Highway Robbery

I got a kick out of seeing all those people lining up for numbers to purchase the latest installment in the Harry Potter series this past Saturday. I can't even imagine how it must feel to sell so many books (and I think it's safe to say I won't ever find out.) This series of novels has become a real phenomenon, bigger than anything I can remember in the literary world. The publisher knew they had a hit on their hands well before the book hit the stores.

I was shocked to learn that the cover price of the book was a staggering $34.99. Now, I know it's a thick book, but $34.99??? That's practically larcenous. No wonder this book broke all sales records.

I'm not a reader of any of these novels and can't speak for how much earlier books cost. But the publisher knew from the jump that they were going to make millions off of this book. Did they really have to charge so much? What's wrong with $27.50, or even $29.99?

This practice reminds me of record companies who would have their most popular singers and/or groups record two new songs - excellent material - and cut an album, filling in the remainder with old hits. The new songs would not be available on singles; you had to buy the album if you wanted them. Never mind if you already owned 3/4 of the songs from previous issues. It was easy money for the record company. I steadfastly refused to buy any of these, and no one loved Before I Let Go by Frankie Beverly and Maze more than me.

I'm not finding any fault with J.K. Rowling. I know enough to know that authors have little say in these matters, like when a paperback author suddenly catches on and they start issuing books in hardcover, much to the dismay of their loyal readers who can't afford to pay $24 for a book (some publishers who tried this got an unpleasant surprise - a drop in profits, and they subsequently returned the writers to paperback.) From what I understand, Ms. Rowling was on public assistance at one point. I'd like to think she sympathizes with the working class.

With $8 million in sales, I guess the publisher of Harry Potter doesn't have to worry about their profit margin. I think I read that this either might be or is the final book in the series. But if there is a next one, I'll go on record and predict that it'll retail for $39.99.