First Legal Online Purchase Was in NH Over 30 Years Ago

New Hampshire started it all with online shopping.

According to Shopify, it all started (legally) on August 11, 1994. A CD (remember those?) of Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales was securely exchanged in the world's first online sale. This was the birth of electronic commerce (e-commerce), and it changed the world.

Saying that one transaction—selling a CD—changed the world would be an understatement. E-commerce sales are projected to pass $7 trillion by 2026. A whole generation of people has never known a world without being able to buy stuff online, all in the palm of their hands.

New Hampshire started it, but Amazon changed it forever

READ MORE: The Maine Mall in South Portland is Over 50 Years Old

That Sting CD online transaction happened in 1994 when one friend sold that CD to another friend over the Internet. That sale happened with two people 300 miles apart. Shopify points out that from there, e-commerce exploded, with Amazon and eBay just a year later in 1995 and soon followed by PayPal in 1998.

Do you remember how you had to buy things before the internet?

It is impossible to imagine a world where you can't just grab your phone and order something. Not just order something, but have it delivered in an hour. Kids growing up today would think you were lying to them if you told them you had to read the news on paper and drive to a store to buy all your groceries.

Sometimes I miss those days. Obviously, no one would want to go back to the way it was - but every once in a while it would be nice to slow things down just a bit.