Amazon distribution centres now are huge, but it all started in the garage of a single-storey home near Seattle
Amazon distribution centres now are huge, but it all started in the garage of a single-storey home near Seattle AFP

The house where Jeff Bezos founded online shopping mammoth Amazon is up for sale, offering one lucky buyer the chance to own a piece of internet history.

Bezos and his then-wife MacKenzie Scott were renting the single-story, three-bedroom home near Seattle in the mid 1990s when they began selling books online from the garage.

Amazon lore holds that the garage was outfitted only with a computer, basic office supplies and a desk constructed from a door bought from a home improvement center.

Originally the company shipped only books -- Amazon says the first one was titled "Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models Of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought."

But within a few short years it became the default choice for online shoppers all over the world, pushing its current market capitalization to a staggering $1.6 trillion.

The 1,540-square-foot (143-square-meter) home, which has an asking price of just under $2.3 million, was "meticulously rebuilt" in 2001, according to the agent's listing, so not much remains of the Bezos era.

But, photos show, the garage has a recreation of the original "amazon.com" banner that Bezos had back in the day.

Jeff bezos