Anyone used Amazon ?

New to buying books on-line - has anyone any advice ? Are Amazon OK ? Do the books arrive quickly ? Do they send the right ones ?!

Yes, I have used Amazon. I was amazed how fast the books arrived (your experience may vary, especially in UK). They were very good about email acknowledgments that the order was recieved AND an email to say it was shipped.

I actually got the books I ordered. I've also had good experiences with Barnes & Noble dot com.

I have had the same experience as Neil with Amazon. Prompt service, excellent packaging to protest the book and email confirmation.

Amazon are very quick but so is Tesco online, some of the best prices I have seen and a very good and upto date selection of motorsport books.

I have had varied experience with Amazon. My Christmas book went to someone else and I got a book on birds that was directed to "Fred and Maureen" by someone who forgot to sign the card. Amazon was very good about letting me keep the book (I sent it to my sister who raises parrots) and sent me another copy of the bio of Gilles Villeneuve that was originally ordered for me. (I always wondered how Fred and Maureen enjoyed that one!) One book I got called "Going Faster" was very slow :) and cost me $7.50 in duty at the border (another joy of living in Canada), and a third arrived promptly with no duty and no problems. The notificatoin process was good in all cases though and as I said,they WERE good about letting me keep the bird book.

Thanks for that, peeps - i'm off to order a couple of books then :) Liz, your story is good - you often find out more about a company when things go wrong, than when they work out. The fact that they sorted the problem out is reassuring. This site should add a recommended books section to its pages - it would be really useful to find out from others what books are worth buying, and which are not. How about it guys?

I've never actually ordered anything from Amazon, so can't comment on that, but how many of their books are actually available? I tried to order a book once only to be told later it was out of print and it has recently been pointed out to us where I work that Amazon are 'selling' three of our own publications. Two of these publications have been out of print since the mid-late-1980's and are definitely not available for sale anywhere, so it came as a bit of a surprise to us that Amazon was advertising them.

I've been buying books from Amazon since they started in this country. Service has always been fast, ie next day, most of the time. Prices are normally cheaper, but don't forget to take into account the postage.
Good selection of motorsport books.

The other place to try is Sportspages. If you have not come across them, they are a specialist sports bookshop in London.
Find them at www.sportspages.co.uk. (http://www.sportspages.co.uk.)
Good selection of motorsport books, but the prices are not normally as low as Amazon.

I can confirm that I have now had three deliveries from Amazon - two were books, and one was a CD. Absolutely brilliant service! The sooner Craig gets the bookstore open on this site, the better! I see he's advertising for assistants in this week's newsletter. I only wish I had a good enough grasp of the English language to assist him.

I would highly recommend Amazon. I got the racing books and videos ordered lightning quick and at a huge discount. I got the movie Le Mans for less than $10 when specialty motorsports type shops want $20-30 for it. Their books are usually discounted cheaper than Barnes&Noble.com and others.

Fatbloke: Your English is fine, why don't you help out Craig, ask him the next time you see him :)

Im a bit frightened of ordering books over the net, with our crumby exchange rate and all. Although can i say this, i have seen teh Cart annual advertised for US$25, and down here you would be lucky to get them for A$60 at a fire sale...