s, I found out, were an $82 billion market worldwide. The
price point was another major criterion: I wanted a low-priced product.
I reasoned that since this was the first purchase many people would
make online, it had to be non-threatening in size. A third criterion
was the range of choice: there were 3 million items in the book
category and only a tenth of that in CDs, for example. This was
important because the wider the choice, the more the organizing and
selection capabilities of the computer could be put in good use."
(excerpt from the Amazon.com press kit)

In 1998, Amazon.com was offering 3 million books, CDs, audio books,
DVDs, computer games - more than 14 times as many titles as the large
chain superstores - to 3 million people in 160 countries. "Businesses
can do things on the web that simply cannot be done any other way",
wrote Jeff Bezos. "We are changing the way people buy books and music."
Amazon.com quickly became the largest online bookstore, with a catalog
of these 3 million items that could be ordered online, authoritative
reviews, author interviews, excerpts, customer reviews, and book
recommendations. As an internet retailer, Amazon.com could offer more
services than traditional retailers: lower prices, larger selection,
and a wealth of product information.

Any book lover could post his own reviews of books on Amazon's website,
and read others. He could read many interviews with authors, and a
number of blurbs and excerpts from books. He could search for books by
author, subject, title, ISBN or publication date. Prices were
discounted, with savings of 20-40% on 400,000 titles (40% on selected
feature books, 30% on hardcovers, and 20% on paperbacks). The client
usually received the books within a week. If he requested it, he could
receive an email announcing a new book by a favorite author or a new
book on a favorite topic. He could select some book categories (44
listed), to be sent a monthly review of new books by email. All things
that were entirely new at the time.

What we take for granted now, i.e. buy a book in Europe from the US
site of Amazon.com, or buy a book in the US from the German site of
Amazon.de, was making big waves at the time, first as "unfair
competition" with the local online bookstores, then for taxation. A
first outline agreement was concluded between the US and the European
Union in December 1997, and this agreement was followed by an
international convention. The intern