I just went through this a few days ago. I'm assuming you are purchasing New, I wouldn't want to buy a used machine from Amazon from other sellers....
Anyways, the machine I purchased was for my sister. She didn't need anything fancy, custom ordered, etc. Ended up purchasing the older version of the 13" Macbook Pro. It was $999 with no sales tax! We "splurged" for overnight shipping ($4 with Amazon Prime!) and received it the next day.
We were contemplating getting her the current gen but it was $100 more and nothing she really needed. She will be doing the standard college girl stuff - FB, MS Office, etc. USB 3.0 and a slightly better video card she didn't really care for, want to pay for, or understand the difference!
I wouldn't hesitate buying from Amazon, but make sure the machine is something you really want. I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of shipping such an expensive machine back and then worrying about their opinion on the condition of the item - even with a reputable business such as Amazon. Apple would be better for that.
But for $1,004 shipped overnight with NO tax (tax was about $60-80, even on the refurbished ones!), It was a great buy.