'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' Sets New Record at Amazon with More Than 1.4 Million Advance Orders Worldwide; Surpasses 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' as Amazon's Largest New Product Release Ever

Business Wire, July 12, 2005

SEATTLE -- Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN):

What:

With four days remaining before its July 16 release, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth book in the Harry Potter series, has already surpassed "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (Book 5) as Amazon's largest new product release ever.

The newest installment in J.K. Rowling's spellbinding Harry Potter series is breaking records at Amazon, with more than 1.4 million copies of the U.S. and U.K. editions of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (Book 6) ordered to date on the company's retail Web sites worldwide, which include www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp and www.amazon.ca. More than 1.3 million copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" were ordered on Amazon's worldwide sites in advance of its June 21, 2003 release.

Amazon is also seeing unprecedented demand for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on its U.S. Web site, www.amazon.com. More than 870,000 copies of the book have been ordered on the site to date, topping the record set by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Amazon.com received orders for more than 789,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in advance of its June 21, 2003, release.

Fans can track the demand for the latest Harry Potter installment on the Amazon.com Web site right up until July 16 with Amazon.com's Harry Potter Meter, which reflects orders placed to date at www.amazon.com for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

Where:

To view the Harry Potter Meter, visit Amazon.com Books at www.amazon.com/books.> Delighting Muggles On July 16!

In the U.S., Amazon.com has teamed with UPS and the U.S. Postal Service to deliver "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to excited fans in approximately 29,000 zip codes across the country this Saturday, July 16, the first day the book is available to the public. Amazon.com offered this special delivery, at no additional cost, to customers who selected Standard Shipping when ordering the book.

Note about Amazon.com's Harry Potter Meter: The Harry Potter Meter tracks the approximate number of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" books ordered from the www.amazon.com site and from U.S. syndicated store sites, such as Borders.com, but excludes all third-party seller arrangements. The Harry Potter Meter is updated frequently but is not adjusted for ordered items that are subsequently canceled. The Harry Potter Meter should not be viewed or used as a predictor or indicator of revenue or other financial information relating to Amazon.com.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as beauty, health and personal care, jewelry and watches, gourmet food, sports and outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, DVDs, electronics and office, toys and baby, and home and garden.

Amazon.com and its affiliates operate seven retail Web sites: 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, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions, and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, 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, 2004, and all subsequent filings.