London, November 24 2003: Amazon.co.uk, the UK's leading online retailer has today announced a unique alliance with the British Library. The British Library has opened up its extensive bibliographic catalogues for the first time, so that rare, antiquarian and pre-ISBN* books can be made available to buy online.

The British Library has added details of over 2.55 million unique bibliographic records to the Amazon.co.uk books catalogue, with 1.7 million of these dated before the 1970 introduction of ISBN.

Old editions on the site range from Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind (1961), Enid Blyton's The Enchanted Wood (1951) and The Big Noddy Book (1967) to titles such as Luther Hess Waring's Political Theories of Martin Luther (1968) and Ivor Herbert's The Queen Mother's Horses (1967). In addition, more obscure titles dating back to 1570 include Italian sheet music such as Di M Filippo di Monte ... il Terzo Libro delli Madrigali, aÌ by Philippe de Monte and old English ballads and poems.

This is good news not only for Amazon.co.uk customers, who will benefit from the increased selection, but also for Amazon.co.uk sellers. Sellers of used, specialist and antiquarian booksellers will now be able to list a far wider selection of their titles on Amazon.co.uk.

Commenting on the new partnership, Greg Hart, Director for Amazon.co.uk's Media Products said:

  • Amazon.co.uk aims to be the place where you can find and discover anything you want to buy online and our alliance with the British Library is a clear demonstration of this strategy. We are delighted to be able to open up the British Library archives to the public.

Natalie Ceeney, Director of Operations and Services at the British Library added:

  • The Library's alliance with Amazon.co.uk is a wonderful way to make our catalogue data relevant and available to an even wider audience. Our bibliographic catalogues are second-to-none and we are delighted that Amazon.co.uk will be using them to underpin and support the Marketplace service.

In addition, as the selection introduced through the British Library includes out of print titles, this agreement has dramatically expanded the number of titles available for third-party sellers to list against where Amazon.co.uk doesn't provide a retail offering. All of these titles will be available only through Amazon.co.uk's third-party Marketplace service.

Marketplace is a unique feature that allows customers to buy and sell new, used and collectable items from third-party sellers.

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 handles all the payments via Amazon Payments. We tell sellers when they have a sale, send them the buyer's address details and deposit payment directly in their bank account.

For further information please contact the Amazon.co.uk press office on 020 8636 9280.

About Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998, and 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 and sellers list millions of new and used items in categories such as Books, Music, Video, DVD, Software, PC & Video Games, Electronics & Photo, Home & Garden, and Toys & Games!. Through Amazon Marketplace, zShops and Auctions any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.co.uk's millions of customers. Amazon.co.uk customers enjoy the benefits of industry-leading online-shopping technology, such as secure credit-card payment, personalised recommendations, streamlined, 1-Click® ordering and hassle-free Bid-Click® auction bidding. Through Amazon Anywhere, Amazon.co.uk is also available on mobile phones with WAP technology--see www.amazon.co.uk/anywhere for details.

Amazon.com and its affiliates operate seven websites: www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.ca, and www.joyo.com.

As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-looking Statement

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, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions, and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, international expansion, consumer trends, inventory, 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.