Amazon Auctions launched in March 1999, and though it got off to a slow start, Bezos quickly doubled down. He acquired a company to broadcast auctions live on the Web and signed a deal with the storied auction house Sotheby’s to focus on high-end products. But the effort went nowhere. Customers could reach Amazon Auctions only by clicking on a separate tab on the Amazon home page, and it looked like a dingy leftovers bin to people who were accustomed to using Amazon to shop in the traditional way,
