Amazon Marketplace a Winner for Customers, Sellers and Industry; New Service Grows over 200 Percent in First Four Months

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 2001--Leading online retailer Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) (Nasdaq:AMZN) today announced that monthly gross merchandise sales in Amazon Marketplace (www.amazon.com/marketplace) have more than tripled in its first four months of operation.

Amazon Marketplace is a new service that allows customers to buy and sell used and collectible items directly from Amazon.com's product detail pages.

Over a quarter of a million unique Amazon.com customers have already made at least one purchase from Amazon Marketplace, and in some product categories Amazon Marketplace inventory turns as often as every 15 days.

Launched in November 2000, Amazon Marketplace makes it easy for third parties to sell used, rare and collectible books, music, video, DVD, video games, electronics, tools and hardware, and camera and photo products on the same page where Amazon.com sells the item new. This side-by-side placement ensures qualified buyers looking for a product will be made aware of a used, rare or collectible item at the same time they find the new item.

"The Amazon Marketplace success is driven by one thing and one thing alone -- it creates real value for customers," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "There's always been a huge desire among customers to buy used, rare and collectible merchandise, and we're only beginning to understand how Amazon Marketplace can channel that demand to benefit customers, manufacturers, publishers, artists and the industry as a whole. We're confident that this model will continue to evolve, and believe it has the potential to drive meaningful category growth over the long term."

Customers are enthusiastic about Amazon Marketplace because it brings them a choice of products at a variety of price points. In fact, it presents a great opportunity for customers to try new authors, artists and genres of books, music and film, as well as electronics and tools and hardware products, at lower prices. By offering customers the opportunity to buy used merchandise at a lower price, Amazon Marketplace is helping customers to find and discover new products that they may have been hesitant to experiment with at a higher price point.

"I've been curious about yoga for quite some time now," said Christy Britton, an avid Amazon.com customer. "I wanted to try it, but wasn't sure if it was something I would really like. Through Amazon Marketplace I purchased a used VHS tape of Yoga Journal's Yoga Practice for Beginners for nine dollars and discovered a new form of exercise that I just love. I have since returned to Amazon.com and bought four additional yoga tapes and two books on yoga -- some new and some used -- and couldn't be more thankful for this introduction." All Types of Sellers Are Finding Success at Amazon Marketplace

Sellers, which include merchants, individuals, authors and artists, are enjoying success through Amazon Marketplace. These sellers are using Amazon Marketplace to sell not only rare and used merchandise, but also special editions of new merchandise, including signed collectible copies.

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  Artists and Authors: "Amazon Marketplace gives authors a great opportunity to promote and sell their books -- new, used or collectible!" said Darrell Gurney, author of Headhunters Revealed! Career Secrets for Choosing and Using Professional Recruiters. "I'm selling collectible, autographed copies of my book for three dollars more than the Amazon.com sales price. I think it's great that Amazon.com has created a model that enables authors to interact with readers in this way."
  
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  Publishers: "Publishers can use this new feature for listing books to their advantage," said Betsy Lampe of the National Association of Independent Publishers. "I've never met a publisher who didn't have damaged books, either from delivery mishap, incorrect packaging or scuffed bookseller returns. The new Marketplace feature on Amazon.com allows publishers an avenue for selling those damages and returns."
  
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  Merchants: "From a seller perspective, Marketplace is brilliant," said Diana Keene, an Amazon Marketplace seller. "I've been selling books on the Internet for four years and it has been growing steadily, but after signing up with Amazon.com, my business has really taken off. The beauty of listing with Amazon.com versus their competition is the ease with which a potential buyer will be exposed to your book. And I know it really works because I've just had my best sales month ever." Seller Services at Amazon.com
  

Selling through Amazon Marketplace is easy. Amazon.com provides tools for the casual seller listing one or two items and for the business owner selling thousands of items at once. Sellers can begin selling a single item in less than 60 seconds, by entering an item into the search box and clicking the orange button that says "Sell yours here." To take advantage of Amazon Marketplace and its unrivaled exposure and accessibility to 30 million customers, go to www.amazon.com/marketplace.

Since 1996, Amazon.com has been bringing together buyers and sellers of rare, used and collectible items. In March 1999, the company launched Amazon.com Auctions (www.amazon.com/auctions), its first third-party selling service. Amazon.com Auctions continues to thrive with over 750,000 listings.

In September 1999, Amazon.com expanded its seller services to business owners as it launched zShops (www.amazon.com/zshops), a retail selling environment. This forum provides sellers with all the tools they need to create a virtual storefront, market their own products and accept credit card payments. This complete solution attracts thousands of sellers and continues to be a key component of Amazon.com seller services.

The newest addition, Amazon Marketplace, launched in November of 2000, continues to make Amazon.com an even better place to buy and sell online by bringing items of direct relevance to the attention of Amazon.com's more than 30 million customers. About Amazon.com

Amazon.com (Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries) opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection, along with online auctions and free electronic greeting cards. Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) seeks to be the world's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Amazon.com lists more than 28 million unique items in categories such as electronics, kitchen products, books, music, DVDs, videos, camera and photo items, toys, software, computer and video games, tools and hardware, lawn and patio items, and wireless products. Through Amazon.com zShops, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.com's over 30 million cumulative customers, and with Amazon.com Payments, sellers can accept credit card transactions, avoiding the hassles of offline payments.

¶ Amazon.com operates four international Web sites: www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de and www.amazon.co.jp. It also operates the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and authoritative source of information on more than 250,000 movies and entertainment titles and 1 million cast and crew members dating from the birth of film in 1891 to 2003.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, Amazon.com's limited operating history, anticipated losses, significant amount of indebtedness, unpredictability of future revenues, potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, seasonality, consumer trends, competition, risk of distribution center expansion, risks related to fourth quarter performance, risks of system interruption, management of potential growth, inventory risks, risks related to auction and zShops services, risks related to fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and risks of new business areas, international expansion, business combinations, strategic alliances and the Amazon Commerce Network. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 1999, and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2000, June 30, 2000, and September 30, 2000.