Note 8 - Debt (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 1,530,211,000	$ 1,530,211,000	$ 1,494,227,000
Short term debt	1,015,484,000	1,015,484,000	300,000,000
Total debt	2,545,695,000	2,545,695,000	1,794,227,000
Amortization of debt issuance costs	8,000,000	15,960,000
Interest rate, minimum		2.00%
Interest rate, maximum		9.00%
Capital lease obligations	35,538,000	35,538,000
Imputed interest	(2,268,000)	(2,268,000)
Total present value of minimum lease payments	33,270,000	33,270,000
Credit Agreement
Borrowings outstanding	0	0
Letters of credit outstanding	0	0
GSI Commerce [Member] \| Mortgages [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Coupon Rate	6.30%	6.30%
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] \| Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Estimated fair value of notes included in long-term debt	1,425,000,000	1,425,000,000
Commercial Paper [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short term debt	1,000,000,000	1,000,000,000	300,000,000
Commercial paper program amount	1,000,000,000	1,000,000,000
Debt instrument maturity date range, end (days)		397
Weighted-average interest rate	0.18%	0.18%
Weighted average remaining term of commercial paper notes	26	26
Credit Agreement
Commercial paper program amount	1,000,000,000	1,000,000,000
Line of Credit [Member]
Credit Agreement
Maximum borrowing capacity on unsecured revolving credit facility	1,800,000,000	1,800,000,000
Available borrowing capacity	1,000,000,000	1,000,000,000
Line of credit facility remaining borrowing capacity	800,000,000	800,000,000
Notes Payable, Other Payables [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short term debt	1,886,000	1,886,000	0
Notes Payable, Other Payables [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt	15,802,000	15,802,000	0
Capital Lease Obligations [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short term debt	13,598,000	13,598,000	0
Capital Lease Obligations [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt	19,672,000	19,672,000	0
Unsecured Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt	1,494,737,000	1,494,737,000	1,494,227,000
Unsecured Debt [Member] \| Notes 2013 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Coupon Rate	0.875%	0.875%	0.875%
Long-term debt	399,360,000	399,360,000	399,220,000
Effective Interest Rate	0.946%	0.946%	0.946%
Unsecured Debt [Member] \| Notes 2015 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Coupon Rate	1.625%	1.625%	1.625%
Long-term debt	598,081,000	598,081,000	597,857,000
Effective Interest Rate	1.703%	1.703%	1.703%
Unsecured Debt [Member] \| Notes 2020 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Coupon Rate	3.25%	3.25%	3.25%
Long-term debt	$ 497,296,000	$ 497,296,000	$ 497,150,000
Effective Interest Rate	3.319%	3.319%	3.319%
Mortgages [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Date of maturity of mortgage note		July 2014

Commercial Paper Program - Total amount of commercial paper that could be issued.

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Debt Instrument, Date of Maturity

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The amount of the line of credit that is reserved to support our commercial paper program.

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Weighted Average Remaining Term on Commercial Paper

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The component of interest expense representing the noncash expenses charged against earnings in the period to allocate debt discount and premium, and the costs to issue debt and obtain financing over the related debt instruments. Alternate captions include Noncash Interest Expense.

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Amount equal to the present value (the principal) at the beginning of the lease term of minimum lease payments during the lease term (excluding that portion of the payments representing executory costs such as insurance, maintenance, and taxes to be paid by the lessor, together with any profit thereon) net of payments or other amounts applied to the principal through the balance sheet date.

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Amount necessary to reduce net minimum lease payments to present value calculated at the lesser of the interest rate implicit in the lease (if known) or the entity's incremental borrowing rate (as defined) at inception of the lease.

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The discounted value of future cash flows under leases meeting the criteria for capitalization.

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- Definition

Effective interest rate for the funds borrowed under the debt agreement considering interest compounding and original issue discount or premium.

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- Definition

Interest rate stated in the contractual debt agreement.

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- Definition

When presenting a range of interest rates, the highest stated (contractual) rate for funds borrowed under the debt agreement as of the balance sheet date.

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When presenting a range of interest rates, the lowest stated (contractual) rate for funds borrowed under the debt agreement as of the balance sheet date.

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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- Definition

When presenting a range of maturity dates, the latest date when the outstanding debt instruments are required to be repaid. May be presented in a variety of ways (for example: year only, month and year, day, month and year, and number of years).

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Represents the aggregate of total long-term debt, including current maturities and short-term debt.

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- Definition

The total amount of the contingent obligation under letters of credit outstanding as of the reporting date.

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- Definition

Amount borrowed under the credit facility as of the balance sheet date.

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Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

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Amount of borrowing capacity currently available under the credit facility (current borrowing capacity less the amount of borrowings outstanding).

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- Definition

The fair value amount of long-term debt whether such amount is presented as a separate caption or as a parenthetical disclosure. Additionally, this element may be used in connection with the fair value disclosures required in the footnote disclosures to the financial statements. The element may be used in both the balance sheet and disclosure in the same submission.

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Sum of the carrying values as of the balance sheet date of all long-term debt, which is debt initially having maturities due after one year from the balance sheet date or beyond the operating cycle, if longer, but excluding the portions thereof scheduled to be repaid within one year (current maturities) or the normal operating cycle, if longer, and after deducting unamortized discount or premiums, if any.

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Reflects the total carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of debt having initial terms less than one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Reflects the calculation as of the balance sheet date of the average interest rate weighted by the amount of short-term debt outstanding by type or by instrument at that time.

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