Apartment building mailrooms and dorm hall mailboxes often see a surplus of packages. Whether it be care packages from sentimental family members or the latest impulse buy made by the student, one brand seems to trump them all: Amazon.

The famous smile arrow dons millions of packages shipped out of Amazon factories each and every day, oftentimes landing in the mailbox of a college student, awaiting their most recent purchase that will seemingly improve their lifestyle.

For many of us, Amazon has been a significant resource to get a wide variety of items. From food to electronics, Amazon has become an essential part of our lives. Many students at Iowa State do not have access to a car, therefore, they rely on Amazon to meet their needs. 

Why wait the two days (at minimum) it takes Amazon to process and ship your order, when Target, Walmart and an abundance of stores are just minutes away on Duff? 

“When I was in the dorms my freshman year and even living in an apartment my sophomore year, I didn’t have a car yet so I couldn’t really just get up and go to the store if I wanted to,” Gracen Kahler, senior studying marketing, said. “Same with taking the bus, it’s not always the best option.”

Kahler also emphasized the fact that products listed on Amazon are often far cheaper than what is on the shelf at the store. This helps Kahler with budgeting, a tactic she’s had to use while living on a college student’s income. 

Renting or purchasing textbooks from Amazon is a cost-effective way to avoid breaking the bank when it comes to school supplies each semester. 

Kahler has previously served as an Amazon Prime Ambassador, meaning she informs students on Prime Student, a different form of Amazon Prime tailored to students and offered at a cheaper price. 

For $6 a month, students reap the benefits of Amazon Prime, including Prime Music, Prime TV, two-day shipping and deals on products. Amazon utilizes Prime Ambassadors to their advantage, serving as a marketing tool to get through to college students. 

“Once I was able to interact with students as an ambassador and show them deals that are available to them or discounts they can get, I realized that it was the best deal for me too, putting myself in their shoes and realizing this resource is available to me,” Kahler said. 

Kahler did a complete 180 from her freshman year of college, when she was unaware Prime Student had existed. Since then, she’s proven her commitment to Amazon Prime, stating that postcollege, she will most likely continue to own a Prime membership.

As a Prime Ambassador, Kahler was intrigued by the philanthropic work done by Amazon and the customer service they provide to their consumers when a package is misplaced or sent to the wrong address. 

“I know that as a customer when something goes wrong, they’ll take care of it,” Kahler said. “Just last week I had ordered a birthday present for my dad who lives in Texas, so I wanted to send him something and because of the storm it got lost. And after two days, since it hadn’t delivered yet they gave me a full refund.”

Amazon also has excellent advertising and marketing tactics that get buyers to engage with Amazon and purchase their products. While watching streaming networks such as Hulu, Kahler can remember receiving ads for Amazon Prime Video, although she already paid for the service. 

Kahler’s Amazon must-have:

• UBeesize Ring Light

“I bought a ring light for my makeup stand and I had kept seeing ones that were super huge and over $100,” Kahler said. “I found a really decent priced one that is shorter and is supposed to sit on a table, it was like $20 and it worked really well, it has a few different modes on it. That worked perfect so I told my best friend about it because she works for Sephora and she’s always doing her makeup. That’s something I would purchase again even if it broke.”