15 companies you might not know are owned by Amazon (and one that got dumped for a huge loss)

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AbeBooks

AbeBooks, known as a specialty bookstore, is able to procure backlist and out-of-print titles. And it's also owned by Amazon.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: AbeBooks

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Audible.com

If you've ever spent time commuting, you know what a treasure audio books can be. Audible got its start way back in 1995. In 2008, it got gobbled up by the house that CEO Jeff Bezos built.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Audible.com

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Box Office Mojo

For decades, Box Office Mojo tracked movie success using powerful algorithmic-driven systems. In 2008, almost a decade after its founding, Box Office Mojo became part of Amazon.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Box Office Mojo

Caption by: David Gewirtz
ComiXology

If you love comics, you probably love ComiXology. It's a top distribution platform for digital versions of your favorite paper-based comics. And it's owned by Amazon.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: ComiXology

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Curse Gaming

I grew to know and love Curse because of how well it managed my World of Warcraft mods. Today, it's way more than mods, and way more than WoW. It's also now part of the Amazon empire.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Curse, Inc

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Diapers.com

Clicking on Diapers.com will now take you straight to Amazon's main site. Five years after founding, Amazon acquired Quidsi, the site's parent company. It got merged into Amazon when the separate business proved unprofitable. Poopers!

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Diapers.com

Caption by: David Gewirtz
DPReview.com

If you're in the market for a camera, you've probably spent some time on DPReview.com. Even though there's absolutely no mention on the homepage, DPReview is part of Amazon and has been since 2010.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: DPReview.com

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Fabric.com

Originally founded in 1993 as Phoenix Textiles Group, Fabric.com was one of Amazon's big surge of 2008 acquisitions. Although the About page mentions Amazon, there's no mention of the company on the Fabric homepage.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Fabric.com

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Goodreads

Hugely popular among book nerds, Goodreads stayed independent for six years before it was acquired by Amazon in 2013. Although you can sign in with your Amazon account, nothing on the homepage mentions Amazon.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Goodreads

Caption by: David Gewirtz
IMDb

How many family arguments has this site settled? Certainly, for my wife and me, it's been the go-to site for many disagreements (although, sadly, I often lose). It's also an Amazon-owned business.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: IMDb

Caption by: David Gewirtz
The Book Depository

A successful book distribution company in Europe, The Book Depository is known for free book delivery to 100 countries. Acquisition by Amazon appears to have left that intact.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: The Book Depository

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Twitch.tv

You might not think watching other people play video games would be fun. You'd be wrong. Twitch.tv is zooming up on YouTube for video views... and it's owned by Amazon.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Twitch.tv

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Woot!

Woot! Woot! Woot! Weird little deals, available for a short time. Some good, some bad. Now, it's all Amazon's.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Woot!

Caption by: David Gewirtz
Zappos

Zappos has a great return policy. I know this because my wife bought a pile of shoes for me, and then she returned them until she found a pair that fit. Known for great customer service, the company is an Amazon business now.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Zappos

Caption by: David Gewirtz
The Drugstore.com disaster

Amazon put more than half a billion bucks into Drugstore.com. By the time it fire-saled it to Walgreens, that was worth just about $50 million. Oops. Apparently, Amazon couldn't print money for everything.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)
Photo by: Walgreens

Caption by: David Gewirtz

With Amazon taking on seemingly all of retail, it may not be immediately obvious how far the company reaches. Here are some companies you might not know it owns.

The Drugstore.com disaster

Amazon put more than half a billion bucks into Drugstore.com. By the time it fire-saled it to Walgreens, that was worth just about $50 million. Oops. Apparently, Amazon couldn't print money for everything.

Published: July 31, 2017 -- 12:20 GMT (05:20 PDT)

Caption by: David Gewirtz

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