The invention relates to an ordering system for printed products, by means of which a printed product can be defined in a selection module of the ordering system and ordered from a supplier for the printed products, wherein printed products of the same product type are made of product components of the same product component types, and wherein each product component is defined precisely by a combination of a value for parameters such as page format, number of pages, coloration, type of paper, type of binding, processing, and finishing. The invention further relates to a method for ordering a printed product by means of an ordering system, wherein the ordering system determines a list of selectable values for the parameter such as page format, number of pages, coloration, type of paper, type of binding, processing, and finishing of a product component of the printed product, and wherein the ordering system orders the printed product based on the defined values after a value has been defined for each of the parameters by a buyer. In order to simplify the data management of the ordering system for printed products, it is proposed that each individual possible value for each of the parameters is defined as an article in an article database of the ordering system, and that the printed product can be defined in the selection module by successive selection from the articles, and that the ordering system determines the selectable values for the product component from an article database in which each possible value of each of the parameters is defined as an article.