Happy Potter: How far is too far? (this is ridiculous)

[Craig]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:04pm

"Publishers have attempted to keep the latest release in the fantasy saga top secret - but they were foiled last Thursday when fourteen books were inadvertently sold in Canada. A judge commanded the customers to stay silent about the book, and forbade them to sell it or even look at it before Saturday"


EXCUSE ME? If the copies were sold, how can anyone have the right at that point to "forbid" or "command" anyone. I understand about embargo's and whatnot - punish the store, not the people that happen to be fortuitous to find a copy. They are LEGAL copies of a published work.

I think it's taking the whole secretive thing a bit far...

Updated On: 7/14/05 at 12:04 PM

[Millie42]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:09pm

Forbade is a pretty funny word choice.

But I think that the secrecy contributes to the fun and the hype of the HP craze.

How does one accidentally sell 14 copies of this book? If you work at a place with books you KNOW HP6 is coming out.

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:14pm

I can't understand how the store even had the boxes opened and out for sale. My friend works part time at a Borders. She's going to be working Friday from 9PM to 2AM for the Potter release. She had to go there Tuesday night and sign some kind of an agreement stating she would not even open any of the boxes until 12:01 a.m. July 16th or sell before that time. If she did, it could be cause for immediate termination.

Edit: Good point about wanting to check the books. Could you imagine opening up boxes upon boxes of books that are supposed to be HP and wind up being something else???

Updated On: 7/14/05 at 12:14 PM

[yodamarie78]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:19pm

One book was sold in Rosendale, NY. The people who bought it returned it to the store. Their son had read two pages.

"We're going to do the right thing," Mike Muldoon said. "We don't want to ruin it for other kids and take away from the experience of everyone reading it together."

There were also two copies sold in Indianapolis.

"I thought I was seeing things," said Meyer. "I asked the lady, 'Can I buy this now?' and she was like 'Yeah' and just rang it up.
the-leaky-cauldron.org

[Princeton78]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:24pm

Not to threadjack, but I had asked my local Barnes and Noble to hold a copy of the "Sweet Charity" recording for me when it arrived. I got a call Monday night at 8pm and went to pick it up. After paying, the woman (who had called me herself) gasped, pulled it out of my hand, cancelled the sale, apologized and said that it couldn't be officially released until the next day. She couldn't understand why I was upset. She called, I came, I paid. That CD was mine. Oh well. I bought it much more cheaply elsewhere after it was 'officially' released.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:28pm

This has been part of the HP marketing tool for years now. Just to build up the excitement and anticipation. It makes people want to be there for the midnight release parties so they can say they got it before anyone else!

[Thenardier]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:29pm

I still have yet to read the fifth one.

Hell, I don't even know where it is.

And they sell guides to Harry Potter.

Come on!

[liotte]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:36pm

I like the anticipation for the release date for the books. And yes, I'll go get it at midnight (well, 12:30 to avoid the big party). It makes it an event.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 12:36pm

I don't know the circumstances, but I'd bet real dollars that the "early sales" were at retailers that do not usually sell books but are selling Harry Potter because it's the big thing. The "real" bookstores get beat up to certify they won't sell it early and then a corner drugstore that doesn't know a book from a rutabaga puts them out for sale a week early.

[ckeaton]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 3:54pm

One word about the first post.
Canada.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 3:56pm

Thanks to Amazon, I should get mine in the mail sometime in the future. lol... Isn't that sad?

[Craig]

Posted: 7/14/05 at 5:13pm

For the record - I am not against the withholding of the books until the sale date. What I find ludicrous is the requiring the return of the books, or mandating that even thought it might be in your possession - you aren't allowed to read it.