Please also feel free to check out and comment on my staff writer post, “4 Upgrades That Waste Your Money” – I Think Not, at Sweating the Big Stuff today! 
A few weeks ago, I decided to use some of my fun money to get an MP3 player with an FM radio since I was tired of carrying around my CDs and I wanted to be able to listen to NPR even after I got to work.
I looked at a bunch of options for a week and decided that the newest generation of Ipod Nano would be perfect for me since Mr. BFS already runs an ITunes list (so I won’t have to do anything, thanks sweety) and the radio can be paused. I take calls at work, so that pause feature is fantastic! I also thought that the 16gb Nano looked like a better deal than the 8gb one, so all I needed to do was find the best deal.
Since I don’t like buying electronics used, I looked into my options and Amazon was the winner at $155 (it would have been $130 for the 8gb one instead). I ordered and delivery was scheduled for Tuesday, August 17.
Well, Monday rolled around and I checked the front porch area just in case. No dice. I waited until Tuesday, but it still wasn’t delivered. That’s when I logged into my Amazon account and saw that it was supposedly delivered already on Monday afternoon.
I admit, I panicked.
Then I called Amazon customer service, explained the situation, and waited to hear bad news.
Surprisingly, even though UPS swears they delivered it, the Amazon rep offered me a replacement or a refund! I immediately asked for a replacement and she said it would be shipped out Wednesday via One-Day shipping.
It was actually waiting for me when I got home from work Thursday, August 19! Yay!!! Also, it works exactly as described and the purple color is even better than it looked online!
I am truly impressed with how Amazon took care of me. Amazon’s policy regarding missing packages has successfully earned them the majority of my online business as long as they are up and running.
Have you had any great experiences that surprised you? What do you think of Amazon?
I love Amazon, and I have never had a bad experience with them.
Don’t you love those colors of the Nano? My daughter has an emerald green, and it is so nice! I am still in the dark ages and own an IRiver that is only 1G. I may upgrade someday, especially since you can plug MP3 players into the car.
@Everyday Tips, I got the dark purple and do love it! It’s the first MP3 player I’ve ever used more than once, lol. I’ve listened to 10 audio books in the last 2 weeks!
I’ve never had a bad experience with Amazon! Wonder what happened to your other iPod?
I actually had a very similar experience with Amazon a couple years ago. If I recall right it was a GPS I bought. I ordered it from Amazon and it was supposed to have shipped but never arrived. I asked Amazon and they easily and quickly volunteered to send me another or credit me. No hassle at all.
@Jenna, I wondered about that too. I put up flyers at our neighborhood mailbox asking if anyone received a misdelivered package, but I didn’t get any responses. I figure some lucky and unscrupulous person got it and kept it or the UPS guy did…
@jim, it seems that they know exactly how to keep long-term customers! Now I don’t feel so bad about spending so much there over the years, lol.
Wow, that is pretty cool.
Someday I’ll have to buy from them. Ironically, I came closer to buying their stock than a product from them.
@Money Reasons, listen to the redhead voice in your head, “click on the BFS link…buy something…be Amazon happy…”. LOL!
@BFS – I think that Amazon logo screams “steal me!”
Amazon is without a doubt one of my favorite companies to do business with. I’ve never lost anything in the mail when buying from them but that is good to know. I had heard their customer service is quite good.
BFS – in regards to getting your first iPod, be careful. It is the path to becoming an Apple fanboy (or fangirl) and it is expensive!
@Jenna, me too! I wish they didn’t mark their boxes…
@Rob Ward, no worries…Mr. BFS downloads all my audiobooks so I have a middle man between me and the addictive Apple product, lol.
it depends on the product you buy and the source. amazon carries its own, and drop ships a bulk of this SKUs. the experience with an ipod vs a memory foam mattress can be drastically different.
@Sunil, good point. My everlasting thanks is towards Amazon-shipped products, not third party companies that sell through Amazon…