I’ve been fidgety all day Friday (20 July 2007). I sent hubby at least three text messages and called him several times, then repeated to him in the car on the way home, that he MUST go back to the supermarket that night or at dawn to get me the book. I’ve seen pictures of snaking queues on almost all the dailies & I cannot bear the thought of not having my own book when it’s released.

I’m a Potter-maniac. It started on an impulse airport-buy (was it 1999? I don’t even remember). And I’ve always been on the edge of my seat every time a new book is to be released. I even pre-ordered HP6 on Amazon. But this year, I was expecting consumers to win on the pricing war for the final “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”!

I’ve never been more glad to live in Britain than this month. HP7 retails at $37 in the United States. It has a suggested retail price of £17.99 in the UK. But since every major supermarket in the UK wants a big share of the audience, it’s been a crazy “beat this” price war since the start of 2007. I thought the lowest offer on HP7 will stay at £8.00+ from Amazon & most bookstores. Still I didn’t pre-order. I was patient as Tesco & ASDA haven’t announced their plans yet (& I lost out on their discounted price for HP6). Then two weeks ago, the super-duper-markets set their prices at £8.16, just a few pence cheaper than the bookstores.

But the day before the release night, ASDA announced they’re selling HP7 at a lose. It was an added attraction for shoppers at £5 a pop!!! I was elated. That is the right time to buy. I thought my plans were scuppered when hubby complained of migraine. I can’t have that! I can’t drive, someone needs to get me the book. I feeding him paracetamol tablets to make him better or at least for him to manage the wheels… I know I was insane, I was unfeeling, I was inconsiderate… but it’s HP7!

hubby called me from the store, he was told the books were gone by 3am. I nearly cried. I told him his migraine’s a big pain. I told him to go to the nearby Tesco branch. I received a text message, again none left, he says. I lost. So I told him he ought to buy me the book at the regular price then. I assume after the first week the stores might revert to the original retail price. But the hubby actually got two copies: one for me and another for my friend in the US. Jerk. He says it was a joke…. grrr.

Anyway, the book is — wow. Really, read it. At the end, Harry was… Voldemort didn’t… you know. hehe Joke joke, no spoilers here.

My post really is about the power of competition & how consumers benefit from it. Isn’t it great? Yes there were tears & cries of “foul” from smaller shops. They’re missing out on the profit, the boom should be shared amongst everyone, they said. Most of the small players ended up buying from the supermarkets just so they can sell the Potter book at the same price level as everyone (between £4.99-£8.90). But still I’m a consumer & I’m happy not to fork out nearly £20 for the book of the year.

Last week on the BBC Breakfast’s business news, they said Bloomsbury did earn a lot from Rowling’s series. But the backlash is that some of their stockholders are jumping ship due to fear of a possible post-Potter slump. It is expected by most quarters that the Bloomsbury share prices will fall in the coming months. So of course the publishing house is quick to dispel the rumours by saying they’ve got more bestsellers ahead. Will it work? Let’s wait and see. I’m sure a lot of market players are eagerly watching.

On that note, did you know that Bloomsbury’s agreement with stores (across the globe) to only sell the HP book a minute after midnight of 20 July 2007 was even rumoured to have been in jeopardy? Apparently Bloomsbury dictated before that if a seller doesn’t comply with their “release policy” they will not be given the succeeding Potter book. Since HP7 is ‘it’, there were talks about Bloomsbury’s lack of control over the sellers. I didn’t hear any problems about it. But still it must be scary to be on the board of the Bloomsbury. It’s an end to a great money-making era… Well, if you don’t count the merchandise, the movies, the games & royalties.

PS
Bewitching read to you all… Thanks for visiting again & again & I’m really, really sorry I haven’t been bloghopping as much. Work & sickness really gets in the way of life.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 9:56 am and is filed under hobby, news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.