Yes. Amazon was low margin from the beginning. They started as a book retailer. Here's their annual report from '97: http://www.slideshare.net/matthbrody/amazon

Yes. Amazon was low margin from the beginning. They started as a book retailer. Here's their annual report from '97: http://www.slideshare.net/matthbrody/amazon-annual-report-1997 http://www.slideshare.net/matthbrody/amazon-annual-report-19... Their gross profit margin (sales - cogs) was 19%. For comparison, Walmart is 20-25%