Amazon.com has acquired Zappos.com. That SUCKS!

[grace0418]

Zappos is, without a doubt, my favorite online retailer. Zappos has outstanding customer service, fair prices, mind-blowingly fast shipping, an awesome return policy and by far the best selection of shoes anywhere.

I wear a women's size 10.5 wide, good luck finding that size ANYWHERE. And when you can find that size, good like finding anything remotely attractive. When I was younger it was okay because I wore Dr. Martins and other big clunky shoes all the time. In fact, I often could find great prices on smaller sizes of men's shoes, which suited me just fine because I was a punk rock girl. But as I got older and wanted to find dress shoes, sandals, gym shoes or anything else that I didn't want to buy in the men's section, it was a nightmare. Why do shoe stores assume you are 98 years old and need orthopedic shoes if you where a larger size? Zappos was life-changing for me, I swear.

Amazon taking over does not seem like a good thing to me. :mad:

[Bunny]

1. That does sound bad. I love Zappos.

I have freakishly wide feet, and I can never find any shoes in the stores that fit + look good. Zappos is awesome, and it seems like a sure bet that Amazon will screw it up.

[grace0418]

2. I'd like to think that Amazon could learn a thing or two from the way Zappos runs

their business, but I'm not that optimistic. It's not like I've had any HUGE problems with Amazon, but they've never overly impressed me either. Zappos blows my mind on a regular basis.

One time I ordered a pair of shoes LATE on a Saturday night (actually, about 2 in the morning on a Sunday), and they were delivered Monday afternoon. I couldn't believe my eyes. And that was with the regular free shipping, I didn't pay for a rush or anything.

With Amazon if you opt for the free shipping, you're lucky if you see your order in less that 14 days.

[gmoney]

3. maybe they'll be smart enough to leave it alone

Bezos isn't a total idiot. Maybe he'll just buy it and reap the profits and increase margin through better buying power or tougher sweatshops or something

[grace0418]

4. I hope so, but I'm not optimistic. I sincerely doubt I'll be getting that email after

I place my order that says "We've upgraded you to free overnight shipping!"

Amazon's version of free shipping is more like "We'll send it to you when we get around to it. What do you expect, you selected free shipping. If you wanted it some time this month you should've paid an extra $50."

[gmoney]

6. I'm an Amazon "prime" member

I pay their fee to get free 2nd day shipping on virtually anything Amazon sells, even if it's a $3 paperback, and frequently it arrives next day. I figure I come out money ahead because if I wanted a $13 CD, I'd always push myself to buy a second item to get over the $25 free shipping threshhold, sometimes buying stuff that I might not otherwise. So, eliminating a few of those purchases during the year offsets the fee, and saves me time.

But the point is, Amazon's system is capable of jiffy-quick service.

They may not even absorb Zappos' system into their own, and just have kind of a hands-off ownership. Like Rupert Murdoch and the WSJ. :eyes:

[Moondog]

5. I'm not really an Amazon fanboi, but if they do half as well with shoes

as they have done with decent photographic gear, I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised ....

[femmocrat]

7. I love Zappos too. I hope they don't change a thing about it.

Although I've never had any problems with Amazon either.

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. I also wear a 10 1/2 but medium width.

I hope that this does not change zappo's excellent customer service.

[Kat45]

9. Check out planetshoes.com

They carry a lot of sizes and many brands, including lots of Earth shoes. They have free shipping for orders over $49 (and for less expensive orders, I think shipping is just $3.95). Things ship out quickly. (Disclosure: I recently got a part time job doing customer service for them. It's not my type of job and the hours suck but it's all I've been able to find right now.)