It's a well-earned reputation. The majority of all my discretionary spending goes through Amazon these days; with the exception of 1 specialty item recently, I can't remember the last time I had something shipped from another company.
It's great that things work so well when ordering from Amazon; but what's really great is when things don't work well. They have some of the absolute best customer service I have ever dealt with. They make it so easy to return things that I never think twice about it. I had some packages disappear a few years back and they handled it so well that I told all of my friends and family about it for months.
I am also in the position of buying nearly everything via Amazon. If you haven't already, it's worth taking out the Amazon/Chase credit card -- it amounts to a 3% discount, redeemable directly as cash (in increments of $50) or as further spending on Amazon.
They're my favorite company. I have Prime, but I find myself choosing ground shipping on items that aren't time sensitive just because I feel like saving Amazon the cost. I usually relish sticking it to most companies I deal with.
It's great that things work so well when ordering from Amazon; but what's really great is when things don't work well. They have some of the absolute best customer service I have ever dealt with. They make it so easy to return things that I never think twice about it. I had some packages disappear a few years back and they handled it so well that I told all of my friends and family about it for months.