Amazon is Kinda Too Big and Complicated

[heydude]

Amazon used to be cool, maybe still is.

But how come when you type something in you get like a MILLION matches! Try sorting through all that junk to find what you actually want. And what do you compare it to? A million other similiar products. Ugh.

Then you've got all those user reviews and reading through all those!

Then, you might not even be buying from Amazon because there are "stores" within where different companies (all with different refund policies) actually send it to you.

Then they shows new and used items too!

ugh.

[Rosemary]

It's the place I look first - and the reviews are a large part of that. I like that they have everything as it gives me a baseline and idea of what to look for. I've bought many used books there (and sold some, too). You can narrow down the choices quickly by selecting "free super saver shipping only."

[CathyA]

Maybe you just need to practice with it more? Maybe narrow down your searches?
I really like the reviews too. In fact, sometimes, I only look at the stuff with the most stars.

[ToomuchStuff]

Amazon used to be cool, maybe still is.

But how come when you type something in you get like a MILLION matches! Try sorting through all that junk to find what you actually want. And what do you compare it to? A million other similiar products. Ugh.

Then you've got all those user reviews and reading through all those!

Then, you might not even be buying from Amazon because there are "stores" within where different companies (all with different refund policies) actually send it to you.

Then they shows new and used items too!

ugh.

Poor choice of search terms.
Searching for a watch (for example) is going to bring you tons of hits. If you narrow down your description, say to a Casio with glowlight, you will narrow it down more. Brands help, other search terms help, etc. No different then the card catalog of years past, at the library.

Then you have people who go way too far the other way. (I have one in my family), who searches at times by name, product description, numbers on the item (not just the upc but any codes), etc. This is all at the same time and rarely finds him the information he is looking for. I asked him a simple yes or no question the other day, and instead of saying, "I don't know" he spent an hour online, trying to find the answer. I called another relative and had an answer in 45 seconds.

As a previous poster mentioned, this doesn't include the search options to the side, such as free shipping/Amazon only, etc.

[Gardenarian]

Yes, I agree, the number of options does make it much more difficult to search.

I always limit to "free shipping."

I often use the "advanced search" for books.

[iris lily]

I don't know what you the OP are looking for. I just bought 3 songbooks, used--Amazon gathers all copies of one titles and shows me pricing choices: used, new, fast ship, slow ship, etc. I like it.

[Mrs-M]

Aside from Amazon, being an invaluable online shopping place for all things, including rare and hard to find things, Amazon, is super easy to navigate and search, if you have all pertinent information (on-hand) prior to referencing/researching specific product/products. Additionally, conducting your search or searches using the exact given product name/number code/model number that applies, also helps make search results more accurate and faster.

[JaneV2.0]

I'm happy it's a local mega-conglomerate so I don't have to feel guilty about doing much of my shopping there.

[Wildflower]

I love Amazon! It makes online shopping easy for me. They usually always have what I'm looking for when I can't find it in a local store or on other websites. And everything is always packaged well and shipped in a timely manner.... I've yet to have a bad experience with Amazon.

[rosarugosa]

It sure beats driving around to different stores to do product research! I really like Amazon, but I try to give my local stores as much of my business as I can. It's a real balancing act, because Amazon can help keep me out of stores, which helps me avoid impulse purchases and recreational shopping.