Amazon.co.za is set to be a thing at an indeterminate point next year, according to the company. Talk of the company’s presence has been solidly expected since 2022, though speculation (and hope) have been around much longer. Now there’s an official date. Sort of.

2024 is the only timeline the company has offered, though if we were to guess we’d say February 2024 is as good a time as any. That’s when the last rumoured launch was supposed to take place, even if that deadline was missed.

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The reason for today’s announcement is that local sellers are being invited to register with the online retail giant. Registration opens from today and continues, presumably, for as long as Amazon has a presence in South Africa. Local sellers are invited to register (and select the selling plan that determines Amazon’s cut) here.

Based on the current status of selling plans, the international company plans to make life difficult for established online retailers. There are two plans — Individual and Professional.

The Individual plan involves handing over ten bucks to Amazon each time you sell an item. This is being pitched at low-volume sellers — the kind of people who make stuff by hand and don’t conduct massive volumes. But then there’s the Professional plan, which is normally R400/m. Only, for the moment, that amount is set to R1/month provided you hurry up and register to start selling your products on the to-be-launched local storefront.

Robert Koen, Amazon’s sub-Saharan regional GM, said, “We look forward to launching Amazon.co.za in South Africa, providing local sellers, brand owners, and entrepreneurs — small and large — the opportunity to grow their business with Amazon, and delivering great value and a convenient shopping experience for customers across South Africa.”