Amazon.co.uk takes a record-breaking figure of over 250,000 pre-orders for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Amazon worldwide takes over 875,000 pre-orders
London--May 21, 2003: Leading online retailer Amazon.co.uk today announced that it has received more than a quarter of a million (250,000) pre-orders for the latest instalment in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5). With just over a month until the book's publication on June 21, this is already nearly four times as many pre-orders as were taken for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4), which broke all records in July 2000 when pre-orders at Amazon.co.uk reached 65,000.

In addition, Amazon has announced its first global pre-order figure for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix--Amazon has received more than 875,000 orders for the book across its Web sites worldwide. With so many pre-orders for a specific book, delivery of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is set to be the largest distribution of any single item in e-commerce history.

So just how many books are we talking about? If the 250,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that have been pre-ordered from Amazon.co.uk were laid end-to-end they would cover over 40 miles--the distance from London to Reading. And if stacked one on top of each other the books would be 150 times as high as Big Ben.

Greg Hart, Amazon.co.uk's director for media products, commented:

  • We always knew demand for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix would be phenomenal, especially after we took 30,000 pre-orders in the first 24 hours, but we have never seen anything like this! We look forward to delighting hundreds of thousands of children and parents with this wonderful work.

Amazon.co.uk customers can pre-order their copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix now for £8.49 (a saving of 50%) for delivery on the day of release--June 21, 2003.

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.