SEATTLE & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 2004--Amazon Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN), and American Express today announced an agreement to give merchants who accept the American Express card a special offer to sell their merchandise on the Amazon.com Web site. Through this agreement, businesses in the U.S. that accept the American Express(R) Card can join the Amazon Services Pro Merchant program to sell on Amazon.com with no subscription charges for the first three months. American Express merchants can find more information and take advantage of the offer by visiting American Express Business Savings at www.americanexpress.com/bizsavings.
"Amazon Services is excited to join American Express in offering their merchant network a special offer for creating incremental sales of their products through the power of the Amazon e-commerce platform," said Tom Beckwith, Amazon Services Vice President for Service Sales. "With the busy holiday retail season just around the corner, the timing is perfect for American Express merchants to begin offering their products to the millions of shoppers who visit Amazon.com."
Hundreds of thousands of active seller accounts offer new, used, and collectible products on Amazon.com using Amazon Services solutions designed for retailers of all types and sizes. The Pro Merchant program offers retailers volume-listing tools, Amazon.com storefront capabilities, and unlimited free listings for a monthly subscription cost of $39.99 plus a commission when products sell. Some of the many Pro Merchant product categories which qualify for the Amazon Services-American Express offer are Apparel & Accessories, Gourmet Foods, and Sports & Outdoors.
"American Express is pleased to make the Amazon Services Pro Merchant program even more compelling through our Business Savings Program," said Elizabeth Rutledge, Vice President, Establishment Services, American Express. "With Amazon Services, merchants can realize true costs savings while expanding their businesses, simply as a benefit of accepting the American Express Card."
Business Savings from American Express is offered at no cost to any and all merchants in the American Express network across the U.S., regardless of size or location. Merchants do not have to enroll in Business Savings and can access the many expense savings offerings through www.americanexpress.com/bizsavings. In addition to the Amazon Services Pro Merchant Program, American Express merchants can receive special savings on car rentals, office supplies, delivery services and more.
Tens of millions of active Amazon.com customer accounts and high traffic volumes give retailers who sell on the Amazon.com e-commerce platform a wide audience for their brand and products. Amazon Services ensures that sellers have tools to maximize this exposure with Seller Central, a web-based suite of tools for managing listings. Amazon Services also handles all payment processing and fraud protection.
Fred Waters of SmoothFitness sells his company's products through the Amazon.com Sports & Outdoors Store as a Pro Merchant. "Selling on Amazon.com as a Pro Merchant has given my business a new sales channel for our products," said Waters. "In addition to reaching these new customers, our presence on Amazon.com has increased our brand recognition."
With today's announcement, American Express will be helping new retailers grow their businesses through the Amazon Services Pro Merchant program at a significant cost savings.
"Our Merchant Referral Program presents businesses like American Express with the opportunity to offer their customers the chance to grow their retail businesses using their existing technology investment," said Anne Wilbur, Amazon Services Director of Channel Development. "We look forward to working with American Express to find even more ways to help its merchants improve their businesses on the Web."
About Amazon Services, Inc.
Amazon Services, Inc. is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN) which offers the technology and services that power Amazon.com to retailers seeking a world-class, cost effective e-commerce offering for their customers. Amazon Services offers its retail partners use of Amazon's leading e-commerce website technology, best-in-class fulfillment and customer service, and access to tens of millions of active customer accounts on Amazon.com (Note: active customers accounts represent the number of unique e-mail addresses which have placed an order from Amazon.com or third party sellers on Amazon sites within the prior twelve months; active seller accounts represent the number of third party seller accounts who have sold at least one item to an Amazon customer within the past twelve months).
About American Express
Establishment Services is the merchant network of American Express which acquires and maintains millions of merchants around the globe and across industries who welcome the American Express Card. American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, network, and financial services provider founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, investment products, insurance and international banking.
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. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to potential future losses, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, commercial agreements and strategic alliances, seasonality, potential fluctuations in operating results and rate of growth, foreign exchange rates, management of potential growth, system interruption, international expansion, consumer trends, inventory, fulfillment center optimization, limited operating history, government regulation and taxation, fraud, and new business areas. 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 for the year ended December 31, 2003, and all subsequent filings.
CONTACT: Amazon.com Public Relations206-266-7180SOURCE: Amazon Services, Inc.