Sunday, July 22, 2007

Harry Potter went to war...price war


The latest Harry Potter book hit the shelf in Malaysia on the morning of 21st July 2007 at 7.01am. However, Lord Voldermort managed to cast a spell and got the bookstores and hypermarkets into war.

The official selling price for this latest addition to the Harry Potter collection during launch is RM109.90. However, the same book is selling for only RM69.90 at hypermarkets here in Malaysia. A price difference of RM40! Why do they do that?

Think about what the bookstores has to organize for the launch. Think about the props, the free gifts and the overtime that they need to pay for the early launch at 7.01am. Then they still need to make profit. Furthermore, the distributor is saying that at RM69.90, the book is selling at a loss. So the profit margin for the bookstores is even lower.

While I appreciate the lower price offered, it would have been better if it was not sold at that price on the first day. Perhaps after 1 month would be more appropriate. Let the people who really want it and want it immediately after launch pay for it at proper launch price. The book is not an essential item. Even cars are priced higher when newly launched and the discount will gradually be introduced.

By the way, the price war is also happening in the UK with Tesco and ASDA trying to beat each other. The lowest priced at the moment is from ASDA at GBP5.00 at ASDA. Lord Voldermort must be laughing hard in his grave.......opssss.