The elves at Apple are my Xmas heroes!

Full Review
It can be tough to find Christmas gifts for my mother. The main thing is she just doesn’t come out and tell you what she wants. So, I was wheedling it out of her and said something like “Well, you wouldn’t want an ipod …” and she said “Oh, I would like that”. So I immediately raced upstairs and went online with apple. I ordered an engraved ipod classic at 8:20 pm on December 20th. It arrived at 9am on Christmas Eve! Hooray!

Website

It is very easy to navigate around the website. I was able to configure the ipod that I wanted very easily. Checkout was very simple.

ENGRAVING

Please get your Ipod engraved. Over the past few years there have been a lot of concern about ipods getting stolen on the buses and subway. Now engraving won’t prevent someone from trying to steal your ipod, but at least you can identify it later. I read a news article where a woman found her stolen Ipod on eBay. I suggest using a phone number. That way, it’s an indisputable Id, and if you lost your ipod then a nice person could return it. It’s free and very easy. The website has a page with a little window to type the message and then there is a picture of your ipod with the engraving lettering exactly as it will appear. PS. If your switch your headphones from white to black your ipod will be less of a target for thieves.

Communication

the Good

Lot’s of email updates on the progress of my shipment. This was very encouraging.
12/20/07 8:20 am Ordered
December 21, 2007 9:37 AM Confirmation email
December 22, 2007 12:22 AM Shipping Confirmation.

the Bad

Since I bought my own Nano in May 2006, Apple became my BFF and sends me an email every five minutes. Itunes sends me an email every 34 seconds. This is somewhat annoying.

Shipping

After I received the shipping confirmation I could track the shipping on FedEx. I watched my mother’s gift come all the way from Shangai to Anchorage Alaska to Tennessee to my mom’s! I should point out that this item had a free upgrade to express shipping. Apple did not promise to get the ipod to my mother by Christmas, which made it all the more appreciated when it arrived. I was amazed that an engraved item could come so quickly from China.

Sales Tax

Yes, I paid Sales tax. I really don’t mind paying tax as long as the merchant is actually paying the sales tax to the appropriate state. Out of curiosity I emailed Apple and asked to verify the tax account for my mother's state. The email said that they "could not comment."

Gift Wrapping

I paid $5 for gift wrapping, and that is pretty comparable to other online retailers. It is very simple and seems tasteful. The gift card has an Apple logo, which kind of gives it away. I’m not really into logos that way.

Aftercare

Well, she hasn’t opened it so I can’t tell you. I can say that I haven’t had any problems with my Nano so I can’t really say much about the personal customer service. Of course, I think that a good online store should be able to get you what you order without needing to speak to an employee.