What was the first book sold by Amazon, according to the company’s early history?

Amazon’s first book sale was Douglas Hofstadter’s Fluid Concepts & Creative Analogies.

Amazon began as an online bookstore in 1994 and opened its website to customers in July 1995. The company’s early catalog focused on books because printed books offered an unusually large selection and could be described efficiently in a digital database. That made them a practical starting point for a business selling through the internet.

Fluid Concepts & Creative Analogies is a 1995 book about models of mental processes and creativity. Amazon’s first sale of it became a frequently repeated detail in the company’s origin story, although the business soon expanded far beyond books.

People sometimes confuse Amazon’s first book sale with the first item ever sold online. Earlier internet transactions had already occurred, including NetMarket’s 1994 sale of a Sting CD. Amazon’s milestone instead marks the beginning of the company’s own retail history.