Description of Business and Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013 Segment	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of principal segments	2
Allowance for returns	$ 167,000,000	$ 198,000,000	$ 155,000,000
Additions to allowance for returns	907,000,000	702,000,000	542,000,000
Deductions to allowance for returns	938,000,000	659,000,000	490,000,000
Advertising and other promotional costs	2,400,000,000	2,000,000,000	1,400,000,000
Capitalized costs, amortization period	2 years
Foreign currency transaction gain (loss)	(137,000,000)	(95,000,000)	64,000,000
Marketable securities realized gain (loss)	(1,000,000)	10,000,000	4,000,000
Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries that are indefinitely invested outside of the U.S	2,500,000,000
Tax benefit percentage of being realized upon ultimate settlement	50.00%
Accounts receivable, net and other	4,767,000,000	3,817,000,000
Allowance for doubtful accounts	153,000,000	116,000,000	82,000,000
Additions to allowance for doubtful accounts	172,000,000	136,000,000	87,000,000
Deductions to allowance for doubtful accounts	135,000,000	102,000,000	82,000,000
Capitalized costs associated with internal-use software and website development	581,000,000	454,000,000	307,000,000
Capitalized costs associated with internal-use software and website development, stock-based compensation	87,000,000	74,000,000	51,000,000
Capitalized costs associated with internal-use software and website development, amortization of previously capitalized amounts	451,000,000	327,000,000	236,000,000
Estimated useful lives of assets description	Depreciation is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets (generally the lesser of 40 years or the remaining life of the underlying building,
Unredeemed gift certificates	1,400,000,000	1,100,000,000
Transaction gains and losses arising from foreign currency transactions	(84,000,000)	(95,000,000)	70,000,000
Certificate without an expiration date
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Unredeemed gift certificates, period of recognition	2 years
Vendor Receivable
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Accounts receivable, net and other	1,300,000,000	1,100,000,000
Customer Receivable
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Accounts receivable, net and other	$ 1,700,000,000	$ 1,500,000,000
Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Cash equivalents maturity period	3 months
Building | Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	40 years
Internal use Software, Content and Website Development
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	2 years
Servers
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	3 years
Network Equipment
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	5 years
Furniture and Fixtures
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	5 years
Heavy Equipment
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	10 years
Digital Video Content | Minimum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Digital video content licensing agreements term	1 year
Digital video content amortization period	6 months
Digital Video Content | Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Digital video content licensing agreements term	5 years
Digital video content amortization period	5 years