"vol. 3..." was released on december 28, 1999, and sold 462,000 copies in its first week, while debuting at number one on the "billboard" 200. the sales week was thirty-percent more than the first-week sales of jay-z's previous album, "vol. 2... hard knock life" (1998). on february 14, 2001, it was certified triple platinum by the recording industry association of america (riaa). in 2009, the album reached sales of 3,093,000 copies, according to nielsen soundscan.