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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2007 > June > 11 > Entry
the tragedy of Harry Potter
The final Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows” by J.K. Rowling will be released on July 21.
The publisher, Scholastic, will be distributing 12 million copies to bookstores. Summer is usually a slow time in the book biz. Will the Harry Potter book be a shot in the arm for bookstore sales during the dog days of July?
Yes and no. There’s a problem. I spoke to many publishing insiders recently at the Book Expo America convention in New York City. Here is one reason why some booksellers aren’t exactly thrilled about the final Harry Potter book:
The book is being so deeply discounted by the big booksellers that the smaller, independent bookstores can’t make any money on it. The margins are just too narrow.
The final Potter book has been #1 in sales at Amazon.com for months, Amazon already has over a million pre-orders for the book. That’s good, right?
Not exactly. Amazon has been discounting the list price of $34.99 by almost 50%. Where’s the profit in that? Amazon’s price cuts have impacted the entire book-selling business.
Chain stores like Borders and Barnes & Noble are also selling the Potter book at very deep discounts-up to 40% off. Barnes & Noble has already sold over half a million copies in advance. Those deep discounts by the big players put even more pressure on the already embattled little guys.
Independent bookstores are being driven to the brink of extinction by the marketing muscle of mega-booksellers like Amazon. They simply cannot compete.
Some small bookstores won’t even be carrying the Potter book. Why not? Their customers can buy it more cheaply down the street at a big-box store than the indie bookstore can obtain it from their own distributors. They simply cannot afford to offer prices that can compete with those deep discounts. Customer loyalty is one thing-cheap prices are another.
So, who stands to make money from this book? Well, J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series will do just fine. She has already sold 325 million copies of the Potter books and she signed a lucrative contract a few years back that has guaranteed that she need never work again.
She has taken care of several generations of her family far into the future. The last Harry Potter book will be another sensation. The fate of Harry Potter is a closely guarded secret.
The fate of all those little bookstores who are trying to make a buck and survive seems to be a foregone conclusion. Harry Potter won’t be their salvation.
Do you plan to buy the new Harry Potter? Where will you buy it? On-line? From a chain store? From an independent bookstore? Have you already reserved your copy?
Leave a comment.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: booms and busts
Comments
By Lonnie E. Holder
June 24, 2007 12:10 AM | Link to this
Vick: Thank you for your kind comments. I have written a few reviews on Amazon and yes, I have been named on a number of patents.By vick mickunas
June 20, 2007 11:08 AM | Link to this
Lonnie! Good to hear from you! In case some of you don’t recognize Lonnie’s name, he is one of the top customer reviewers over at Amazon.com and I think he holds some patents too? Isn’t that right, Lonnie?By Lonnie E. Holder
June 19, 2007 6:59 PM | Link to this
Ms. Rowling is reportedly wealthier than the Queen of England. I doubt she has to worry about the price of gas, books or whether to shop at Wal-Mart.By Barbara Delaney
June 14, 2007 4:07 PM | Link to this
I will not be buying the newest Harry Potter book because I have not liked any of them. There is an essay by author A.S. Byatt in the July 7 2003 New York Times that describes very eloquently the reasons why I have not liked the Harry Potter books. Byatt says, and I agree, that the magic world as described by Rowlings has no place for the numinous, that it’s written for “people whose imaginative lives are confined to television cartoons”. I love the Earthsea trilogy by Ursula K. LeGuin,and the five books in the marvelous The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. For younger children interested in magical adventures the five books by L.M. Boston are superb. They are the Green Knowe series and like the other two series mentioned are beautifully written. In addition, these books are not accompanied by the nauseating overload of over-hyped merchandised junk that accompanies Harry Potter wherever he goes. I wish he would wave his wand and get rid of all of that.By vick mickunas
June 14, 2007 9:45 AM | Link to this
thanks, Mary Alice….By YS Pan
June 14, 2007 2:03 AM | Link to this
So, people agree that the mega-giants destroying the small family owned stores is a shame….put your money where you know your heart is! I encourage you all to cancel your orders and place your order with a small bookstore that is selling the book, such as Dark Star Books in Yellow Springs, they’re sure to have a midnight release party, come join in the village fun! It’ll be worth the extra few dollars you’ll have to spend.By vick mickunas
June 13, 2007 7:43 PM | Link to this
Does anybody plan to buy the new Harry Potter from an independent bookstore?By Anon
June 12, 2007 2:36 PM | Link to this
I pre-ordered my book just last week at Borders. I reckon there’ll be a line around the counter and out the door on July 21, though. Regarding the post itself, it is sad that the smaller bookstores are hurting a bit from this, but looking on the bright side, it’s fortunate that any bookstores are still getting business, what with everyone’s big lean toward everything digital. With the kids growing up in the Digital Age, it probably won’t be long before we switch to eBooks and MP3 AudioBooks, sad as that is to say.By Stacey
June 12, 2007 8:32 AM | Link to this
I already preordered two copies, one for me and one for my husband, on Amazon. If you order through Amazon you know you’ll get it on the release day. I also preordered HPDH on CD from Books a Million.By Jamie
June 11, 2007 4:01 PM | Link to this
I can’t wait. I just fear the ending will be leaked before I finish it!By Diana
June 11, 2007 1:44 PM | Link to this
We preordered it from Amazon the minute we could.By Tony
June 11, 2007 1:26 PM | Link to this
I plan to buy it Friday, the 20th at midnight at Barnes and Noble or Books&Co. Barnes and Noble will definitely be open at midnight but I don’t know about Books&Co.