Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I checked the text; you are correct; it's rather embarassing. I find it hard to believe that I have just ignored this every time I've been on the Amazon website, something I do several times each day.
To address your other point, the breadth of my own reading is directly related to Amazon's policies and to their marketing programs. Simply put, I wouldn't know that many books even exist if Amazon didn't carry them; I find them in the "Recommended for you" section. That one feature alone has provided me with an extraordinary amount of reading delight.
There's another Amazon policy that I find a wonder: Amazon actually shows marketplace sellers' prices when these are less than Amazon prices. I just ordered a book that Amazon had priced at $21.73 that I could have had within forty-eight hours with free shipping since I have Prime. However, the web page informed me that new copies were availble for $6.73. I checked and found two copies at that price; both of the sellers had 99% satisfaction rates. I chose the closer seller in hopes that it might arrrive a bit sooner since it's not a Prime shipment. My total with shipping was $10.72, less than half of Amazon's already discounted price. After I placed my order I received an invitation to read the first part for free on my Kindle Paperwhite.
Shall we discuss reviews? Over the years I've made hundreds if not thousands of decisions based on these. I may buy a book because of negative reviews, having learned how to decipher these long before the advent of Amazon. Imagine going into a local bookstore and encountering a clerk who tells you that a book stinks. An Amazon product review may. They have employees who actually read for pleasure.
Amazon has extended their product line to include all sorts of things besides books. All sorts of interesting comestibles and other delights now appear on my front porch.
One of my strongest interests is reading older technical works since I love the history of technology. Before Amazon and epecially before Kindle finding these books was strictly catch-as-catch-can. It's very different today. A few months ago I purchased a Kindle book dealing with the manufacture of pyrotechnic devices. Since the work is over a century old it's full of obsolete names, but I didn't need to continually refer to reference books. The link in my Kindle to a dictionary and to Wikipedia served me well for 90% of my needs.
Amazon has changed the life of the bibliophile; the new life is an unmitigated improvement. If the internet is the informtion superhighway Amazon is the proper vehicle, a vehicle that combines the best features of a Ferrari and a heavy truck but with no compromise.
Yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, and yup.
Couldn't rep ya, Happy. I think I've hit your name too often over in the Retirement Forum, LOL
As for their employees I know lots of RVer's who (year after year) are part of the Amazon Camperforce and are happy campers No, the monetary pay isn't high, but it's a job.
Yup, yup, yup, yup, yup, and yup.
Couldn't rep ya, Happy. I think I've hit your name too often over in the Retirement Forum, LOL
As for their employees I know lots of RVer's who (year after year) are part of the Amazon Camperforce and are happy campers No, the monetary pay isn't high, but it's a job.
I just checked that out, Amazon Camper Force....pretty cool
No comparison..looking on the amazon camper site 10.50-12.50 per hour....these people are picker packers in a fullfillment center not engineers.
Raise the wage to pick an order to 20.50-25.50 per hour and amazon will have to raise their prices which will result in many lost customers and amazon going kaput.
No comparison..looking on the amazon camper site 10.50-12.50 per hour.
Plus free campsites with free electricity, water, and sewer. They have to pay for propane though.
Plus OT. Plus bonuses for finishing out the holiday season.
Plus discounts if you buy from Amazon while you're there, LOL
Plus free campsites with free electricity, water, and sewer. They have to pay for propane though.
Plus OT. Plus bonuses for finishing out the holiday season.
Plus discounts if you buy from Amazon while you're there, LOL
See, that's another example of Amazon paying their employees well. I know in IT world, Amazon is one of the most sought after employers due to their higher than most salary and better benefits. Everytime a candidate tells me they're interviewing with Amazon my heart sinks because there's a good chance I will lose the person to Amazon, yet again. I had several fresh graduate Computer Science kids who turned me down flat because Amazon was offering them 70K - 75K.
But I believe in the free market. In a free market, companies that give customers what they want will succeed.
If they don't treat employees well, then employees will keep leaving, and they will eventually have to make changes or keep experiencing high turnover, which is costly.
The only reason independent booksellers go out of business is when they don't cater to customers, giving customers what they want. I buy about 99% of my books online, and lots of other products too. It's because online is convenient. I would love to patronize local businesses, but those business tend to not cater to customers. Local book stores tend to set inconvenient hours. One near me is now closing/ going out of business, and their hours were always 10-6. How could people with full time jobs ever shop there? I only went once when I had a personal day. Now they're closing; oh well.
I also buy books from small "mom & pop" bookstores online. Some of those small mom & pop places sell on amazon; so even though I'm buying ON amazon, I'm not buying FROM amazon. I just bought a rare vintage book from a small store in Arizona via amazon. I'm in PA. What are the chances that that little store would have found someone to buy that obscure book if they weren't on amazon? Maybe the issue is that the small businesses just need to get up to date with what customers need and want?
My actual town is very small, and they have no book stores. There hasn't been a book store in this 2-square mile town in at least 30 years. Even before the internet. So my buying books online is not undermining my town's tax base.
As for the "pleasant social connections," some of us do not require that. I love ordering a book online and having it magically appear on my doorstep a few days later, with no human contact required. Plus, amazon has what I consider a more desirable kind of pleasant social connection: the reader reviews. I can get reviews from tons of other readers on a book before I read it, and I can share my opinions on books likewise. People actually like and respond to what I write, and I respond to what they write. I don't need small talk and chit-chat in a crappy store; I prefer meaningful goal-directed communication about books with other knowledgeable people.
Yes amazon keeps tabs on customers. So does every other retailer. So does the government. So does the library. I don't like it, but there's no reason to single-out amazon with that.
And now with the "steering customers toward books" issue, maybe some people are more easily led. I see suggestions, but it's up to me to look into those suggestions and make my own decisions. I love that the article posted is from the New York Times. Isn't that ironic? Haven't they, for years, steered people toward certain books (and other products) and away from others? Haven't they decided to ignore certain books that sell widely, because of their own agenda? If amazon did make the shipping time longer for certain books, and I was buying one of those books, then they would lose my business if I were in more of a hurry, because, again, it's about what the customer wants. If they said I couldn't get a certain book for 3 weeks, then I'd just buy it from another online retailer who could send it to me in less than a week. Amazon usually has the best price, but if they artificially inflate the price of a given book for whatever reason, I'm just going to buy it on another site.
To me, the anti-Amazon movement is just like the anti-Walmart movement: Let's demonize a successful company because they're successful and they give customers what they want.
AMEN! I've done business with Amazon since '98,ordering mostly books/movies/music and I absolutely LOVE them! I have absolutely TOTAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION!
I can buy those items from third-party sellers in 'Used-Like-New-Condition' for a fraction of the cost of anywhere else ,in the comfort of my home,with reviews at my fingertips,and NO ONE,but NO ONE has Amazon's amazing 'A-to-Z guarantee'!
In 10/11 I bought their Kindle Touch which I have loaded with over 800+ FREE Kindle Books + about 15-20 that I've purchased,and I am Picky about those I download[almost all are min. 288 pgs,and must have several reviews with majority 4-5 star.]
I have had all these years of wonderful reading,watching and listening enjoyment thanks to the great prices and service from Amazon,and all the money and time I have saved by not having to drive to a brick and mortar store,plus yes,all the sales taxes I've saved!and until this year every order of new items bought direct from Amazon[not third-party sellers] over $25[now $35] was shipped free!
LOVE,LOVE,LOVE Amazon!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No, the monetary pay isn't high, but it's a job.
Unmatched Customer Satisfaction in 16 years!
I've done business with Amazon since '98,ordering mostly books/movies/music and I absolutely LOVE them! I have absolutely TOTAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION!
