The Amazon.com Experience

Amazon's Genesis

Most people are familiar with the Amazon.com story -- a true "American dream" type of story. The company was founded in 1995 by Jeff Bezos, a graduate of Princeton University who began his career as a financial analyst.  At that time, the public was not as conscious of the e-commerce potential of the Internet as it is today.  Recognizing the Internet's incredible potential, Bezos started his online ventures by selling books.  Operating Amazon.com alone, he approached venture capitalists and was able to receive enough investment income to expand. From the very beginning, Amazon.com was a smash hit with consumers.  In its first month of operation, Amazon.com was averaging five-figure sales and could count customers in all fifty states, as well as several foreign countries.

Bezos' dream included more than books, however. His plan for Amazon.com was to transform it into the first website that online consumers would visit, not matter what they were seeking. Other products were constantly added to Amazon.com over the years so today, shoppers can buy CDs, DVDs, gourmet food, jewelry, computers, furniture, and just about everything else at Amazon.com.

Amazon.com became a publicly traded company in 1997, just two years after it was created.  Now in its 11th year, the internet retail giant shows no signs of slowing down.  Amazon.com survived the dot.com fiasco and remains one of the most popular websites on the Internet.

My Experience with Amazon.com

Since I do quite a bit of shopping online, I can certainly understand why Amazon.com is so appealing to online consumers. The selection of products is incredible, and I find that shopping from one single site is easier than having to post and track orders from several different online retailers.  As a practical example why having a one-stop-online retailer is so convenient, if I were to purchase a sweater, a bag of cat food, a DVD, and a bread machine online, I would normally have to order from different stores. That would mean filling out four different order forms, paying for shipping four separate times, and tracking four different packages to make sure that I actually receive my orders. With Amazon.com, I can order all four items from the same site and do all of those other things just once.

Blurb Alert! Use the search function at the top of this page to find a variety of products, books and merchandise offered by Amazon.com.

Amazon.com offers competitive prices.  Most merchandise is discounted to begin with, but there are often special sales or promotions that result in even more savings.  I do not think I have ever paid the full retail price charged by other retailers when I shop at Amazon.com.

Consumer-submitted product reviews are another aspect of Amazon.com that I personally enjoy.  It's nice to see what others think about a product, and whether they were satisfied with it, before ordering.  While Amazon.com has expanded significantly since its early days, it still is a great online bookstore and I tend to buy quite a few books there.  Before buying a book, I read the consumer's reviews that are posted on Amazon.com.  They give more insight than the standard book blurbs posted by the publishers.

I have never had a problem with Amazon.com orders over the six or seven years that I have shopped there.  I did, however, have a problem with shipping.  The carrier had misplaced my package and I informed Amazon.com through its online customer service area that I had not received my books.  They immediately sent my order to me.  Several months later, the original order was finally "discovered" by the carrier and delivered to me, so I sent it back.  If you are looking for a variety of merchandise or gift ideas, check out Amazon.com.  They offer a secure shopping environment, excellent search features and helpful customer service.

"The Amazon.com Experience" contributed by Michael Alexander