STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I order a ton of books online. I've always used Amazon and have been really happy with their website for a long time. It's great how many different products they sell and the different ratings and wishlists and so on.

But recently I've been having some trouble with them and I feel like their customer service has gone downhill. For example, in less than three months, I've had the same problem happen five times with Amazon: I've placed a multiple book order that says that all books are in stock and will ship right away. After making the purchase, three or four days will pass and I'll remember that I haven't gotten my shipping e-mail yet. I log in, everything looks normal for the order. And then once another two or three days pass, I log in again and see that it says one of the books is now out of stock (thanks for letting me know, Amazon ) and so my whole order won't ship for several weeks until the book comes in. It's so annoying because I normally need the books quickly and often they're not common enough to be found in a local bookstore, so then I'm screwed -- either I don't get any of the books in time or I end up having to pay shipping for the book(s) that are in stock since it was only with the full order that I qualified for free super saver shipping.

But then Barnes and Noble's website entered my life. It is so great! It has a huge stock of books, music and DVD's at the exact same price as Amazon's and it has free shipping over $25. It's always had what I was looking for, which can be obscure, in stock and available. I've ordered six different multiple item orders from them in the last month or so and they've all come so quickly (much, much faster than Amazon) -- usually shipping the same day as my order was placed and arriving within two or at most three days for free. I've placed orders in three different parts of the country and all the packages have arrived equally quickly so I know it's not just because I'm close to a facility. They remind me of the old Amazon! Although they don't have so many ratings and I'm still getting used to the search function, they do have coupon codes for books, which you never see on Amazon. I'm even considering becoming a "member."

So, that was my way way way too long rant about Amazon and rave about Barnes and Noble. If you haven't made the switch over to B&N for your books, music and dvds online, I recommend giving it a try. I think that it's a good lesson that companies and organizations shouldn't try to do to much -- stick to what you're good at and just be sure you're the best at it.