Life Since Amazon.com

It’s hard to imagine a world without online retail giant Amazon.com, but it wasn’t all that long ago that such a world actually existed. Founder Jeff Bezos created Amazon on while driving across the continent from New York to Seattle, launching the company in July 1995.

Initially, Amazon was intended to be an online bookseller, offering a wide range of titles from popular fiction to textbooks—a range that has only widened over time. The appearance of Amazon online demonstrates one of the tremendous advantages of the Internet: access.

Most towns of about 60,000 residents—like my hometown, for example—may have a bookstore or two. But it’s likely that the selection of titles is limited by space and demand. Amazon is a virtual bookstore that makes a myriad of books available to its customers. Browsing comes down to searching by title or author, and you can even read the first few pages to make sure they’re what you’re looking for.

It can be more difficult to find specialty titles and items in even smaller towns—places where residents need to travel to the nearest town or city or shop. With the appearance of Amazon, however, even far-flung customers can find exactly what they need and have it delivered to their front door. And while it’s always great to be able to see and weigh a possible purchase, sometimes the convenience of mail order just can’t be beat.

In the 19 years since its founding, Amazon has expanded its catalogue to music, movies, clothing, and numerous other non-perishable items. Depending on where in the country you live, you can receive your order in a few days, or request one or two-day shipping. Today, Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, and one of the first places many Americans look for a good deal on a new TV or laptop—or the latest Stephen King novel.

Today Amazon is the top seller of not only printed books, but ebooks as well. They are a major player in the tablet market, have recently introduced their own smartphone, and are producing original content for the growing online entertainment industry. I’m pretty sure Amazon isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Do you have favorite online shopping sites? Have you ordered from Amazon before? Let us know about your experiences; we’d love to hear them.