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To me, Amazon.com is like my local drugstore: It's always got something I want, they've got bargains galore, and their customer service is always ready and willing to help.

I work at a popular books/music store chain, YET, I will often make purchases at Amazon over using my employee discount at my workplace, as their prices are usually just as good or BETTER than the price I can get WITH my employee discount! Furthermore, their selection far surpasses any brick and mortar store (which I know some people find off-putting in times of "big business" running small businesses down... but my workplace IS a "big business" too, so I feel it's fair game overall). While waiting for your order can sometimes be a hassle, I feel that Amazon's done a good job at giving the customer a great selection of shipping choices, ranging from express to the free super saver shipping (which I LOVE, as I am a pretty patient person, and definitely willing to forgo a week or two more to save on shipping charges [especially if it's a large item which would cost a lot to ship]). While I currently do not subscribe to the feature, I think their "all you can eat" 2-day shipping option is also great.

Speaking of shipping, let me segue into their customer service on this topic. I live in Hawaii, and while I can understand that it costs a lot to airmail things, we ARE part of the United States, and many times we get screwed for shipping charges because we're not part of the lower 48. Many times, I've ordered things via Amazon's super saver shipping, only to find out that Hawaii was not eligible for the super saver shipping. When I emailed to complain, saying that the fine print on this was not clear (or even stated at all), they were nice enough to REFUND my shipping charges. This has happened twice. While some may feel that as companies get bigger, their customer service gets worse, I feel like Amazon's success has enabled them to be able to appease even MORE customers, by having the funds to compensate any unsatisfied customers! And while it may cost them upfront, I can definitely say it helps them in the long run, as it reinforced my loyalty to the site, and gave me yet another reason to recommend them!
They're also VERY good with "no questions asked" returns.

On top of that, the site is just very useful in general. It's easy to navigate, has a great customer review setup, and the market place option is great for finding items that are out of print or super rare.

All in all, I feel that Amazon.com deserves all its success, as it's well managed, with quality goods and services.