I know that Amazon is supposed to be the Evil Empire, but here's my story.
A couple of days ago I needed two batteries. They're odd-sized lithium 123 batteries. So I went to the Alvin, Texas, Radio Shack. The helpful guy behind the counter said that, yes, they had the batteries, except that they were currently out of stock. He told me I could try Walgreens, as they usually had odd-sized batteries. So I drove to Walgreens, which besides not having an apostrophe in its name, didn't have the batteries, either. The helpful woman in the camera department said that Walmart might have the batteries. Now we all know that Walmart is also the Evil Empire, but off I went. The woman in the camera department there was sure they had the batteries, but what they had was a large area of empty hangers in the battery department and no size 123 batteries.
So I drove home and did what I should have done in the first place. I sat down at the computer and looked for the batteries on Amazon, where I found them in profusion. Not only that, but they were cheaper than the ones that Radio Shack would have sold me if they'd had them. How much time and gasoline did I waste looking for those batteries at local stores? I don't know, but it's pretty clear to me why Amazon is getting a lot of business.
9 comments:
And, if you have Amazon Prime, they're probably on your front porch about now.
JohnD
They'll be here tomorrow.
Very true -- trying to shop locally is often a study in frustration.
And sometimes it's an item you'd like to see, or try on, that you can't find anywhere. I've been looking for a watch that also shows your pulse, a fairly common item. At Best Buy's web site they had scads of these. I thought, Cool! I can go to a Best Buy and get one of these. So I entered half a dozen of them, and not one was in stock anywhere in Iowa or even Illinois.
Is there any large and successful company that isn't portrayed as evil? The only one I can think of that gets a pass is Apple (despite there child labor in Asia and other negatives) and that's largely because of their political leanings.
I agree. I buy all kinds of stuff from Amazon from socks to shirts to books to printer cartridges. Unbeatable prices and service.
Jackie is a devotee of Amazon (though George Kelley makes her look like a piker), buying pants, socks, blouses, a DVD player, shoes, pretzels, bedroom slippers, hair color, hangars, a brush, nightgowns, an ankle brace, lamps, a phone, a coffee maker, a hair dryer, a giant mirror, a ceiling fan with light and a toilet seats, among others.
I generally stick to books, CDs or DVDs, plus several Kindles.
Jeff
When I needed to get some exercise equipment (1, 3, and 3 pound hand weights) for my wife's rehab from rotator cuff surgery (hint: NEVER TEAR YOUR ROTATOR CUFF, especially if you are currently receiving Social Security). Dicks Sporting Goods had only 5-lb. and up; Target had nothing...Amazon had an assortment, and we got them in two days (with free shipping). I deeply regret what Amazon has done to independent bookstores (we spend several thousand dollars per year at Jim Huang's Mystery Company, but it wasn't enough), but, in general, I deeply appreciate a lot of what Amazon does.
As Jeff mentioned, I have an AMAZON delivery almost every day. I buy vitamins, soaps, coffee filters, etc. Oh yeah, and books and Blu-rays. I've have occasional problems (as you might suspect from over a 1000 orders) but AMAZON has resolved all of them to my satisfaction. I should own AMAZON stock, but their business model (keep growing bigger) is a brake on profits and earnings.
Al, avoid Best Buy. They suck.
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