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Harry Potter the 'marketing tool'

20.06.07 |

Bookshops large and small have told the Telegraph that the discount war on the £17.99 cover price of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has become so "crazy" that they expected to make a loss or at best cover their costs.

According to the piece, a sample of the country's 1,400 independent bookshops said they had ordered only a few copies for loyal customers because they expected most copies to be bought online or at supermarket chains charging between £8 and £9. The Bookseller has already reported that up to a quarter of independent booksellers will not stock the book; while numerous newspapers have now run stories detailing how retailers are struggling to profit from what will be this year's biggest selling book. Amazon c.e.o. Jeff Bezo has also admitted that the e-tailer will not make any money from the one million pre-orders it has received.

Sydney Davies, the head of trade and industry at the Booksellers Association, told the newspaper: "It's not a book any more. It's become a marketing tool."

• Bloomsbury
• harry potter
• Independents
• Retail