• New Selling Platform at Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk

 

  • New, Used and Collectable items available on both sites

 

  • Customers offered wider catalogue, greater choice

 

 

London/Munich 20 March 2002: In a simultaneous two-country launch, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de have today announced the arrival of Marketplace, (www.amazon.co.uk/marketplace). 

Marketplace is a unique feature that allows customers to buy and sell new, used and collectable items on the same page that Amazon sells the item new. This side-by-side placement will dramatically expand the selection available to customers by enabling them to choose between new, used and collectable items from one single store.

Marketplace brings customers a choice of products at a variety of price points. It presents a great opportunity for customers to try new authors, artists and genres of books, music and film, as well as video games and electronics, at lower prices. By offering customers the opportunity to buy used merchandise at a lower price, Amazon Marketplace helps customers to find and discover products that they may have been hesitant to experiment with at a higher price point.

Commenting on the launch, Robin Terrell, managing director of Amazon.co.uk, said: “We are focused on building the best online retail experience for our customers, which now stand at over five million cumulative customer accounts*. We aim to ensure our customers can find, discover, buy and sell anything online, be it new, used or collectable. We are excited about the possibilities that Marketplace brings to both buyers and sellers. Amazon Marketplace creates real value for customers bringing increased choice and selection when making purchases.”

Amazon Marketplace has proven to be a solid success with customers in the United States since the service was launched in November 2000. Amazon Marketplace orders were responsible for approximately 15% of total Amazon.com orders in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Amazon Marketplace Background
New, Used & Collectable

At launch Marketplace will feature over 500,000 items available for buyers. Sellers at launch range from small and large businesses and private individuals.

Seller Services at Amazon.co.uk
Selling through Amazon Marketplace is easy. Amazon.co.uk provides tools for the casual seller listing one or two items and also for businesses that wish to offer thousands of items in one go. 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”. Amazon.co.uk helps sellers in providing a guide to the right price for items and the Amazon Payment technology is quick to use. 

Amazon.co.uk has been bringing together buyers and sellers of used and collectable items since November 1999 when it launched Amazon.co.uk Auctions, the first third-party selling service, and Amazon.co.uk zShops, a retail-selling environment for business owners. 

About Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998, and today offers millions of books, CDs, videos, DVDs, software titles, PC & video games, electronics and toys, hosts online auctions and provides a complete online storefront for individual merchants through its zShops.Marketplace at Amazon.co.uk brings a wider choice with new, used and collectable items available from individual detail pages on the site. Amazon.co.uk has recently announced strategic alliances with Carphone Warehouse, Waterstones, Virgin Wines and Expedia.co.uk. Amazon.co.uk customers enjoy the benefits of industry-leading, online shopping technology such as secure credit-card payment; personalized recommendations; streamlined, 1-Click® ordering and hassle-free Bid-Click auction bidding. All references to customers mean customer accounts, which are unique e-mail addresses, established either when a customer's order is shipped or when a customer orders from a third-party seller. Customer account*s include customers of Amazon Marketplace, Auctions, zShops services, and any customer accounts under our Merchant@amazon.com and Syndicated Stores programmes, but exclude Amazon Payments customers and the customers of selected companies with whom we have strategic marketing and promotional relationships. Amazon.co.uk has over 3 million active customers, meaning customer accounts from which at least one order was placed within the preceding twelve months.

Through Amazon Anywhere, Amazon.co.uk also is available on mobile phones with WAP technology; look at www.amazon.co.uk/anywhere for details. 

Amazon.co.uk is the trading name for Amazon.com Int'l Sales, Inc., and Amazon.com International Auctions, Inc., which are both wholly owned subsidiaries of global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). With millions of customers worldwide, Amazon.com strives to be the world's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online.

Amazon.co.uk is the trading name for Amazon.com Int'l Sales, Inc., and Amazon.com International Auctions, Inc., which are both wholly owned subsidiaries of global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). With millions of customer accounts worldwide, Amazon strives to be the world's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online.

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, Amazon.com's anticipated losses, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, strategic alliances, strategic partnerships and business combinations, seasonality, potential fluctuations in operating results and rate of growth, management of potential growth, risks of system interruption, international expansion, consumer trends, risk of fulfilment centre optimization, inventory risks, limited operating history, risks related to fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and risks of 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, 2001