected. In fact, when I order something on Friday morning, I am getting so spoiled that I am disappointed if it does not get here on Saturday. I don't even remember the last time that I visited a Walmart or Target.

[Granny Bear]

If you suscribe to an Amazon credit card, you will get a ton of extras...I use it all the time but especially during Christmas time. That is one of my busiest times of the year and it is so difficult to get away. Add the gasoline, crowds, parking etc. I don't have the patience anymore.

The credit card that I have through them adds insurance in case of package loss or damage, it also gives me free shipping if I use that credit card to pay for my order. I also get a free return slip if I need to return merchandise. The website also tells me in clear language that I can understand, when they have found an item that is not amazon sponsored so I am 'leaving their website'.

I love Amazon and spend a ton of money there every year. Also, at the end of the year, I get a reward check back from them for 1% of the total that I spent for the year.

I love amazon.com!!!!

[Stardust]

Yes, and plenty! Amazon Prime was the best 70 bucks I have ever spent. This year alone, I have tried over $1,500 in cameras and equipment that I have tried and decided not to keep. Returns are free and no questions at all. I actually buy a lot from the net and usually can find it on Amazon at prices as good as any other. I am a huge fan of amazon.

With Prime, I stream movies to my kindle while traveling and take advantage of their library of free books.

[Westside]

My brother got me a kindle paper white for my birthday back in April and I love it. I got my girlfriend a kindle fire hd and it is awesome. Has anybody tried the kindle fire hdx yet?

[RunItUpTheGut]

How long before that whole sales tax catches up to the entire internet?
Personally, I think if its on the net, sales tax should stay away. You pay the shipping, which averages it out.

[Granny Bear]

If you meet certain criteria, you don't have to pay shipping when you buy through amazon.

[Hoot Gibson]

How long before that whole sales tax catches up to the entire internet?
Personally, I think if its on the net, sales tax should stay away. You pay the shipping, which averages it out.

Even with sales tax, which Amazon has started charging for items originating in certain states, it is still a great deal on most items when you factor in the time and gas that you save. Like Dusty said, for $70/year two-day shipping is covered for most items and the membership fee includes access to thousands of free videos.

For example, last Friday I ordered a new Panasonic wet-dry electric razor that was marked down $45 for one day and the original price was competitive with other websites. It arrived on Saturday morning. This Friday I ordered a large graphics tablet. It arrived this morning, on a Sunday. I paid no additional shipping on either item for weekend delivery. If you want overnight delivery on an item, it is $3.00 extra and I think Saturday delivery is $9.95 per item. But I just roll the dice and I usually get my merchandise early without paying for express delivery.

My only regret is that I did not invest money in Amazon.com a few years ago. I predict that they will become a major player in the grocery business in the next few years. They are becoming Walmart's biggest competitive threat, IMO.

[Hoot Gibson]

My brother got me a kindle paper white for my birthday back in April and I love it. I got my girlfriend a kindle fire hd and it is awesome. Has anybody tried the kindle fire hdx yet?

I have not tried a Kindle fire but I use the Kindle reader software on several devices including several laptops and my Blackberry Playbook. I hardly ever read a paper book any more. There are some advantages of buying one of the Kindle Fire tablets, such as being able to replay Amazon videos in HD, but I like my Playbook. I have more than 50 technical and programming books stored on my Playbook, which I use as a reference at work.

You can download books in non-Kindle formats such as PDF and Mobi and read them with the Kindle Reader application. You can also read them online in web browsers using the Kindle Cloud Reader without downloading them to your computer.

I do plan to buy a Kindle Paper White soon. For reading novels, newspapers, etc., I think the digital ink of the non-color Kindles is much easier on the eyes. I love the long battery life as well.

There is really no good reason for all college textbooks not to be available in Kindle format much more cheaply than in paper. Being able to carry around thousands of books in a device that weighs less than a pound just makes too much sense for colleges to continue to hold a virtual monopoly on textbooks.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Even with sales tax, which Amazon has started charging for items originating in certain states, it is still a great deal on most items when you factor in the time and gas that you save. Like Dusty said, for $70/year two-day shipping is covered for most items and the membership fee includes access to thousands of free videos.

For example, last Friday I ordered a new Panasonic wet-dry electric razor that was marked down $45 for one day and the original price was competitive with other websites. It arrived on Saturday morning. This Friday I ordered a large graphics tablet. It arrived this morning, on a Sunday. I paid no additional shipping on either item for weekend delivery. If you want overnight delivery on an item, it is $3.00 extra and I think Saturday delivery is $9.95 per item. But I just roll the dice and I usually get my merchandise early without paying for express delivery.

My only regret is that I did not invest money in Amazon.com a few years ago. I predict that they will become a major player in the grocery business in the next few years. They are becoming Walmart's biggest competitive threat, IMO.

Good info. Personally, I dont do much internet shopping, especially for household items, but i do have a friend that just bought his entire plumming for his new house through Amazon and got it at a much better deal than going to any stores around here.
Thats crazy to think. I to wish i had invested in Amazon. 99% of the time these things dont work out, but a man can get rich by picking the right ones.
Im not a fan of wal mart by any means, but its nice to see someone give them a run. According to Wal mart, theyll match any prices, i wonder if that includes online items threw places like Amazon? I dont think it does.

[Hoot Gibson]

Good info. Personally, I dont do much internet shopping, especially for household items, but i do have a friend that just bought his entire plumming for his new house through Amazon and got it at a much better deal than going to any stores around here.
Thats crazy to think. I to wish i had invested in Amazon. 99% of the time these things dont work out, but a man can get rich by picking the right ones.
Im not a fan of wal mart by any means, but its nice to see someone give them a run. According to Wal mart, theyll match any prices, i wonder if that includes online items threw places like Amazon? I dont think it does.

Walmart and other big retailers have begun to compete with Amazon online but I just can't see them catching up anytime soon. Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Target, and other big retailers usually have a much larger selection of products online than they have in stores. Even when I buy something like electronics locally, I usually shop around online and then purchase it for local pickup. It really saves a lot of time to check the inventories of local stores before driving to Walmart, Best Buy, etc. - but the traffic around here is much worse than most places in Kentucky. (I always hated trying to drive around Lexington near Christmas or anytime that there was a UK football game or major event at Rupp Arena.)

You can often find a little better deal on some other website than Amazon.com, but the money saved is usually not worth the time it takes to find a better deal, and I trust Amazon to deliver my stuff to me when they say they will. Amazon may never put a dent in Walmart's business in rural areas, but I prefer getting my things delivered over getting frustrated fighting traffic to get to one of the area Walmarts.

[RunItUpTheGut]

^
I suppose online shopping has somewhat put an end to the long lines at stores around christmas time hasn't it?
For example, if they want to sale a lot of a hot item, new doll, new toy, etc. i suppose everyone could just buy one online now instead of standing in line at the store only to watch them sale out before you get there.

[Hoot Gibson]

I just experienced my first significant problem with an Amazon order but in the end, Amazon's customer service came through again.

On Sunday, I ordered a new food processor and paid $5.99 for guaranteed same-day delivery. My wife and I never left home that day, but when I checked the delivery status, the carrier had marked it "Delivery Attempted." There is no way that they attempted a delivery, so I contacted Amazon and Lasership to complain. Amazon refunded the shipping charge and Lasership started investigating the missing package.

On Tuesday night, the tracking status changed to "Delivered."

I contacted Amazon again this morning, and they immediately sent me a replacement for same day delivery today at no charge. Assuming that Lasership does not lose (or steal) my package again, I will be a happy Amazon customer again.

I place about 6 orders a month through Amazon. I look online first, and sometimes I check local prices at places like Wal-Mart, but I have not stepped foot inside a Wal-Mart or Best Buy store in months.

[Granny Bear]

I told you so!!!!

[Hoot Gibson]

I told you so!!!!

I have been an Amazon fan for a long time. This is the first serious issue that I have had with a delivery, but I blame Lasership for the problem. There are videos on Youtube of Lasership delivery guys just tossing packages out of their car windows onto driveways and porches. I guess I have just been lucky.

If not for UK basketball games and a few other sporting events, I could make do without cable TV. I have an Amazon fire tablet, Amazon Fire TV, and a fast internet connection. Amazon Prime's video choices were not very good initially but it is very good now, IMO. Combined with Hulu Plus, Netflix, and a TV antenna, we could get by fine without cable - but our cable bill is only about $15 more than subscribing to internet only would be.

[Granny Bear]

I've never heard of Lasership. I'm so lucky about delivery. I have UPS bring it to my office. They'll even load everything in the car for me! Small town perks, I guess. LOL
We have a local television station, believe it or not, but they offer telephone and internet service, too. So, I get telephone and internet for a flat $85/month. For this area, that's a pretty good deal.

I don't use their television service though. My husband MUST have the old western channel!!

[Hoot Gibson]

I've never heard of Lasership. I'm so lucky about delivery. I have UPS bring it to my office. They'll even load everything in the car for me! Small town perks, I guess. LOL
We have a local television station, believe it or not, but they offer telephone and internet service, too. So, I get telephone and internet for a flat $85/month. For this area, that's a pretty good deal.

I don't use their television service though. My husband MUST have the old western channel!!

Here, Amazon uses UPS, FedEx, and Lasership. In some cases, UPS and FedEx deliver the the USPS and our mail carrier makes the delivery. Lasership seems to handle deliveries from the local warehouse, including the same day deliveries. Until this week, they have been great, but in other cities, Amazon customers have reported a lot of problems with them. I suspect that I have just been lucky before now.

If you have a fast internet connection, I highly recommend the Amazon TV device. Besides Amazon videos, the device gives you access to most of the services offered through Rokus and Google Chromecasts.

[panther nation]

I actually used them for the first time this past week for a part for my truck. I paid $65 for something that all the parts stores around here wanted anywhere form $135-170 for. And it's the same thing only I just have to wait a little longer to get. If everything goes right with this order I will start using them a lot more. Can't beat the prices!

[Hoot Gibson]

I actually used them for the first time this past week for a part for my truck. I paid $65 for something that all the parts stores around here wanted anywhere form $135-170 for. And it's the same thing only I just have to wait a little longer to get. If everything goes right with this order I will start using them a lot more. Can't beat the prices!

A couple of weeks ago, my wife saved a couple hundred dollars on a new radiator and some other parts for my daughter's car by using Amazon.