South Africa finally gets its first ebook store

Crusader · 03-08-2010, 11:59 AM

South Africa has finally gotten it’s first ebook store. It seems as if ebooks have finally reached the dark continent, at least to the extent that a retailer finally took enough notice to add an ebooks to their site.

Kalahari.net is one of South Africa’s leading online retailers offering books, electronics and Music and DVD sales – basically a much scaled down local version of Amazon. Today they added an ebook section to their site hopefully ringing the dawn of better accessibility to ebooks to a market that has otherwise been largely ignored despite a seemingly large prevalence of reading devices.

The ebooks on offer are all either in ePub or PDF format. Pricing seems to be on par or slightly more expensive than other online stores, although the selection is still quite limited.

I did a price comparison using 6 randomly selected novels (exchange rate of R7.50/US$ used).

Pirate Latitudes
Kalahari.net - $24.53 (R183.95)
Fictionwise: $21.99
Kindle: $11.99

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel:
Kalahari.net - $24.53 (R183.95)
Fictionwise: $27
Kindle: $11.99

Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb:
Kalahari.net - $25.86 (R193.95)
Fictionwise: $9.99
Kindle: $16.41

Act of Treason - Vince Flynn:
Kalahari.net: $13.07 (R98.06)
Fictionwise: $9.99
Kindle: $11.59

Two Towers - JRR Tolkien:
Kalahari.net: $10.39 (R77.95)
Fictionwise: $11.99
Kindle: $9.99

Blindsighted - Karin Slaughter:
Kalahari.net: $14.63 (R109.76)
Fictionwise: $11.99
Kindle: $9.99

It’s sad to see that no local authors seem to have their work available in electronic format. Hopefully that will change once sales increase and publishers finally take notice.

At least this is a giant leap in the right direction!

HarryT · 03-08-2010, 01:15 PM

I've corrected the typo in the title.

Crusader · 03-08-2010, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I've corrected the typo in the title.

Thanks. I realized it after the fact but couldn't edit it once I saw the error.

asjogren · 03-08-2010, 01:26 PM

Hey, any recommended Authors from South Africa, by genre?

Crusader · 03-08-2010, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asjogren

Hey, any recommended Authors from South Africa, by genre?

The one that springs immediately to mind is Deon Meyer, he writes excellent Crime/Thrillers.

Crusader · 03-10-2010, 09:54 AM

Kalahari.net are also selling ebook readers. They've started with stock of the COOL-ER Reader @ R2599 (roughly $350) with plans to have other devices available at a later stage.

neilmarr · 03-10-2010, 11:32 AM

If you want to stock up on some good novels in any format, Crusader, follow the link in my sig line below and scroll down through the books. Twenty-five titles are up for grabs free or on a pay-whatever-you-like basis. Two Read an Ebook Week freebies set in South Africa are 'Matabele Gold', a thriller, and 'Allakazzam!' which is sometimes profound and always hilarious. Happy reading. Neil

Crusader · 03-10-2010, 12:28 PM

Thanks. I'll definitely check them out.

Yar-PocketBooker · 03-10-2010, 01:28 PM

I'm sure guys in South Africa would love PocketBook readers!

))))

Crusader · 03-10-2010, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker

I'm sure guys in South Africa would love PocketBook readers!

))))

I'm sure they would. At least I definitely would. Perhaps you could send some contact details for Pocketbook's agents/distributors to Kalahari.

03-08-2010, 11:59 AM	#1
Crusader Space Cadet Posts: 1,180 Karma: 4030536 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: South Africa Device: Sony PRS-T1, Cybook Opus, Kobo Glo	South Africa finally gets its first ebook store South Africa has finally gotten it’s first ebook store. It seems as if ebooks have finally reached the dark continent, at least to the extent that a retailer finally took enough notice to add an ebooks to their site. Kalahari.net is one of South Africa’s leading online retailers offering books, electronics and Music and DVD sales – basically a much scaled down local version of Amazon. Today they added an ebook section to their site hopefully ringing the dawn of better accessibility to ebooks to a market that has otherwise been largely ignored despite a seemingly large prevalence of reading devices. The ebooks on offer are all either in ePub or PDF format. Pricing seems to be on par or slightly more expensive than other online stores, although the selection is still quite limited. I did a price comparison using 6 randomly selected novels (exchange rate of R7.50/US$ used). Pirate Latitudes Kalahari.net - $24.53 (R183.95) Fictionwise: $21.99 Kindle: $11.99 Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel: Kalahari.net - $24.53 (R183.95) Fictionwise: $27 Kindle: $11.99 Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb: Kalahari.net - $25.86 (R193.95) Fictionwise: $9.99 Kindle: $16.41 Act of Treason - Vince Flynn: Kalahari.net: $13.07 (R98.06) Fictionwise: $9.99 Kindle: $11.59 Two Towers - JRR Tolkien: Kalahari.net: $10.39 (R77.95) Fictionwise: $11.99 Kindle: $9.99 Blindsighted - Karin Slaughter: Kalahari.net: $14.63 (R109.76) Fictionwise: $11.99 Kindle: $9.99 It’s sad to see that no local authors seem to have their work available in electronic format. Hopefully that will change once sales increase and publishers finally take notice. At least this is a giant leap in the right direction!

03-10-2010, 01:28 PM	#9
Yar-PocketBooker Fanatic Posts: 589 Karma: 6976 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: New York Device: PocketBooks and Onyxes and anything E-Ink...	I'm sure guys in South Africa would love PocketBook readers!))))

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03-08-2010, 01:15 PM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I've corrected the typo in the title.

03-08-2010, 01:26 PM	#4
asjogren Addict Posts: 266 Karma: 1378 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Seattle / San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico Device: Kindle & WiFi Nook & PocketBook IQ	Hey, any recommended Authors from South Africa, by genre?

03-10-2010, 09:54 AM	#6
Crusader Space Cadet Posts: 1,180 Karma: 4030536 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: South Africa Device: Sony PRS-T1, Cybook Opus, Kobo Glo	Kalahari.net are also selling ebook readers. They've started with stock of the COOL-ER Reader @ R2599 (roughly $350) with plans to have other devices available at a later stage.

03-10-2010, 11:32 AM	#7
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	If you want to stock up on some good novels in any format, Crusader, follow the link in my sig line below and scroll down through the books. Twenty-five titles are up for grabs free or on a pay-whatever-you-like basis. Two Read an Ebook Week freebies set in South Africa are 'Matabele Gold', a thriller, and 'Allakazzam!' which is sometimes profound and always hilarious. Happy reading. Neil

03-10-2010, 12:28 PM	#8
Crusader Space Cadet Posts: 1,180 Karma: 4030536 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: South Africa Device: Sony PRS-T1, Cybook Opus, Kobo Glo	Thanks. I'll definitely check them out.

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