Surprising stats

[Morticia]

Kids - they may leave your house but never your wallet...

[Dave A]

A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited about Obama and Why He Can't Win by Shelby Steele (hardcover) sells for $14.96 (R150 at current exchange rates) on Amazon and R278.30 on Kalahari.

I heard a rumour Amazon isn't delivering to South Africa anymore. Can anyone confirm that?

[Morticia]

Yip - due to increased theft at SA Post Offices.........

http://www.thetimes.co.za/Business/BusinessTimes/Article.aspx?id=786567

[Dave A]

So we, the consumer, now have to pay 85% more!

I'm sorry - theft is costing this country a f***ing fortune.

[IanF]

Dave
I see you can get an audible download for $10.49.
I wonder if this wouldn't be a opportunity to get an ebook and print and bind it here?
It is big business in the states for self publishing.

[Dave A]

I guess we should be going the eBook route anyway for the sake of the environment. And cost savings too I guess. Good point, Ian.

If we can't have Amazon keeping local pricing in check, at least when it comes to books there still is an alternative.

That's only part of the story though. It used to be good to be a South African. We were streaks ahead compared to the rest of Africa on so many fronts. But all that is being eroded.

South Africans having problems with credit card payments over the internet because we're associated with Nigerian style fraud activities.
You can't have a Paypal merchant account.
Now, no more Amazon.

We're going backwards.

[duncan drennan]

Now, no more Amazon.

The guys at wantitall.co.za bring in products from the USA and Amazon (run by my 2nd cousins and a friend). They were actually invited by Amazon to visit after the increasing number of sales and now have direct access to their product database.

There is always an opportunity to be had.

[Dave A]

For benchmark purposes - A Bound Man is available for R229.00 from wantitall.co.za

[Dave A]

68% of South Africans believe it is a problem that foreigners are taking the jobs that South Africans don't want. (FutureFact 2008)

[Dave A]

56% of South Africans say that if the police and government do nothing about crime, ordinary people have the right to take the law into their own hands. (FutureFact 2008)

[Dave A]

50% of women in South Africa with babies under the age of 2 are single (never married and not living together) (AMPS 2006 RA)

[Loman]

Why is technology in SA so very expensive??

For example a Logitec MX5500 is R 1 800 at dabs in the UK but almost R 2 500 in SA?

An Acer Notebook costs in Taiwan R 7 000 while here the same one is almost R 12 000.

I don't get it, is it because of taxes or what?
The problem i had in Mozambique was i had to bring in CCTV equipment from SA and paid a ridiculous amount for taxes because their argument was - I should have bought Mozambican products. How can i when they dont have any?

One might as well go to Taiwan and have a nice holiday and buy your laptop there and I'll bet you'll still have change.

I'll gladly

[Dave A]

39% of banked South Africans withdraw their cash as soon as they receive it. (Finscope 2007).

[garthu]

Latest statistics released... 96.5% of all statistics are made up

[Loman]

Latest statistics released... 96.5% of all statistics are made up

This just in, 76.2% of old folk prefer to eat dog food.