Agreed, that's pretty much what I meant. Although even the few times when I received questionable products the issue was resolved pretty quickly and painlessly

Agreed, that's pretty much what I meant. Although even the few times when I received questionable products the issue was resolved pretty quickly and painlessly with either the merchant or Amazon.com Contrast that with booking.com where all communications between you and the merchant(hotel) have to filter through booking.com and take 24 hours at a minimum to get a response.