Amazon is one of the largest market places on the internet and is a hugely successful business, but is the service alone all people should be concerned with?

As far as user interface, item range and ease of use, Amazon is definitely up there with the best of the best online shops. What started off as a simple online book store many years back, has now become a market leader, fufilling the needs and wants of consumers all over the world. The following attributes are what makes the store so successful:

• User Compatibility – The site offers a very easy to use interface, with lots of great images and internal links to help people find exactly what they are looking for very easily.

• Searches and Categories – There are a wide range of categories to search through in order to find what you are looking for, and the search box will direct customers directly to the item they wish.

• Similar Items – Upon searching for an item, many other related items will appear on the page. This is great for people looking for gift ideas or just generally browsing, as they can discover items that they may not have been initially aware of.

• Payments – The log in and payment process is very quick and easy, and due to the ability to store delivery preferences etc... the checkout is very quick.

• Delivery – Often, there is free or reduced delivery costs available and this brings the cost of the purchases down.

• Customer Reviews - Almost every product on Amazon has customer product reviews attached to it. This is a great way for buyers to find out the truth about the quality of various products. As these reviews are independent of the seller it is more trustworthy.

One major downfall with the Amazon brand is that its ethical selling policy is very questionable. All though many of the items sold on the site are sold through third party sellers, amazon does in fact sell a large amount of products directly. The market dominance of such a large company as this is in fact driving smaller internet retailers into closure as they are unable to compete with the prices and delivery costs of such a large business. It is very similar to what occurs in a town when a large superstore arrives. The small business owners struggle to compete and are forced to close down.

Amazon as a company is also not interested in using ethical companies and products that encourage fair trade and fair working conditions. This is something that we all should be interested in when making purchases. When buying products on Amazon that have been made under poor worker conditions, you are supporting the continuation of such things. I think that a company as large as Amazon should be setting examples in this area by ensuring the best practises.

This guest post was written by Abigail. She is a freelance writer and designer who writes on a variety of topics including, Legal Directory Canada and Canadian Real Estate Directory.