Why Amazon is the world's best tech retailer

Most of the time here on The Digital Home, I tell you about some of the trends, news stories, companies and products that annoy me. Other times, I'll tell you about something a company is doing right or something I applaud. This time, it's the latter.

Now, before I begin, I should probably mention that I don't own any Amazon stock because at least one cynical knucklehead reading this column for the sole purpose of finding fault in it will ask if I do own Amazon stock. Sadly, I'm not allowed to own any tech stocks because it's a departure from the ethical standards that I agreed to when I became a journalist. Does that satisfy you?

So why is Amazon the world's best tech retailer? Well, I guess I should first say that this title isn't exactly the most prestigious in the world. Who else would sit atop the list? Certainly Best Buy wouldn't with some of the questionable practices it employs and our friends over at Circuit City certainly don't have a clue about how to bring the right kind of experience to consumers.

But unlike all of its competitors, Amazon has been able to bring products to us in a timely manner without the need for frequent call backs and lengthy delays for no reason. Is it perfect? Not a chance -- some products sell out in a matter of seconds, there's no indication that anyone actually wants to buy groceries online and its customer service still leaves much to be desired. But beyond that, I have enjoyed my time using the service.

So what makes Amazon so great? The way I see it, there are three main components.

Component 1: Availability of products

Do me a favor: think of a tech product (any tech product) and put it into Amazon's search box. Chances are you found that device and there is at least someone willing to sell it to you. Was I right?

Amazon continuously amazes me on just how well it does at getting practically every conceivable product in the hands of those people who want them most. Sure, some products may only sell two units per year and the company has taken them out of its warehouses, but it still offers them on the site from other people who are looking to get rid of them.

Beyond that, where else can you find the wide array of products? Do you want an HDTV? Check. Do you want a washing machine? No problem. Do you want a pen that lights up when you write? Check. Do you want office equipment? You got it.

Sure, the company has been around for quite a while and its success has catapulted it to the position it enjoys right now, but considering its sales reach well into the billions of dollars and it turns a considerable profit year over a year, who can say that Amazon won't last over the long haul? If nothing else, it has insulated itself from the perils currently facing CompUSA and Circuit City.

Component 2: Product shipping

Unlike many other companies that employ shipping techniques that tend to frustrate, Amazon's is quite a pleasant surprise. Amazingly, the company was offering pre-Christmas arrivals on all its products up until midnight on December 23rd and according to reports filed after the holiday, it enjoyed a 99 percent success rate of on-time delivery.

Think about it for a second and try to find me one other online firm that can boast those kinds of numbers. Any luck? Certainly a major retailer like Wal-Mart or even Best Buy can't and those two companies incur even greater revenue than Amazon.

So how does Amazon do it? Simple really. With ten fulfillment centers located in North America alone, Amazon is able to ship products on-time without much of the fuss we get from other retailers. Even better, most of those centers are close to airports so a product can get moving as quickly as possible.

Of course, it goes far beyond fulfillment centers. When you buy a product on Amazon, it's not only easy, it's almost laughable. With about two clicks, you can have your product on its way to you with no questions asked. Within a few minutes after that, you'll receive an email telling you the order has been placed and an hour after that, it has been shipped. Can you find one other service that can boast that kind of turnover? I certainly can't.

Component 3: Amazon's ubiquity

Do you want to know what the main reason is for Amazon's success? Its name.

When you're perusing the Web trying to find the right product or just reading the news, chances are there's a link to Amazon just a click away. Consider this: Firefox features an Amazon search tool to the right of the address bar, CNET Reviews let you see what the price is on Amazon's pages (usually cheaper than others by the way), its ads are everywhere and if you put practically any product's name into Google, it'll display the Amazon link.

And it's for this reason that maybe Amazon isn't the very best retailer in the world, it's just the best tech retailer by default. After all, if it's always in front of you and you're always wondering what the site is offering products for, wouldn't you naturally buy products from it? Not to mention, it's a site you can trust.

Sadly, we currently live in an era of retail limbo -- brick-and-mortars are giving way to online stores. With that in mind, none of the retail offerings are really that great, but some are definitely better than others. But with a fine shopping experience, Amazon is simply a cut above the rest.

[shaynemack]

Have you ever heard of Newegg? I shop there all the time. Their prices compare well with Amazon and they ship product as fast if not faster then Amazon.

[thatchman1]

I too am very satisfied with Amazon. Only twice in my thousands-of-dollars history of purchases with Amazon have I had to return something. One was a $900 HD cam corner. Not a blink, my refunds and replacements came quickly and without pause.

For me, Amazon is great at what it does because of the things you mention in the blog posting, PLUS the integrated customer ratings that are more extensive, orderly and often more used than those at other sites.

Going back to print invoices is easy, so I use it for unexpected work purchases as well. With Amazon Prime, I can make up for someone else's lack of planning at work and not waste much time or money doing it.

[bgavinw]

I've just got two words :
AMAZON PRIME
Money, baby.. money. Best $79 you'll ever spend and it keeps your local UPS (wo)man with full-time employment. One click and Amazon prime make buying almost sinfully easy.
Smartest thing a company can do is make buying things as easy as that. Since I purchased Amazon prime, I've probably spent 10 times as much, including buying a new HD Camcorder and a new iMac, Xbox 360, all my video games.. the list goes on.

[AXG]

This article is totally wrong.

Most of the items on Amazon are sold by third party merchants and hence are not eligible for Amazon Prime. The items sold by third party merchants are not even eligible for free shipping with $25 purchase. It is hard to find anything sold directly by Amazon.

The prices on Amazon are no longer the lowest. I can often find cheaper prices on tech products on buy.com, newegg.com or overstock.com. Recently, I was looking for Sony Bravia KDL52XBR4. On Amazon, the price and availability of this TV fluctuated everyday. One day it was available from Onecall.com, next day it was someone else. Till couple of years ago, Amazon.com had a "Found it cheaper elsewhere" link where you could enter a link to any merchant where a product was available cheaper than Amazon and they would match the price, Now that link has gone missing.

Amazon's return policies at one time used to be good. Now they do not take anything back easily unless it is defective. Read their return policy carefully. "You may return new, unopened items sold and fulfilled by Amazon.com within 30 days of delivery for a full refund." They accept only unopened items.

Till 2005, Amazon was good. Now I do not even look on Amazon.com for anything.

[ecyph]

newegg's interface/user experience BLOWS amazon's away. ESPECIALLY if we're talking "tech" products: Routers, Motherboards, Cooling, Monitors, Keyboards, etc. Maybe even Digital Camera's, but... it's a toss up really.

For Consumer Electronics and other items, Amazon is still the king.

[shadowagent]

Amazon.com is really a joke these days. There are so many 3rd party vendors on this site it is outrageous. Trying to deal with these people through Amazon can be a real nightmare. I ordered from one vendor who never sent the items; wouldn't respond to inquiries; and when Amazon finally stepped in they claimed they only sold Wholesale...then what the [blank] are you doing on Amazon.com?!

You have to be really careful who you do business with on Amazon.com if it isn't Amazon directly. You get ripped off on shipping (I paid extra shipping on an item the guy claimed was 4 pounds and it was less than 1). Damaged items, you're going into customer service hell. And if you buy an item that has an expiration date...you often get the item with a date that expires in a month or less.

You can often find better deals at other sites and sometimes even the vendor directly. Also check out if you have any corporate discounts...my company has a discount deal with Phillips and I could pay $1800 less on a large plasma tv compared to all other sales at any retail store or online.