Customers Now Able to Look Inside the Books at Amazon.com
SEATTLE--Oct. 10, 2001-- Taking a significant step in helping people find, discover and buy
books online, Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) today launched Look Inside the
Book.
This initiative allows customers to flip through the inside pages
of thousands of books, while also offering publishers an entirely new
way to showcase their books to Amazon.com customers.
Amazon.com's bookstore (www.amazon.com/books) will now feature a
vast selection of interior pages from over 25,000 titles, with
thousands more titles to come. Whether browsing recipes found in
cookbooks, illustrations from children's books, full indices of
medical textbooks, first chapters from mystery novels or the millions
of other pages available, Amazon.com customers can now explore these
pages to help them find the right book.
"With thanks to publishers -- plus a healthy dose of innovation --
we've created an even better way to showcase books online," said Jeff
Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. "Flipping through a book's pages
online is a unique, powerful way that our customers can find and
discover books they'd like to buy."
"Simon & Schuster is excited to participate in the Look Inside the
Book program at Amazon.com," said Jack Romanos, president and COO of
Simon & Schuster. "Helping their customers crack the spine is simply
smart marketing that will allow readers to make even more informed
choices."
Amazon.com is working with several publishing houses to bring
customers millions of pages from a wide range of titles. These include
anticipated new releases such as Tiger Woods' "How I Play Golf,"
children's favorite "Olivia Saves the Circus" by Ian Falconer, and
"The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior" by David Allen Sibley.
The company's publisher partners include DK Publishing, HarperCollins
Publishers, Holtzbrinck Publishers, Hungry Minds, John Wiley & Sons,
McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education, Random House, Scholastic, Simon &
Schuster, Stewart House Publishing and Time Warner Trade Publishing.
Customers can also visit Amazon.com's new Reading Room
(www.amazon.com/reading-room) to easily access all the titles from
which they can view inside pages.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com 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 and
sellers list millions of unique new and used items in categories such
as electronics, computers, kitchen and housewares, books, music, DVDs,
videos, camera and photo items, toys, baby and baby registry,
software, computer and video games, cell phones and service, tools and
hardware, and outdoor living products. Through Amazon Marketplace,
zShops and Auctions, any business or individual can sell virtually
anything to Amazon.com's more than 35 million customers (cumulative
customer accounts), 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.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr 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
275,000 movies and entertainment titles and 1 million cast and crew
members dating from the birth of film through 2005.
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
fulfillment center 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, 2000, and all subsequent filings, including Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q.
Note: Photos are available at the following URLs:
Tiger Woods' How I Play Golf:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.101001/bb2
Olivia Saves the Circus:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.101001/bb2a
The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.101001/bb2b
