Fight for Harry Potter profit
Book prices slashed, lawsuits filed over early release
The market, not Lord Voldemort, might be the strongest power that boy wizard Harry Potter will face.
In the weeks leading to the release of book seven, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," retailers world-wide have whittled down the prices of the final installment to almost half the suggested retail price.
The 784-page final installment officially will be released at 12:01 a.m. Saturday for a list price of $34.99.
At the local Anderson's Booksellers, where thousands will line up at the witching hour to pick up pre-ordered copies, the book costs $24.49.
Borders and Barnes & Noble, the other bookstores participating in "The Party that Shall Not Be Named," are selling the book for $20.99. Barnes & Noble is offering an $18.89 deal to members of its book club.
Wal-Mart is allowing customers to preorder the book for $17.87, and the Darien Wal-Mart is one of select locations throughout the country that will extend store hours to cash in on the midnight madness. Not to be left out, Walgreens pharmacy is pre-ordering the book for $19.99 plus shipping.
The bidding is already under way on eBay.com, where the auction prices for several copies of the book range from $15 to $22.
Scholastic's recent legal action against discount media retailer DeepDiscount.com won't stop its Naperville outlet on Route 59 from selling the book. The store will remain open until 1 a.m. Saturday, selling the book for $17.98, or $13.95 with a $25 in-store purchase.
Yet even the strongest dose of veritaserum won't get the price out of some retailers.
Those accustomed to late-night grocery runs at the 24-hour Jewel-Osco can add the tome to their shopping lists. The Naperville Kmart store on Ogden Avenue is hosting its own Potter party, where customers can reserve a copy of the book starting at 10 p.m. Friday. At Meijer's Evening with Harry Potter from 11 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday, the store will take an additional $7 off the book with a $30 in-store purchase.
But the employees at these stores are not told beforehand what they will be selling the books for, likely one of the many measures taken to prevent leaks of information about "Deathly Hallows..
A few determined "spoilers" have managed to infiltrate the Azkaban-caliber security around the seventh book. On Tuesday digital photos of an unverified copy of the final book surfaced on the Internet, revealing 36 chapters and a seven-page epilogue, according to news reports. The book's U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc., responded to the leak only hours before it was reported that the firm was filing lawsuits against Levy Home Entertainment and DeepDiscount.com for shipping copies of the book to customers before the official release.
The leaks elicited a response from author J.K. Rowling who in a press release pleaded with fans not to give away the ending to her final book, in which readers will learn the outcome of Harry Potter's epic struggle against his nemesis, Lord Voldemort.
Contact Lauren Sutherland at lsutherland@scn1.com or call 630-416.5212.