Community poll forum: What's the most important factor when it comes to choosing e-commerce sites?

This can be a read deal breaker for me. I had one recently that wanted about $30 for this. I gravitated away from that site quickly. I like the free and low cost option to be there. I usually buy things on line since it can be difficult to get some things from local stores. Also some of the prices are significantly lower than the brick and mortar stores. In my Firefox browser, I have a bookmark folder marked "To Buy" where I can accumulate all of the sites that have products that I want to buy, and then I can get to the site quickly and make the purchase. Things that aren't really urgent can be in there for quite a while, but readily available when I decide to make the purchase. I think that Amazon is one of my favorite sites since they seem to have a good pricing policy. I'm sure that is why they are so popular with millions of customers.

One of the things that really gets me upset is when the vendor doesn't advise you of the shipping status. Some of them don't even acknowledge your order... that's unforgiveable, and guarantees I won't buy from them again.

One of the BEST online companies I've bought from is Egghead. Often, shipping is free, they advise status every step of the way, and provide good shipping status and tracking info.

Buy.com and Ecrater are my favorites. I go to the same sellers on those sites
over and over, and am always amazed at their shipping speed. Packaging, not so much,
but very fast shipping.

Amazon Prime works most of the time. 2 to 4 days, is what it should advertise.
When I need an item fast, it usually comes in 4 days with Prime. But free shipping
with prime is a good deal.

Ebay sellers have burned me so many times. Bad packaging and damaged items. They
may start out new, but Bad packaging has soured me to ebay. 6 top sellers in a row?!!
All just threw my orders into a box and out the door. No packaging to protect them.
Static charged peanuts with electronics, and other frustrating acts of shipping terrorism.

Try living in Hawai'i (or Alaska). You read "FREE SHIPPING" (ONLY to the lower 48 states)!! Sellers seem set on shipping UPS or FEDEX and not USPS. Shipping a small package can cost upward of $53.00 via UPS, where if they would ship via USPS flat rate box, it could be as low as 10-14 bucks. I just recently ordered a lot of repair parts for my truck on eBay. Had to ship to my nieces home so she could forward them on via USPS. All the parts had "FREE SHIPPING" but again, not to foreign countries like Hawai'i or Alaska! The kick was, when the parts got shipped, almost everyone of them went via the US mail!! I spend a lot of time to find the few companies that will ship to me. I even over look the slow shipping that I come across occasionally or going Parcel Post (on some heavy items) which can take 6-8 weeks via slow boat. But at least I had the choice!

Personally, I don't think anyone can beat Amazon (I'm a Prime member) for their shipping prices, or the overall delivery time. However, I buy a lot of computer parts, and for that sub-genre of electronics, I think the BEST place to purchase is Newegg. They have fairly inexpensive shipping and, depending on your location, their delivery times are unreal. I absolutely REFUSE to purchase from a site that either doesn't have a fast, low-cost shipping option, or charges an arm, both legs and an ear for overnight or 2 day shipping.

I don't always have the time to go shopping and many times when I do have the time, the stores are closed.
I am a Amazon Prime member for a reason. I purchase alot of items from Amazon. Just being able to shop online and do my comparisons from the comfort of my laptop, is just great.
So Convenience is my prime mover!