Amazon is a great site with which I've never really had any problems. Good products, good prices, good customer service...

Wow, great job Amazon!

I thought we dislike Amazon after all the stupid packaging and gift wrapping stories. You mean a store can provide both good customer service and make the occasional mistake? So confusing! :P

Granted, it is nice to see some companies step up, its sad that we consider this above and beyond.
I ordered a gift for my mother Dec 22nd, it was here the 24th. I had even ordered gift wraping and standard shipping via UPS. YAY AMAZON! (And UPS!) Boo, USPS!

they did the same for me last Christmas.

I had the EXACT same experience with Amazon. I order a way over-the-top pair of headphones which Amazon shipped via USPS... twelve days later I contacted Amazon to inform them them that the item hadn't arrived. Within 24 hours, I was informed that another shipment was underway via FedEx, and indeed it arrived within 4 business days.

Newegg did the same for me this Christmas however we found out 2 days later after the second order was already shipped that the package we were looking for ended up at a neighbors house. UPS delivered it to the wrong house even though the item had the correct address on it, thankfully the neighbors were honest and brought it over. We then refused the package and it went back to newegg. Nice to know that companies will cover up for faults of UPS especially around the holidays.

Exactly why I bought all of my Christmas gifts through Amazon and Newegg.

They did this for me a couple years ago when I ordered a textbook that I never received. I called, and with practically no questions asked, they shipped it again next-day for free.

I have always had very good experiences dealing with Amazon, especially regarding shipping. Once, I placed an order on a Friday afternoon at about 5:30pm that didn't qualify for super-saver shipping because I didn't order enough, then on Saturday night I remembered that there were a few more items that I needed and together it would have all qualified. So I sent an email to Amazon asking if I could combine the orders since their website said that it already shipped and within 5 minutes, they responded that it did indeed already ship, but they would place the second order with free shipping and refund the shipping on the first one. Sure enough, on Monday I received the first order and on Tuesday I received the second one, both shipped free.

Because of this, I am now hooked on Amazon.

I actually had the opposite experience. Ordered an item from Amazon at the beginning of the month and according to the USPS website the address was incorrect. I called Amazon and was told that my only option was to wait for the post office to send back the item to Amazon, after which they would issue a refund and then I could reorder the item. So after about 10 days of no progress, I went down to the post office and was able to track down my package. I do wonder what Amazon would have done had I not been able to trace the package.

I don't know if many other people have noticed this, but Amazon was tricky to shop with this Christmas due to the increasing number of resellers that come up on the main product page (as in, you get a "Ships from and sold by" message on the main product page, rather than being listed in the "X Used & New" reseller list).

Back in the day, you mostly knew that Amazon would have prices at or below list price for any given item. This year, many toys I searched for came up at unreasonable prices because they were not strictly being sold and shipped by Amazon. Lego sets were a big offender. Thankfully, I visited a local Toys R Us and found the same sets new for anywhere between 50 and 75% less.

What this means for average shoppers is that they now have to look sharp when searching for items on Amazon. If they are being "sold and shipped" by another vendor, the price may very well not be competitive as people are used to on Amazon.

Amazon has done the same for me in the past when all I did was make a gentle inquiry about 'it's been a week, normally everything gets here in 3 days, do you know where my package went?' Well, USPS had 'lost' it. The first response I got back from Amazon was that they'd resent the order 2nd day mail (I wasn't even on a deadline).

It's not too bad for them, because they got all the original items back when USPS eventually 'found' the original package a month later (and hopefully got their shipping money back, but the USPS doesn't even guarantee they won't just set your package on fire for laughs so who knows). But it's because of service like this that I ordered ~$500 worth of gifts (and, uh, personal gifts) from Amazon this holiday season.

@deadandy: Yes, the third party sellers can be annoying. Look for items that says they're eligible for Prime/free shipping. Even if you're not using it, it means Amazon is the seller. There's even a filter for that on the left.

@jumpo64: Those are the only two places I shop online. Excellent service and usually the lowest prices one can find.

I LOVE AMAZON!!! I order from them all the time, twice, a package has been shown as "delivered" by the post office, only to have either been stolen or not delivered in the first place. Amazon replace BOTH (2 $80-plus textbooks) no charge, expedited delivery, no questions asked.

The other thing amazon.com does, it lowers the price for a specific item, just for you! It somehow must track your browsing habits, looks at previous amount spent at the site, and calculates a price that you are willing to pay for an item. It did this with Canon Rebel Xsi, normal price is 635, one day noticed it was 599. I was about to write into slickdeals to tell everyone, but when I went to check again, the price was listed at 635. Im sure it periodically lowers prices to move items, anway, Im a lifelong amazon customer

I love Amazon, I ordered stuff days before christmas, used the super saver and still got it before christmas. Amazon is awesome!

@aceball: "The other thing amazon.com does, it lowers the price for a specific item, just for you!"

I kinda wanna call BS on this. Does anyone know if this is actually true?

Amazon has done the same for me, without it being christmas or even a special occasion. I placed an order earlier this year that should have arrived in about a week via USPS, and when it didn't come (but other packages via USPS did come which had been ordered later) I called and the guy immediately said it had probably been lost in transit and had another shipped out that day. Hilariously the first package did eventually show up, after its replacement, battered to all hell. I simply returned it to Amazon and everything was hunky dory.

@oldtaku: Yeah, I will sometimes filter results by amazon prime or super saver shipping, just because that eliminates the 3rd party shops.
That said, I've had some extremely good experiences with the 3rd party sellers, but i agree it can take some vigilance to see where your stuff is coming from.

This seems pretty typical for Amazon. We ordered Harry Potter 7 from Amazon since they guaranteed delivery on the day of its release. The post office, however, decided they weren't going to attempt to deliver all of those books and instead left notices for everyone to pick them up two days later. Even though we still got the book, Amazon refunded the entire amount. It was even a collector's edition!

@rinse: It's true. It's called Gold Box Quick Picks. They base which products are discounted on what you've bought from them before among other things.

[www.amazon.com]

In terms of dealing with shipping issues I've always had fantastic experiences with Amazon as well. I ordered an iPod from them before only to find that someone somewhere somehow cut open the box and took the iPod out! I called up Amazon and they overnighted a replacement to me without any fuss at all, and were extremely apologetic.

In terms of dealing with shipping issues I've always had fantastic experiences with Amazon as well. I ordered an iPod from them before only to find that someone somewhere somehow cut open the box and took the iPod out! I called up Amazon and they overnighted a replacement to me without any fuss at all, and were extremely apologetic.

Be careful.

They lost of package of mine a couple of months ago. They were all sunshine and roses when I called, assuring they'd send out a replacement, no charge, no problem!

A month later, they charged me anyway.

Took another call and a 40 minute hold while they "consulted" with a supervisor to get the charge removed. They initially wanted to know why I didn't bother to send back the first shipment that they lost (!).

So.. Watch your account.

@fenrisulfr: Yeah, living in Chicago, I NEVER get more than super saver shipping, it leaves from Illinois and is at my place by next day anyway!

@DanC922: The funny thing is, I never saw anything that would indicate it was a promotion or was directed at me in particular, which is why I was about to post it on slickdeals...but maybe it was because I was so excited about the pricedrop

I've never had a problem with Amazon...like a few other have mentioned, they did the same to me last year -- no questions asked. I love Amazon.

@rinse: Just you wait, I'm running a story about Amazon and stupid shipping tomorrow.

After having one too many problems with Amazon and shipping involving their customer disservice team in India, it isn't worth the hassle dealing with them anymore. It is worth paying a bit extra to get it locally since if there is a problem, I can actually go someplace and deal with a real live human being who I can actually have a coherent conversation with.

@J172: I think the above and beyond is acting so quickly, not the replacing in general (although some merchants claim they're absolved of ownership once the sipper has the item)

I've ordered from Amazon a lot and usually get my packages right away with no bullcrap. Sometimes I get stuff from them and sometimes from other sellers.

The last time I got something it came UPS instead of USPS and I had no way of knowing that until the order was shipped. I called them and they couldn't tell me anything. I called UPS and they said I could leave a note for the driver, so I left one saying 'please put this package by the steps so no one can see it.' The driver did and it was okay. But if that happens again, I'm canceling my order. I HATE the Brown. It's too iffy if I'll get it. I wish they'd just stick to the post office.

I wouldn't be shocked if the item was merely rerouted due to the horrid weather we had around that time period.

I love Amazon, they have always been quick to help me, and always err on the side of the customer.

Yay Amazon.

@deadandy: Yes this is 100% true, but buyer beware, it only takes a few seconds to check out the prices on other retail store websites to make sure that you are not overpaying.

Its been that way for as long as I can remember with toys at least, it was even worse when Toys R Us was a vendor on Amazon as they would randomly interject their prices onto the front item page and you didn't know the price wasn't the lowest until you went to check out. It took a few refreshes of the page to get it to show the correct Amazon price.

But this is what makes Amazon so successful, they have backup sellers when they are out of stock of an item. If you don't like the inflated prices then just don't buy the item.

Amazon did this for me too, several months ago. The thing is my package was actually delivered, at least that's what the USPS says.

My mail delivery engineer apparently thought it was OK to just leave a package of 4 vinyl albums outside of the locked entry door to my building. Right on the sidewalk.

Needless to say the package was stolen, along with another package a couple days later. I didn't even bother dealing with the post office because it's a losing battle. I e-mailed Amazon. It took a couple tries because on their end it showed the package as being delivered. Once I assured them that I wasn't scamming them, they reshipped everything, no problems.

Thus far my experience with Amazon has been nothing but positive (apart from some oddly huge boxes at times).

I'll chime in with everyone else. I ordered a Nintendo DS game through Amazon and it was delivered via USPS. Shipped and delivered the same day according to both places' websites. I never got the package and my mailman swears he delivered it. We've had some theft in my neighborhood so I wasn't surprised.

Called up Amazon and explained the situation. After going back and forth with the rep for a minute about the delivery time frame (Amazon's site said estimated delivery was the 23rd, it was delivered on the 19th, so I guess she thought USPS was lying, IDK) she offered to deliver it again or just give me a refund.

I took the refund because they couldn't/wouldn't deliver it to a different address. Overall I thought it was good customer service.

I had a similar experience with Borders.com. I'd ordered a box set of DVDs the day after Thanksgiving when they were 40% off. They sent it through USPS (my choice). Unfortunately when it got to the local distribution center it fell off the forklift and was summarily run over.

Borders called me up and replaced it (had to refund my card and recharge me) at the original sale price and shipped it 1 day shipping.

I was very pleased, and somewhat amused with the mental image of some USPS worker seeing the forklift about to run over some packages and time slowing down as they run screaming NOOOOOOOOOOO at the forklift.

I had a similar issue with Amazon not getting a package to me that I'd order for two-day shipment 10 days before Christmas. The CSR was incredibly rude to me and basically told me to just reject the package when it does come and get a refund. They NEVER offered to rush another shipment out to me. I've sent them a letter and am awaiting a response from them about it.

As an Amazon Prime member, I've probably ordered over 100 times from them. I've never once had an issue. Items always shipped fast and with everything in tact. They are one of the most reliable companies out there. Glad to see their customer service is solid too.

Same issue happened with me, although not as far back. I had a package that was supposed to be delivered on the 27th and still has not come. The latest USPS update says it arrived at a shipping partner facility on the 18th in Kentucky. I live in Georgia. Interestingly, another similar package of mine shipped on the same day from California, which is significantly further away from KY, and even though it was listed as arriving on the 26th, it came on the 22nd, so I knew something was fishy. I've been meaning to contact Amazon, and now, I won't hesitate.

Reminds me of another time USPS messed up with me. It was GTA IV Special Edition. They shipped it to a couple places before getting it to Atlanta, GA, but then, I was like, okay, finally, but then, it goes from GA to VA or something like that. Some idiot must have misread the state code. Then it probably went somewhere else before finally coming back to GA. So by the time everyone was sick of hearing about the game, that's when I finally got it. I've had nothing but great experiences with Amazon.com, but USPS hasn't always been that great..

@Kjgmusic: I'll +1 that. I never have any problems with them, things are always packed well and arrive quickly. We probably did 80% of our Christmas shopping with them this year and they will continue to get my business.

This has happened to me twice with Amazon. Both times I called a CSR overnighted a replacement. This is one of the reasons why I keep going back to them.

It sounds like the USPS has a lot of issues going on. I know their package delivery services are in trouble, and it's no wonder why. I wonder how long it'll be before Amazon and other places drop the USPS as an option for shipment?

@Kjgmusic: Amazon's customer service has always excelled in my situations! When I signed up for Amazon Prime free trial with a one-use PayPal card (so I wouldn't have to worry about canceling) they used an old card attached to my account - one that was for an account I no longer used but was still active. They caused two overdraft fees on an empty account. They had no problem taking off the Prime fee and paying my overdraft fees as well. The customer service rep was also super sweet. :)

Amazon Rocks! When I experience issues, they are quickly and courteously resolved.

Well I can definitely say your milage may vary.
I ordered 3 book packages from Amazon and all three were 'resellers or Amastores'. 1 package arrived om the 22nd at our business. The other 2 are out in limbo who knows where. Apparently there was a nice email that arrived after my order stating that these folks have until January 5 to get it to me. Thats 3-4 weeks!

Cut to Newegg. I ordered an entire PC in parts. All of it arrives buy the end of the week including a HUGE full tower case. BUT no power supply. They decided to not deliver it Christmas eve and then skip Friday. The lie I was told by the special people on the phone was that only 'AIR FREIGHT' was being delivered and mine would come eventually. I guess 3 days from California is by truck! I could not pick it up because the UPS sites were closed for the holiday on FRIDAY. They got apparently (according to the phone) Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off. We were working and we are on the government holiday schedule.

So Newegg is still the king, Amazon DIRECT SALES is great and Fedex pwns UPS and USPS.

I ordered a package to be delivered to my parents home while I was visiting for Christmas. It was supposed to be there by the 23rd, and it hadn't arrived by Saturday the 27th. I came home today. I had hoped to give one of the items as a gift, and I'd ordered a second item for myself so that I could get the free shipping.

Both items were sold by Amazon. The tracking just shows:

December 16, 2008 05:51:00 PM NORTH LAS VEGAS NV Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit

What should I do now?

Yeah, I had the 3rd party reseller problem, too. A present arrived this morning that was ordered well in time for Christmas. Not that it really matters, the kid concerned is six and well able to understand that cockups happen.