[The Hooded Claw]

https://qz.com/734985/this-is-what-amazons-homepage-looked-like-when-it-launched-21-years-ago-this-month/?utm_source=morning_brew&fbclid=IwAR1CEcab-I5Zbpo8QBzJdPxQeN4-tEU9S5k5xRq5wrzd4pHdO68x1Vt4wro

This was July of 1995, I did not order from Amazon till two years later in July 1997.

Interesting article! I am just sorry I missed getting a copy of that first book shipped. Sounds like I could throw away my sleeping pills if I owned it...

 

[Linjeakel]

Interesting - it's strange to remember just how basic websites and browsers were back then, especially even earlier than this example when you were using a  pre-Windows, MS-DOS only PC. 

I made my first Amazon purchase in 1998 I think, but I have no recollection of what the site looked like at that time.

 

[Ann in Arlington]

Very cool! I was living in the UK in 1995 and I remember my dad back here in the States raving about this site where he could order any book he wanted and they'd deliver it right to the house! Meanwhile, we barely had email .... I remember our compuserve address was all numbers.

We came back to the States in summer of '96. My earliest purchase from Amazon was October '97 according to Amazon, but I feel like I'd bought stuff before that. BUT, we had a different email address when we first came back and that ISP got bought out later and we ended up with Comcast. So I feel like there were orders under the previous email address that aren't showing on my account now.

I do remember clearly that when you ordered a book they included a bookmark. And for a few years, they sent presents at Christmas -- Amazon commuter drink tumblers -- found a bunch of those clearing out my dad's house after he died. They stopped that after 3 or 4 years, I think. They also sent fridge magnets, some of which are still on our downstairs freezer.

 

[The Hooded Claw]

I still have an Amazon insulated glass somewhere around here.

For the first few glorious years of ordering paper books via the internet, I did a lot of my buying from B&N. They would include a certificate for $10 off a $25 purchase with each order, so for quite a while I would carefully select purchases so that the total reached just a smidge more than  $25, buy them for $15 with a certificate, then use the next certificate for 40% off another order. Good times....

 

[Linjeakel]

My earliest purchase from Amazon was October '97 according to Amazon, but I feel like I'd bought stuff before that. BUT, we had a different email address when we first came back and that ISP got bought out later and we ended up with Comcast. So I feel like there were orders under the previous email address that aren't showing on my account now.

I didn't think of that - when I checked on Amazon and found my first purchase was 1998, I also thought it should have been earlier. I definitely had a different email address when I was first online, so that could be the explanation. Either way, it feels like I've been an Amazon customer forever.

I do remember how amazing it was to be able to browse books for hours with no sore feet and then to have your purchases delivered right to your door within a day or two. The only problem was, since I could do it all the time, day or night, my book purchases skyrocketed. (I never needed much of an excuse to overrun my book budget!).