Your Amazon.com is a way of making sure that you don't miss the perfect item. We determine your interests by examining the items you've purchased, items you've told us you own, and items you've rated. We then compare your activity on our site with that of other customers. Using this comparison, we are able to recommend other items that may interest you. These recommended items will appear in several areas throughout our store.

Your Amazon.com is also your home base. Use it to find all things about you, including your Wish Lists and Gift Lists, Shopping Cart, Friends & Interesting People, and Your Account.

Click the links below for more information about viewing and refining the items we recommend:

• How Recommendations Work
• Improving Your Recommendations
• Your Browsing History
• Rating Items
• Troubleshooting

Are my recommendations saved so I can look at them again later?

No. Your recommendations will change regularly based on a number of factors, including when you purchase or rate a new item, as well as changes in the interests of other customers like you. Because your recommendations will fluctuate, we suggest you add items that interest you to your Wish List or Shopping Cart. We wouldn't want you to miss something you might enjoy!

Why was a particular item recommended for me?

You'll notice "Why?" and "Why was I recommended this?" links next to recommended items on most product home pages. Click these links for a chance to rate or exclude the specific purchases and ratings we used to make a recommendation and therefore influence future recommendations that we make.

How do I turn off recommendations?

Simply click the link on our home page that says "If you're not (your name), click here." Then, leave the e-mail and password spaces blank and click the "Amazon.com" tab. This will remove our recommendations for you until you sign in again.

Can I delete items from my "Items You Own" list?

You may delete any items that you've told us you own. On the "Items you own" list, you should see the following sentence next to these items: "Already own this item (delete)." Click the word "delete" to remove the item from your list.

It's not currently possible to delete items you have purchased on Amazon.com. However, you can prevent these items from affecting your recommendations--just uncheck the box next to "Use to make recommendations."

How can I get recommendations that are better suited to my tastes?

First, tell us more about what you like by visiting the Improve Your Recommendations area. If you are a new customer, help us get to know you by going through our Recommendations Wizard.

Also, if you're unsure why we are recommending a particular item, click the link labeled "Why was I recommended this?" which appears beneath each item when you view Your Recommendations. We'll tell you which of your previous ratings or purchases influenced our suggestion, so you can then revise your ratings or exclude those purchases if necessary.

How do I exclude gift purchases--or any other purchase I've made--from being used to recommend items to me?

There are two ways to exclude an item you've purchased or rated from being used in making recommendations for you:

• Click the "Improve Your Recommendations" link below the tabs in the Recommended for You area. Locate the items you wish to exclude in the list of "Items I own," and uncheck the "Use to make recommendations" option.
• From the "Why was I recommended this" list, uncheck the "Use to make recommendations" option for those recommendation reasons you wish to exclude from being used to make future recommendations.

What is Your Browsing History?

Your Browsing History is meant to help you keep track of some of the items you've recently viewed, searches you've recently made, and product categories you've recently visited, and help you find related items that might be of interest. As you browse through the store, we will bring to your attention items similar to those you are looking at. Your Browsing History is continually updated to include your most recently viewed items, searches, and categories. We try to offer purchase suggestions that are most relevant to your recent shopping sessions. Our record of your activity on our site expires anywhere between a few days to a few weeks, depending on your level of activity.

How do I clear my recent history?

To clear your recent history, visit Your Browsing History and click the "Delete this item" link located next to each item. To remove all items, click the "Delete All" button in the left column.

How do I opt out of Your Browsing History and having my recent history displayed?

We hope you find Your Browsing History useful. If you do not enjoy this feature and want to turn it off, click here.

How do I rate an item that I haven't purchased, that I purchased elsewhere, or that isn't recommended to me?

You are welcome to rate any item in our store that you feel strongly about, even if it's not an item you purchased from Amazon.com. There are two ways to rate an item:

• Look for the "Rate This Item" area on the item's product detail page, and select a rating from there.
• Search for products you would like to rate from Your Store. Rate the items you have an opinion about by entering the name of the item you'd like to rate here. On the following page, rate items using the 1-5 star scale provided.

When rating an item, what does the 1-5 star scale represent? And why isn't my rating changing the average customer review for the item?

1 star: I hate it

2 stars: I don't like it

3 stars: It's OK

4 stars: I like it

5 stars: I love it

The ratings you submit are private and are never shared with other Amazon.com customers, nor does it affect the average customer review for the item. These ratings are used solely by our recommendations service to provide you the most accurate recommendations possible.

What does marking an item "not interested" mean?

By telling us you're not interested in an item we recommend, we stop recommending the item to you.

I continue to be recommended items I already own, or have already rated. Why is this happening?

You may still occasionally be recommended titles that you have purchased from Amazon.com. If this happens, it is likely that we are recommending an edition different from the one you purchased (e.g., paperback, hardcover, audio cassette). We generally screen out other editions from Your Recommendations, but a few titles may get past our filters.

If this happens, simply click the "Not interested" checkbox next to the new edition we recommend, or click the "Rate this item" link and check "Not interested" in the subsequent window, and we will stop recommending the item to you.

I see ratings I haven't submitted or purchases I haven't made are appearing in the Improve Your Recommendations area or as reasons for a recommendation you've made. How is this possible, and how can I fix it?

If you share a computer with other users or visit Amazon.com on a public terminal at a library or somewhere similar, it is possible another user inadvertently rated items on your account. Please be assured that if this was the case, the other user would not have had access to any of your personal information. We do, however, recommend that public terminal users sign out after each visit to our store.

It's easy to remove ratings that have been made. First click the store tab with your name on it, located right next to the Amazon.com tab. Then click Improve Your Recommendations at the top of the screen below the tabs. To remove ratings, click the Items You've Rated link under "Edit your Amazon history" and uncheck the "Use to make recommendations" box. Your ratings will be automatically updated.

How do I change how my name is displayed on my Amazon.com tab?

You may change how your name is displayed by clicking the Change your name, e-mail address, or password link in Your Account.