Guess it was bound to happen. Major bookshop chains in the city have decided to boycott the latest Harry Potter book in the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows due to 'unfair' pricing by Tesco and Carrefour hypermarkets. Isn't that simply delicious? Unfair pricing? Well, well, well. Who's talking now? Isn't that exactly what major chains have been doing to independent bookshops all these years? When they sell the latest release of a best-selling author below cost at their four-times-a-year 'warehouse' sales to attract customers, what did they think they were doing? Now they are protesting? Is that rich or what? Does anyone remember how JRR Tolkein's latest book Children of Hurin was sold below cost at a recent warehouse sale even before it was even released to the public.
Talk about poetic justice. Oh, you poor thing ... boo, hoo, hoo ...
I think what has happened with Harry Potter is the best thing for the industry. Time to put the house in order, right? But knowing Malaysians we will be back doing whatever we were doing before long - whinging and whining about everything but not doing anything about anything.
Oh BTW, you may wish to listen to the recent BBC broadcast Hurray for Harry here. You may wish to hear the bit about how "independent bookshops won't be able to make any profit from the publisher's draconian arrangements."
