Great On-Line Businesses

[Mike]

I remember a few years ago, when e-commerce was first starting to emerge, there was a variety of opinions about whether anyone could make a profit in e-commerce. While the landscape is changing, it appears that some are doing well and may be around for the foreseeable future.

 

I thought it might be interesting to share some experiences about quality e-tailers. Here's a list of some with whom I've had good experiences:

 

-Amazon: This is my "go-to" web store. I pay for "Prime" membership, meaning I get two-day shipping at no extra cost (most of my orders actually arrive the next day). Before ordering anything on line, I always go to Amazon. They generally meet or beat the competition.

 

-Aerostich: I have more Aerostich motorcycle clothing than any other brand. They offer exceedingly high quality and a fair degree of customization. Not cheap . . . but not as pricey as, say, BMW brand gear. Love their stuff.

 

-REI : Everything under the sun, as far as outdoor gear, camping, etc. Not cheap, but they've been very reliable, and I can get free shipping to the REI store that's about 15 miles from my home.

 

-Sierra Trading Post : A great variety of clothing, some of it at drastically discounted prices. It's worth checking them out when you're in the market for clothing. Just understand that they deal in close-outs, so it's a hit-or-miss proposition.

 

-Cycle Gadgets : A great variety of motorcycle farkles, along with knowledgeable customer service. I find that they're generally pricier than the competition, so you have to determine whether the greater level of expertise is worth the added cost. CycleGadgets was started by one of BMWST's early members.

 

-TravelSmith : A good variety of travel clothing and gear. Generally, I find that their clothes are average in quality, but they seem to have the widest range of travel clothing that I've found on the web.

 

I'm sure others will come to mind. Any to add?

[David]

http://www.zappos.com (owned by Amazon, but separate) has been great to deal with.

[Kathy R]

Crutchfield

North America's Electronics Specialists Since 1974

 

I can't say enough about their quality customer service and technical know how. They have saved me from the clerks at Best Buy box stores.

[bakerzdosen]

Newegg is geek heaven and fantastic to work with. They used to be the cheapest, whereas now they're just "pretty close" but the reliability is worth the extra pennies.

 

Backcountry.com (and by extension their "deal" sites like steepandcheap are great to work with as well, and not just because they're local to me.) Of course, their one-deal-at-a-time sites have also cost me a lot as they tend to re-define the word "need."

 

 

[Bob Palin]

http://www.zappos.com (owned by Amazon, but separate) has been great to deal with.

Hmm, never heard of Xappos

 

So I went to the first item in Housewares which was a 5 piece pasta bowl set in white, $110 with free regular shipping, exact same thing at Amazon was $120 with Prime 2 day shipping available.

 

Amazon is my go to store as well with Prime shipping being a significant factor, I even order food there.

[bakerzdosen]

Zappos is mostly known for selling shoes, not housewares... They're cool because they pay for shipping both ways in case the shoes are the wrong size.

[Mike]

Another that I just remembered:

 

Monoprice: Electronic cables, switches, etc., at remarkably low prices. I've gotten just a couple of things, but they were of good quality and tremendously inexpensive.

[Husker Red]

Another that I just remembered:

 

Monoprice: Electronic cables, switches, etc., at remarkably low prices. I've gotten just a couple of things, but they were of good quality and tremendously inexpensive.

 

Just beat me to it. Monoprice is awesome. I set up a home theater in my basement last winter and all the heavy in-wall speaker wiring, long HDMI cables, cat5 cables, and even the wall mount speakers came from monoprice. It was so cheap I was worried about poor quality, but everything has been great. I've ordered several times from them in the last year.

 

I also have Amazon Prime and it is my first buying choice for almost everything else. Love it. Returns with Amazon can be a bit of a pain because of shipping.

 

[VinnyR11]

Use Amazon for almost everything. Also a Prime member. Excellent service and support. I've always found their returns simple.

 

BTW, Zappos was mentioned by a couple of people. They were recently purchased by Amazon. I've used Zappos for shoes in the past with excellent results.

 

The Teaching Company (http://www.teach12.com/teach12.aspx) is a fantastic place to go if you'd like top University quality courses, given by some of the best professors in the U.S. for very reasonable prices. No homework, no tests, just great courses at your own pace. A pretty large % of their inventory is on sale at any time at greatly reduced prices, and they rotate the sale items so that eventually you can purchase any of their courses at the sale price.

 

Etsy (http://www.etsy.com) is also highly recommended. Craft/art items at very reasonable prices direct from the artists. Great for gifts.

 

[David]

I love Etsy! Been using them for years.

[Dave McReynolds]

I know it's not a business, but I recently applied for Social Security on-line. The whole process of filling out the application, including setting up direct deposits to my bank account and submitting it went very smoothly. I received a follow-up letter from Social Security within a few weeks indicating that my application had been approved, and another followup letter about two weeks before my first payment indicating how much it would be and when to expect the first deposit.

[artig]

Land's End quality is not as good as it was some years ago. Probably since they were taken over by Sears. But I still buy from them occasionally. They are very easy to deal with if there are problems with the products, or if they happen to send the incorrect items.

[Joel]

+1 for Amazon and Aerostich. twistedthrottle.com and powerlet.com have been very good, too. And the web stores for LL Bean (my favorite retailer, period, and free shipping if you've got their branded VISA card) and Cabelas are also very good.

[Boffin]

For a UK perspective...

 

I also use Amazon (.cu.uk not .com) as a fist-stop-shop. I have not signed up for prime as we can opt for First Class postal service here which pretty much guarantees next-day delivery for a lower overall cost. The 'free' delivery standard option is normally 2-3 days.

 

My other favourite is www.tesco.com - I have one of their loyalty cards and recently used some of the points to get free a Eurotunnel motorirail crossing to France for a two-week break.

 

Being a small island means we are spoiled for fast-delivery. I have telephoned James Sherlock, an independant BMW parts specialist, at lunchtime and had the parts on my doorstep the next morning. Similarly, I have placed an online order with Amazon in the early afternoon to get it the next morning.

 

Andy

[RichEdwards]

Another for Amazon.com and "Prime", the free two day shipping option. With 8 grandchildren, being able to select an appropriate gift two days before a birthday or holiday and get it there on the right day works wonderfully for me.

[VinnyR11]

I know it's not a business, but I recently applied for Social Security on-line. The whole process of filling out the application, including setting up direct deposits to my bank account and submitting it went very smoothly. I received a follow-up letter from Social Security within a few weeks indicating that my application had been approved, and another followup letter about two weeks before my first payment indicating how much it would be and when to expect the first deposit.

 

I didn't even think of gov't sites. I've found many of them to be surprisingly easy and efficient. NY and Florida DMV, and USPS are three that I've used that work very, very well.

 

Not sure how old you have to be to remember standing in line for hours at DMV just to renew a license or get a new copy of a lost registration, but it used to be a horror show.

[Francois_Dumas]

Heck yeah, FSAddon Publishing of course !!!! Started 8 years ago!

 

www.fsaddon.eu

 

 

 

 

[ratfink]

Beemerboneyard, Max BMW.

[hANNAbONE]

www.NewEnough.com

 

www.ibmwr.org [ check their marketplace !! ]

 

www.bikebandit.com

 

www.cheapcycleparts.com

 

www.backcountry.com

 

 

[JayW]

For purchasing mutual funds, the Vanguard site is a model of user-friendliness and great information. This fact, plus their well-deserved reputation for charging low fees, is why I have so much of my money with them. If you need personal help, a live person can be reached by phone in a minute or 2. Great company!

 

Jay

[philbytx]

Pelican Parts best darn car parts service I've experienced

[Rewel]

I think these businesses succeeded because they think far beyond what they can see. Moreover their good business continuity plan constitutes their success. We should not also disregard the demand of globalization which brought them on the top.

[RonStewart]

Travelocity & Expedia, as well as various airline and hotel web sites. I have never got up the nerve to try that one Shatner advertises, though.

[Jerry Johnston]

geeks.com a good place to buy used computer drive etc.

 

mwave.com similar to Newegg

 

directron.com Computer supplies and advice

[Bud]

I've been most impressed with the Southwest Airlines web site. Easy to use, can quickly see when the cheapest fare is available and they don't charge for bags.