Service Enables Site Fans to Make Voluntary Payments to Support Frequented Sites and to Access Premium Online Content
SEATTLE--Feb. 6, 2001--Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) today announced the launch of the Amazon Honor System (http://www.amazon.com/honor).
The Amazon Honor System enables online visitors to easily "tip" their favorite Web sites or to pay for access to premium content.
Based on Amazon.com's 1-Click shopping technology, the Amazon Honor System is a safe and easy way for fans of Web sites to give as little as $1 with a simple click of the mouse. In addition, Web sites can sell access -- on the Honor System -- to online or downloadable content such as video, music or textual material including news, poetry, short stories, commentaries and literature. Any Web site can sign up for this service and begin collecting contributions in less than 15 minutes. To learn how, go to http://www.amazon.com/honor.
People are realizing that even the best Web sites need new sources of revenue to flourish. Web users want to support the sites they love, but it's been too difficult. Until today, if you wanted to give a dollar to your favorite Web site, you'd have to pull out your checkbook, write a check, address an envelope, lick a stamp, and drop it in the mailbox. Now, the Amazon Honor System makes it safe and easy for customers to express their appreciation to their favorite Web sites in seconds. More significantly, voluntary payments from customers will enable participating sites to continue providing quality content that will delight and inform.
"People want to support the sites they love -- the Amazon Honor System makes it safe and easy," said Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. "Now, any Web site can effortlessly collect money from appreciative users. Over time, we hope this will be even more successful than our Associates program, which now has over 600,000 participating Web sites."
The Amazon Honor System is open to any Web site, and registration takes only minutes. Launch partners include a diverse group of more than 50 Web sites, offering everything from humor and poetry to recipes and help with math. Included among the launch partners are: -- http://www.adcritic.com/ -- the leading online destination for
TV commercials -- http://www.chank.com/ -- an archive of original fonts that are offered for sale and for free -- http://www.indigenousrocks.com/ -- a selection of blues from a band of Sioux siblings -- http://www.satirewire.com/ -- an award-winning humor site satirizing the new economy -- http://www.seti.org/ -- an institute that searches for extraterrestrial intelligence
¶ "It takes an Amazon.com -- with its trusted brand and millions of successful transactions -- to bring the benefits of 1-Click contributions to Web sites of all shapes and sizes," said Chank Diesel, president and CEO of Chank.com. "With the Amazon Honor System, sites like mine have the ability to continue providing innovative and creative content to our fans and customers."
When visiting a Web site that participates in the Amazon Honor System, visitors are greeted with a paybox featuring a "Click to pay" or "Click to give" button. All transactions are private and secure, and no information relating to the customer is provided to any participating site. Customers can also take advantage of a full and unconditional money-back guarantee up to 30 days after payment by using Amazon.com's innovative Unpay feature, which provides no-questions-asked refunds.
The Amazon Honor System does not charge any registration or set-up fees to participating Web sites, and there is no processing charge to visitors who make payments via the Amazon Honor System. Participating sites are charged a fee per transaction.
For more information on how to join the Amazon Honor System, visit http://www.amazon.com/honor. (List of Web sites participating at launch follows.)
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com (Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries) is the Internet's No. 1 retailer. Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) 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 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 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.
Amazon Anywhere is the leader in mobile e-commerce, providing access from anywhere in the world to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de on personal digital assistants (PDAs) and through handheld wireless Internet devices that use HDML or the Wireless Application Protocol.
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.
Participating Web Sites at Launch Amazon Honor System---------------------------------------------------------------------- LINKS SITE DESCRIPTION----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.westnet.com/~crywalt/pregnancy/ "It's Just Another Baby" -- pregnancy journal by Chris Rywalt----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.adcritic.com/ AdCritic.com -- all ads, all the time----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.adventuredivas.com/ Adventure Divas -- adventure travel for modern-day heroines----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.allfree.com/ AllFree.com -- a guide to free stuff----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.allmath.com/ AllMath.com -- accessible math knowledge----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.allwords.com/ AllWords.com -- quotes, dictionaries, word games and more----------------------------------------------------------------------http://apple-corps.westnet.com/ Apple Corps -- an online vegetarian toy----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.bartleby.com/ Bartleby.com -- online literary reference materials----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.bbspot.com/ Bbspot -- a source for tech humor----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/ BedandBreakfast.com -- information about bed-and-breakfasts and inns----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.chank.com/ Chank.com -- downloadable fonts----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.crankycritic.com/ Cranky Critic -- brutally honest film reviews----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.equipped.com/ Doug Ritter's Equipped to Survive -- survival gear and techniques----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.emagazine.com/ emagazine.com -- a service of the E/Environmental Magazine----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.emule.com/ eMule.com -- poetry archives----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.evote.com/ Evote.com -- keeping score in the game of politics----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.funnymail.com/ FunnyMail.com -- jokes, fun and humor----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.guitar.net/ Guitar.net -- all things guitar----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.hearingvoices.com/ HearingVoices.com -- audio museum of radio programs----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.heroicstories.com/ HeroicStories -- true stories of everyday real people----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.icebox.com/Index.asp Icebox -- original animated entertainment programming----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.indigenousrocks.com/ Indigenous -- a sampling of blues from a band of Sioux siblings----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.imdb.com/ Internet Movie Database -- the definitive movie site----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.useit.com/ Jakob Nielsen's Web site -- biweekly column on Web usability----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.jibjab.com/ JibJab.com -- irreverent animation----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.kidsource.com/ KidSource -- education and health care information for parents----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.killfrog.com/ KillFrog.com -- animation, comics and games----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.loggia.com/ Loggia.com -- exploring the arts and humanities----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.modernhumorist.com/ Modern Humorist -- fresh, new humor----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.glyphs.com/moba Museum of Bad Art -- a celebration of bad art----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.loggia.com/myth/index.html Mythography.com -- exploring Greek, Roman and Celtic myth and art----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.nerdworld.com/ Nerdworld -- the definitive source for nerdy culture----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.openletters.net/ Open Letters -- writing in the form of correspondence----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.outerdark.com/ OuterDark Publications -- writing from Spleen Quarterly magazine----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.overlawyered.com/ Overlawyered.com -- chronicling the high cost of our legal system----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/ Ragged Edge magazine -- covering the disability experience in the U.S.----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.ssws.net/ S.S.W.S. -- Short Story Writers Showcase----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.satirewire.com/ Satire Wire -- new satire for the new economy----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.seti.org/ SETI Institute Online -- the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.banneradmuseum.com/ The Banner Ad Museum -- the best banner ads on the Web----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.thebluemoon.com/ The Blue Moon Review -- original literary work online----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.thegia.com/ The Gaming Intelligence Agency -- gaming news and insights----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.tourbus.com/ The Internet Tourbus -- explaining the Internet in plain English----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.unmuseum.org/unmain.htm The Museum of Unnatural Mystery -- a slightly bizarre, cyberspace science museum for all ages----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.wineloverspage.com/ The Wine Lovers' Page -- independent wine appreciation site----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.theforce.net/ TheForce.net -- comprehensive Star Wars site----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.thewax.com/ TheWax.com -- Webzine of varied content and commentary----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.thisistrue.com/ This Is True -- bizarre, true stories from the papers----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.tulevision.com/ TuleVision.com -- post-contemporary art and entertainment headquarters----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.tvparty.com/ TVparty.com -- a tribute to vintage television----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.lostandfoundsound.com/ Peabody Award-winning radio series produced by NPR----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.navone.org/ Victor Navone's 2-D and 3-D Art -- animator of Blit Wizbok----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.whatsgoingon.com/ WhatsGoingOn.com -- resource for festivals, events and destinations----------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.yumyum.com/ YumYum.com -- recipe site for everyday cooks----------------------------------------------------------------------