Archive for March, 2009

Press Release: GuideGecko launches, lowest prices and free shipping in Singapore

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

GuideGecko Launches Online Shopping & Publishing Platform for Travel, Lifestyle and Entertainment Guides

Lowest prices and free shipping for customers in Singapore at www.GuideGecko.com

Singapore, 31 March 2009 – Singapore based start-up GuideGecko today launches its flagship website for travel, lifestyle and entertainment guides. Part online shop and part publishing platform, www.GuideGecko.com offers an unparalleled variety of all major guidebooks as well as unique guides by independent authors unavailable elsewhere. Customers can now find exactly the guides they need more easily than ever, as well as choose from over 1600 guidebooks at the lowest prices. Singapore residents enjoy free delivery.

Lowest prices and free shipping

Guides are offered at very competitive prices: 17 to 30% below the suggested retail price for commercially available guides throughout the whole catalogue. For example, GuideGecko customers can save S$16.95 (34%) on the Lonely Planet Vietnam compared with Borders (S$48.95), or S$11.87 (27%) compared with Kinokuniya (S$43.87). The same book on GuideGecko costs only S$32.00 and customers can order it at any time at their convenience, without the need to make their way to the shop. Free islandwide delivery within 3 to 7 days completes the hassle free service.

Unparalleled variety of well known guides and easy search

GuideGecko currently allows customers to choose from more than 1600 guides on 167 countries and 227 cities and regions around the world, with 21 guides on Singapore alone. All well known series are available, including DK Eyewitness, Insight Guides and Lonely Planet, along with a large variety of less conventional titles such as Hedonist’s Guides and Trailblazer, amongst many others.

Customers can easily search the 68 categories from diving to dining, shopping to sightseeing, trekking to travelling with children – to name but a few. Currently, all guides are in English; guides in other languages will be added in the near future.

“The choice of guides in local bookstores is usually very limited, and in online shops guides are jumbled up with all the other books. GuideGecko solves these problems by offering the widest variety of guides, and our tailor-made and easy to use search functionalities allow customers to find exactly the guides they need quickly and easily,” says Daniel Quadt, Founder and Managing Director of GuideGecko.

Unique guides by independent authors

GuideGecko seeks to become the largest worldwide publishing platform for independent guides. “Customers want up to date guides with insider tips by knowledgeable authors. Independent guides are often the perfect choice as their authors write on what they know best – from authentic eateries to little known hideaways, making tourists feel like locals. With all major guidebooks as well as unique guides by independent authors, GuideGecko aims to offer its customers the widest possible choice of guides, all on one site,” says Quadt.

Budding guidebook authors are now invited to upload their guides at www.GuideGecko.com/publish. Publishing is free and authors/publishers can offer their guides for download and as printed books. Authors earn 50 to 75% on every sale and all they need to do is write and upload their guide of any length; everything else from secure payment collection to printing and shipping is handled by GuideGecko. The guides can be updated at any time, thus ensuring that customers will always get the latest information.

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About GuideGecko

GuideGecko is your platform for Travel, Lifestyle & Entertainment Guides. Find and buy exactly the guides you need, or become an author and sell your own.

GuideGecko is the flagship development of Net Gecko Pte Ltd, a Singapore registered company. Established in 2008, Net Gecko is managed by a team of eager travellers with a strong background in the web development and publishing industries. GuideGecko was completely developed in Singapore. The website is at the forefront of ‘social commerce’, the latest internet buzz that combines e-commerce with elements from social communities. GuideGecko employs advanced web 2.0 functionalities and interactive features to enhance and facilitate the user experience. For more information, please visit www.GuideGecko.com. For photos, logos and screenshots, please visit www.GuideGecko.com/media.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Daniel Quadt
Telephone: +65 94555974
Email: media_[at]_guidegecko.com

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Press Release: GuideGecko launches, authors can publish their guides immediately

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

GuideGecko Launches Online Shopping & Publishing Platform for Travel, Lifestyle and Entertainment Guides

Authors can publish their guides immediately on www.GuideGecko.com

Singapore, 31 March 2009 – GuideGecko, a new online platform for travel, lifestyle and entertainment guides, officially launches its website today at www.GuideGecko.com. Part online shop and part publishing platform, the portal offers all major guidebooks as well as guides by independent authors.

GuideGecko attracts customers with its large variety of guides, tailor-made search functionalities to help them find exactly the guides they need, and very competitive prices at 17 to 30% below the suggested retail price for commercially available guides. Thus, it provides a perfect marketing platform for independent authors to reach out and sell their guides to customers worldwide. Authors and publishers can offer their guides for download and as printed books. Guides can be updated at any time and customers will always get the latest version.

GuideGecko seeks authors and publishers

GuideGecko invites all writers, aspiring authors and publishers to upload and sell their guides on any travel, lifestyle and entertainment topic. GuideGecko accepts guides of any length, from a few pages to hundreds. Guides are published instantly and listed on GuideGecko’s front page, where they receive maximum visibility. Customers can then order the guides immediately.

Publishing is free and authors/publishers set the retail price themselves. They earn 50 to 75% on every sale, whilst retaining full control over their content and copyrights. Users only need to write and upload their guides, since everything else from secure payment collection to printing and shipping is handled by GuideGecko.

“Every food lover has his favorite restaurants; every student knows the best places to party. We provide the perfect platform to turn this insider knowledge into money – in a fun and easy way. You can publish on GuideGecko no matter if you are a publishing greenhorn or an expert writer,” says Daniel Quadt, Founder and Managing Director of GuideGecko.

More information on publishing can be found on www.GuideGecko.com/publish.

GuideGecko currently offers more than 1600 guides on 167 countries and 227 cities and regions around the world. Guides are classified into 68 categories from diving to dining, shopping to sightseeing, trekking to traveling with children; all quickly accessible using tailor-made and easy to use search functionalities.

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About GuideGecko

GuideGecko is your platform for Travel, Lifestyle & Entertainment Guides. Find and buy exactly the guides you need, or become an author and sell your own.

GuideGecko offers the best guides – from independent authors to acclaimed publishers, from diving to dining, from download to print. Read reviews, get detailed information and compare guides. Or publish your own guides and turn your insider knowledge into money. It’s free, fun & easy – and you earn on every guide sold.

All guides on one site, all at very low prices. That’s GuideGecko!
GuideGecko is developed and operated by Net Gecko Pte Ltd, a Singapore registered company, and managed by a team of eager travelers with a strong background in the web development and publishing industries. GuideGecko is located in Singapore, a leading travel, lifestyle and entertainment hub in Southeast Asia and a gateway between Asia and the world – hence, a perfect location for GuideGecko. For more information, please visit www.GuideGecko.com. For photos, logos and screenshots, please visit www.GuideGecko.com/media.

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For media enquiries and user support, please contact:

Daniel Quadt
Email: media_[at]_guidegecko.com

Umar Farooq
Email: support_[at]_guidegecko.com

Telephone: +65 94555974

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Now you’ve done it – Multiball!

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Anybody remembers the pinball machine ‘The Twilight Zone’? It uses the above quote to announce a major breakthrough – a multiball game in this case. And we use the same quote for major breakthrough as well: our official launch earlier today!

We are very excited about it, and hope that you enjoy the website as much as we enjoyed developing it. We hope it will be a helpful resource, both for guidebook authors as well as for guidebook customers. We are looking forward to hearing your comments.

We have sent out two press releases for the event, corresponding to the two parts of the website: One press release focuses on our publishing platform where authors and publishers can upload and sell their own guides. The other press release focuses on the customer side and highlights our low prices, large variety and easy search functionalities that allow you to find exactly the guides you are looking for. I’ll copy both press releases in the next postings.

So long: Enjoy the site!

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Alea iacta est

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

Don’t know much about Latin, but nevertheless, it has been decided: We will launch next week.

Initially, we have been targeting Wednesday, but a close look at the calendar told us that it falls on April 1 – and because we definitely don’t want to fool you, we just decided to work a little harder and launch on Tuesday, March 31.

So watch out for us – and get your guides on GuideGecko!

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Thank you for your feedback

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Here is a small update on what we are doing. But first of all, a big THANK YOU for your feedback and comments.

Over the past weeks, we have been (and still are) working hard to integrate all your suggestions. A few of them are already live on the site, such as guide-reviews and questions. More features are in the pipeline, including a guided-tour for authors and publishers as well as a cover-generator on the uploading page. We are especially proud of the latter – do take a look when it’s ready.

We expect to have all these new features online in a few days. Once done, we will also officially launch the site. So stay tuned! Once again, thanks a lot.

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