What is Digg?Sponsored by Dragon Age: Origins
Can't get enough Dragon Age: Origins? Play the flash game. view!
DragonAgeJourneys.com - Play the free companion flash game to Dragon Age: Origins.
160 Comments
- momzilla54, on 12/27/2008, -2/+165maybe it's because of their massive selection, competitive prices and lightning fast shipping. I can order something today and it will be on my doorstep Monday morning. Why would I want to drive to the mall in the snow?
- SydneyBristow, on 12/27/2008, -0/+113I love Amazon. Best customer service in the industry. I ordered an expensive electronics present for my friend...it turned out to be defective. I told Amazon the afternoon that the gift arrived (at 4pm) that it was defective. They sent the present again overnight delivery immediately, arriving the next morning, along with prepaid return label for my friend to send back the defective item to Amazon. They didn't even charge me for the duplicate item, as long as they received the defective item within 30 days.
The very next day, a representative apologized profusely for the defective item (even though it wasnt their fault). A week later, I got another email from someone from Amazon making sure that the new item was ok and working fine, and was checking up on things. I have never experienced such amazing customer service...many places even charge return shipping on defective items, but not Amazon.
They deserve to have a successful holiday season. - MarkusX, on 12/26/2008, -1/+66At least somebody is reporting good news these days.
- Halsfield, on 12/27/2008, -3/+59why do people keep seeing high sales in some areas of business and say "no recession here!" ? i don't think they understand(or i guess more likely, they just don't care). that a recession is not based on single companies or even a category of business (computers, sports equipment, etc) its about a nation that is showing an overall downtrend in the gross domestic product for at least two quarters
its great that amazon is doing well, and video game companies (and to some extent pc game/system companies) are doing well, but that doesnt mean the recession is over or non-existent for them. many companies that are doing decently well (microsoft possibly) are either in the middle of laying off employees and cutting down on future production or is planning to in the near future.
if you want to make an article saying that its still possible to do well despite the recession, thats cool, i applaud you for a positive article amid so many "the sky is falling" type articles but don't make silly claims like there is no recession for amazon, because its everywhere, sorry. - markhedder, on 12/27/2008, -3/+40Amazon is one of the few places on the web that seemingly has an unlimited supply of EVERYTHING and still gets every order on time, no matter how many thousands there are per minute.
- dannyboy3020, on 12/27/2008, -2/+36Amazon Prime is so worth the $79/year.
- BrainInAJar, on 12/27/2008, -1/+31and if consumer credit is fueling this best season ever, then we're all ***** when those bills start to come in & get defaulted...
- gordigor, on 12/27/2008, -4/+27I am confused. Should I digg down because the comment has nothing to do with the article, or digg up because its technology related comment on digg.
I miss the old digg. - whorunbartertwn, on 12/27/2008, -2/+25I don't understand this local business argument.
In what way is the person behind the counter at some store in town more deserving of my money than the person working at Amazon, be it a warehouse/programmer/admin/whatever. Maybe it's because I've moved around a lot in my life but I've never developed this sense of us vs. them based on geographic location that I sometimes see people with.
If you happend to live near an Amazon distro center would you order from them since it's a local business or are they always considered away team since abstract web location?
If local business grew very successful and opened more location thruout country will they become the bad guy for being a big corporation? - RedHeadedFreak, on 12/27/2008, -0/+20Amazon is by far the best place to shop, physical or virtual. Amazon Prime + One-click ordering = dangerous for my bank account.
- rmaddy, on 12/27/2008, -0/+19Then you can pay more for it
- mimir, on 12/27/2008, -0/+19What I assume he is referencing is the fact that sometimes online retailers will place another credit hold, in case you decide to hold on to both of the items... This is something a brick and mortar retailer doesn't have to worry about since you are handing them back the defective one and not holding on to two products for a month.
- dhVyse, on 12/27/2008, -6/+24When they start delivering to my doorstep at cheaper than usual prices, they'll have my support.
- danielman94, on 12/27/2008, -0/+17It is. What I really like about it is that I can just buy little things one at a time, instead of stocking up on things to save on shipping.
I do wish they would have more things available on it, though. I really dislike Amazon's buy-through-another-retailer thing. - absolutzombie, on 12/27/2008, -0/+16Amazon deserves a lot of respect. In 2001 the headlines were - can Amazon.com turn a profit?
- MaxxusFlamus, on 12/27/2008, -3/+18Simple answer.
I don't want it monday morning. I want it NOW. - OrbitsGM, on 12/26/2008, -1/+16what's today? the 3rd black friday this year ;)
- silent128, on 12/27/2008, -1/+15Out of all of the online retailers i have to say amazon has treated me the best. It's no shocker to me that they are doing so well in this economy.
- ronaldmonster, on 12/27/2008, -1/+12Amazingly enough I don't give a ***** \o/
- gordigor, on 12/27/2008, -1/+12Which day did you order it? Monday morning is relative to six other days. /s
- statismisdead, on 12/27/2008, -0/+11Just wait till you get your own nano assembler and can download a bike over the internet.
- z00k, on 12/27/2008, -3/+12How is this news? Think about it. We're in a recession. Everything is held very tight together. People are not going to go drive around to different stores all over town just to get gifts for people when they can order stuff from the safety of their own home and have items delivered directly to their house.
- kashem, on 12/27/2008, -1/+9Practically 95% of all my holiday purchases came from Amazon (Prime) and their affiliates due to lack of free time and freaky inclement weather.
Free 2 day shipping rocks! - PunkRampant, on 12/27/2008, -1/+9Agreed. And even if Amazon had a great season, they would have had even higher sales if it weren't for the recession.
- swoopdog, on 12/27/2008, -0/+7good business model = good return
seriously
you think Zappos or Amazon are ever going to go south when they have such an excellent service to offer? - ronaldmonster, on 12/27/2008, -1/+8Does linux operate on commission also?
- peestandingup, on 12/27/2008, -0/+7This just shows you where the market is headed. Meaning online stores are pretty much the future & is why they are having record sales. All the while retail chains are going broke left & right. They just cant compete & have become obsolete.
Whoa, I'm a poet & didn't know it. :) - shawnanigans, on 12/27/2008, -0/+7Yup no recession, because a retailer who offers the lowest prices available had their best year ever.
- nadalle, on 12/27/2008, -0/+7I have a simple way of dealing with places that try to charge return shipping on defective items:
"So, where's that item I ordered? This item you sent me does not appear to work."
"We charge blah blah blah blah..."
"I'm sorry, did you want to talk to my credit card company about the subject of ever getting paid?"
Works every time. Well, one way or another: Either they give me a return shipping label, or they don't get paid.
I'm perfectly happy to pay return shipping and restocking if I'm a dork and want to return something because I don't want it, but to swap a clearly defective item? Getting a working copy of what I've ordered to my door for the agreed-upon price is their responsibility. Once I get my hands on a working copy, then it's my responsibility if I break it, of course.
I've had a few online places (100% of them through Yahoo Shopping, actually) send me the *wrong item* and then demand return shipping charges. That one is even simpler:
"You sent me the wrong item. I have not yet received the item I ordered."
"We charge blah blah blah..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want me to pay for your bait and switch scheme? Let me give you a deal: you don't get paid since you have not sent me the item I ordered, but I don't charge you warehousing and handling fees for storing this box and handing it to the shipper you send out."
Don't take crap from online merchants. Of course, don't be a dick, either. - PixelMagic, on 12/27/2008, -0/+7Your logic is not welcome here!
- Anand999, on 12/27/2008, -1/+8Most items Amazon sells are eligible for free shipping for orders over $25. Even if you're not ordering $25 worth of stuff, their prices are generally better than local B&M stores and by the time you factor in sales tax (assuming you don't live in a place where Amazon has to charge sales tax...), you often still come out ahead.
Amazon's large quantity of quality reviews (along with reviews from the rest of the Internet) makes it so I don't have to "try before I buy" in most cases. Amazon doesn't seem to erase legitimate bad reviews of a product and I've found the ratings to be pretty spot on.
There are some things I generally don't buy off Amazon (or online at all) like shoes, pants, etc. since you really need to try those on first and the small cost savings aren't worth the extra hassle of having to return it if it doesn't fit. One nice thing about B&M stores is that you can buy the very same item you tried on so you know it'll still fit when you get home which is something that "try it in a store then buy it off Amazon" can't replicate. However, things like socks, T-shirts, coats, etc. I have no problem buying online since a perfect fit isn't as critical for those.
As for "being with real people", you can spend 3 hours in the mall dragging your kids to the mall, finding a parking spot, fighting the crowds, dealing with overpriced, unhealthy mall food, and watching your kids get frustrated and tired... or spend 15 minutes online to buy your stuff and then spend the other 2 hours and 45 minutes to take your kids to a park or play with them outside. Which do you think is better? - EatChex89, on 12/27/2008, -0/+6Of course everyone shops Amazon:
Reliable shipping/delivery
Cheap prices
Easy interface
And if you have Amazon Prime, why the hell would you NOT? - hoodoodave, on 12/27/2008, -0/+6Deservedly so. You can order just about anything from Amazon without having to pay fifty bucks to gas up your car and then brave an ice storm to get to the store. I did almost all of my shopping from that site.
- jubalj, on 12/27/2008, -0/+6Just a theory but I suspect a lot of people stayed home, avoided malls, and did their shopping online..
- mccoix, on 12/27/2008, -0/+6amazon reported a high number of units sold, not a high revenue or profit. Every retailer is making huge price cuts to offload inventory, if you look at each company in terms of product sold they will all seem to not be doing too bad. However, when you take into account that many these products are being sold at as much as 70% off you'll realize amazon is probably taking a hit just like the rest of the economy. Amazon is probably doing much better than most of the retail sector cause of insulating factors and the fact that amazon is an incredibly successful company, but they're still just reporting the numbers that make their stock look the best
- Eldorian, on 12/27/2008, -7/+13To support local business?
- inactive, on 12/27/2008, -0/+5I suppose "profits" don't matter anymore. Just revenues, right?
From the NY Times:
"Amazon Claims ‘Best Ever’ Christmas (Whatever That Means)"
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/amazon-cl ...
"But the numbers do little to tell us how good (or bad) Amazon’s season really was. The company didn’t disclose whether shoppers bought more or fewer high-priced items than in previous years or whether discounts ate into profit margins. It didn’t disclose revenue or even the total volume of products it shipped throughout the holiday season."
----
Only on Digg and the NY Times... - DubSnipe, on 12/27/2008, -0/+5Good news for Amazon, perhaps.
- CaviMike, on 12/27/2008, -2/+7Holy crap I didn't know there was a such thing as an Amazon fanboy or that there were this many of them.
- MrFurious2k, on 12/27/2008, -0/+5Amazon is a web company done right. Their return policies and customer service is excellent. Brick and mortar stores could learn a thing or two from that. Additionally, you can almost guarantee they're going to have a better price than your local Best Buy. On top of it, you get feedback from other customers who have purchased that product. It's a win-win situation.
- whorunbartertwn, on 12/27/2008, -0/+5Yup, that's why I go to the WalMart right down the street. Shop local!
- kashem, on 12/27/2008, -0/+5I can attest to their record. Ever since I joined Prime two years ago, I've spent the majority of my shopping there. Things I order regularly ship the same day and arrive on time.
What's also nice about Amazon is that they have a huge rating database, so you can quickly find out the pros & cons on an item you're looking into. It helps in making the right decision that having to have some D/A clerk try to up sell you crap you know you don't need. - puppethead, on 12/27/2008, -0/+4Of course they had a great xmas, its easy when you treat your staff like slaves:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/ind ... - reddikilowatt, on 12/27/2008, -0/+4I live out in the sticks. I started using Amazon this summer when gas was crazy high, and at the same time Borders cut way back on their music selection. Once I found out they have mp3s and a Linux downloader, I was hooked.
But Amazon's model isn't anything new. The difference is that the catalog delivery is electronic. Sears, Roebuck and Company had the model down in 1886.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears,_Roebuck_and_Co ... - THETEH, on 12/27/2008, -0/+4Nobody ever gets trampled while shopping Amazon. That's all I have to say.
- MavRevMatt, on 12/27/2008, -0/+4Not sure about the malls near you but where I'm at there are no true local businesses in the mall. It's just a bunch of chains that treat the customer like crap.
- bruin8uclap, on 12/27/2008, -0/+4Amazon is great. No tax and no shipping with cheaper prices with their occasional gold box specials to boot. And, their customer service is superb. I buy so much stuff from Amazon that I got an Amazon card (which I pay off before the end of every month), and I've gotten over $300.00 in gift certificates so far this year. To the guy that was amazed by the number of Amazon fan-boys here on Digg, I am actually surprised that there aren't more. Most people tell me that they don't want to wait so long for their item(s), but I'd much rather get my stuff for cheaper and later than now.
- Paulish, on 12/27/2008, -0/+4***** yeah man. Although I wonder how they afford it. I have bough things like 5.1 surround sound systems and other heavy things, which usually have $20 shipping elsewhere; free with Amazon. I wonder how they turn a profit.
- SydneyBristow, on 12/27/2008, -0/+4Mimir is correct. There are many online retailers that will charge you for the replacement item that they are shipping out, and give you a refund only after they receive the original defective item back.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 170 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is