Website Review: Amazon.com

What is Amazon.com?

Amazon.com is a website that is a very large online store. You can buy electronics, books, movies, video games, and clothes and shoes. You can browse through products, read reviews, ask questions, engage in discussions on the forums, and order products from the website. You can either have them shipped to a P.O. Box or have them shipped directly to your house. Some products can only be shipped to your house, so keep that in mind when placing an order.

 Shopping at Amazon.com

Another great thing about Amazon.com is that they offer free shipping, called Super Saver Shipping, for products that cost over $35.00; it used to be $49.00, but since they have to pay taxes in my state, they lowered the minimum free shipping cost.

Although I do not shop for other items as much as I used to, it's still cheap to buy books from Amazon, as it offers free shipping on books if you buy over $25.00 worth of them.

I have had a great experience shipping on and the only times that an order has not arrived are when it wasn’t available, and they emailed me telling me that it wasn’t available.

 Buying Through Third Parties at Amazon.com

I have purchased items used on Amazon.com. I’ve never had a problem with any used products, but I would definitely only recommend sellers that have a 99%-100% seller rate, that way you know that the product you purchased will actually work when it arrives. I bought Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Special Edition DVDs, and they work like they’re brand new, even though they were used. I still prefer to buy new over used if I can help it.

 Amazon's Verified Customer Reviews

Amazon reviews have a label called “Verified Customer Reviews”, and it proves that the person reviewing the item purchased it because anyone can submit a review to the site. When it comes to video games, I did hear that Amazon was removing low ratings of verified customer reviews and people noticed it.

 User Reviews

Amazon.com is a very helpful website because users can leave reviews about their experiences with the products they’ve purchased from the website. I find that these reviews are informative, most of the time, and have convinced me to either buy a product or not buy it.

 Amazon Forums

Amazon has forums, and they can be very helpful if you want to ask about a product before buying it. There are also all sorts of discussion forums, and it’s pretty entertaining to look at the forums.

Flaws in Amazon Customer Reviews

If there are any flaws with Amazon.com, it would be that you have to be careful when buying used items from sellers; you have to look at their feedback percentage and what buyers have said about them. I only buy from sellers that I know are good and have sent me items I’ve ordered. I haven’t had any problems with buying used, and I’ve always received items I’ve ordered.

Retruns

I have only ever had to return a few things to Amazon, and I did get a refund, but not a full refund, but it was easy to return them.

Buying eBooks for Kindle

I recently got a free Amazon Kindle Touch, and I find it very easy to purchase books on Amazon for it. It's easy, you just touch the buy button, and it purchases the e-book. It also accepts Amazon gift cards as payment, so you can get free books using Amazon gift cards.

Just the other day, I bought a book by accident while browsing through the Kindle Store. I was able to cancel my accidental purchase, and they refunded my money the same day.

My Rating: A

Overall, Amazon.com is a great website that lets you buy anything you want and has a lot to offer its customers. I’d recommend using this website since it’s easy to find and purchase items from the store. Just be careful when buying new or used from 3^rd party sellers. I’ve never had a problem but I’m very careful when choosing a 3^rd party seller to purchase from. I try to buy straight from Amazon when possible. You can’t go wrong with this website and I buy a lot from Amazon.com. If you want a good online shopping experience, I’d recommend Amazon.com.

Video Game Review: Banished

 

Quick Info

Developer: Shining Rock Software
Released: February 18, 2014
Platform: Windows PC, Steam, GOG.com. If you buy from their website, you will get a Steam Key if you buy it there, too.

What is "Banished"?

Banished is a city-building game set in the Medieval period. On the surface, it appears to be just your average city-building game. You build resource buildings, keep your citizens happy, and trade goods your citizens create. But Banished is different from other city-building games because of a few major differences; you do not have to worry about money in this game. Instead, this city-building game does what others haven’t: it kills your population, your citizens arrive in the city, work, get married, have kids, grow old, and die.

It is very fun and challenging to play on hard mode.

Gameplay

Gameplay involves the settlers gathering up different materials to build buildings, such as wood chopping, forestry, fishing, blacksmiths, mines, quarries, hunting lodges, and herbal medicine to help keep your village up and running.

You can also build trading posts, hospitals, and a town hall to bring more villagers and trade with other villages for items you don't have at the start of the village.

The difficulty is the amount of materials you start with; depending on your settings, you'll start with more or fewer materials at the beginning of the game. The game never "ends" unless all your villagers die off.

This game is a lot of fun, especially if you enjoy city-building games. It doesn’t have a lot of depth, but if you know how to play city-building games, this will be a challenge.

The gameplay is complex when it comes to managing everything, but the game has really good tutorials, and it shows you how to play the game. The tutorial is easy to understand and explains almost everything very well.

Graphics

The graphics look nice; it’s not outstanding, but that’s not the point of the game. It does look very good, though. It’s fun to watch people go throughout your town as they go to work and live life in your village.

It doesn't look like the most amazing game graphically, but it has a nice art style that I really like, and it looks good, but not mind-blowing or cutting-edge like a game from a triple-A publisher.

The UI

The user interface is really easy to use, and you can customize it so you can choose what you want to see. You can see everything, but it has the bare minimum and it's very convenient to keep track of everything going on in your village.

Strategy is the Key

The key to surviving in Banished is the strategy, and that's what makes the game so much fun. Do I focus on food, or do I need to get the houses up as fast as possible? What about firewood?

Trying to think of the best strategy so that people don't die during the winter is a fun challenge, and why I play this game for hours and hours.

You'll have to choose between the blacksmith shop, because you need tools, or if you want to build a tailor shop. Every decision counts, and that's why I love this game!

Soundtrack

The music for the game’s soundtrack is also very well done, and it sounds very nice. The soundtrack has very pleasant music, and it's very soothing. And I like the music, but it does get a little repetitive, but it's all very pleasant to listen to.

You'll Feel Great When You Succeed

You'll feel a huge sense of accomplishment if you can take your small group of survivors and turn your tiny village into a large, bustling city. I think that it's really neat that you can make it happen, and since there's an added element of having your people build your buildings, it just becomes more challenging since you can't just click on a spot and then a building appears.

There's also a resource management element to the game that makes it challenging, but if you can get enough resources, you can survive; you just have to have a good strategy to do it.

The AI Is Weird

The major flaw of the game is that when you’re trying to select things to trade, the arrow sliders are very small on the trade menu, and I keep choosing the wrong item. Also, some people have had problems trying to get the game to start after buying it on Steam. Check the Steam community forums for help.

The AI will also let your villagers starve to death sometimes, even when you have plenty of food nearby. It can become frustrating when villagers take too long to go get food and die for no reason at all.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend this game; it’s not perfect, but for being developed by one person, it’s excellent. It’s not the greatest-looking city-building game, but it’s challenging and fun. I’ve played for hours, and I’ve really enjoyed it. If you don’t like slow-paced games, this isn’t for you, but if city-building games are your thing, check it out. It’s not too expensive, and it’s a lot of fun.

Overall Grade: A-

Banished is a lot of fun and provides hours and hours of fun and challenging city-building and management. It looks nice and has a great soundtrack and decent AI. The gameplay is fun, but the AI will sometimes do some weird things. The game is still a lot of fun.

I really loved this game, and I will definitely recommend it to anyone who loves city-building games. You'll enjoy playing this game, but it can be repetitive if you play it a lot.

Website Review: eBay.com

 

Website: eBay.com

eBay.com is a website that lets users buy and sell items on the internet. Users can either buy auction style, where they bid for the item, and the user who has the highest bid wins the item. You can also buy items for a set price with the “buy it now” option. The buyer has to pay for the item using PayPal or their credit card.

Selling  on eBay

Selling on eBay is a tricky thing. You might not get the price that you actually want for your item because either other listings are less expensive, or no one is interested in your item. If your item has a lot of listings, the best plan of action is to list your item at the lowest price you are willing to take for your item.

If your listed item sells, try to get it out to your buyer as quickly as possible. Also, communicate with them if you’re not able to get it to them if you’re gone on vacation while it's sold. Communicate with your buyer when necessary, as it helps strengthen your relationship with them. They may continue to buy from you if you provide them with good service. Ship your package in a good, strong envelope if it’s small or in a box if it’s bigger.

Buying and selling on eBay can be a great way for you to find a great deal or sell some unwanted items for extra money. If you are careful in choosing good sellers and give buyers a good experience, you won’t have any problems on eBay. Be cautious of scammers and verify the user’s feedback score. It’s a great website for buying and selling, so use eBay if you want to sell your items, or if you’re looking for a really good online deal.

Buying on eBay

Buying on eBay is an interesting experience; you can either bid or buy the item at a set price. Sometimes you’ll win items and sometimes you won’t. It depends on the item you’re bidding for. Sometimes the buyer will pay shipping, sometimes the shipping is free.

Ask the Sellers Questions Before Buying

In order not to be scammed by a buyer or a seller, you should look at their feedback from other eBay users to see if they’re a trustworthy buyer or seller. I have never had any problems buying or selling on eBay, and if you want to have a good experience, it is recommended to only buy from sellers who have at least 99% feedback. The best way to have a good experience on eBay is to go with sellers who have 100% feedback on eBay.

Make sure you ask the seller any important questions before purchasing an item; that way, they can answer any questions you need answered before you pay them money.

Also, contact them if you need to return an item to get a refund.

Returning an Item to eBay

I have had to return two items to eBay sellers, one was a pair of shoes that I had placed the wrong order for when I bought them for someone else. The other one was a Star Wars book with a misprint; the seller gave me a refund and let me keep the book.

Even though I haven't had to return items to eBay often, the sellers have been willing to refund my money. When my Star Wars Prequel Trilogy book arrived with missing pages, a massive misprint on the part of Random House, the eBay seller refunded my purchase and let me keep the defective book.

eBay Bucks Help You Pay For Items

Every time you spend money on eBay, eBay will give you a discount in "eBay Bucks' which lets you save a little extra on your purchases. Unfortunately, they don't stack, and they have an expiration date.

eBay does have gift cards that can stack, and they don't expire, but they do have a limit on how many gift cards you can use on an item.

Should You Buy or Sell on eBay?

Should you buy and sell on eBay? I'd say you should, but always take a look at seller feedback before you purchase from them. And make sure to communicate with them if you have questions, so they can help you solve any problems you have with your purchase.

If you're selling on eBay, just make sure to pack your packages very well and send them away as soon as you can. That way, you can get a positive rating with the buyer.

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