I get especially incensced when I see companies throwing away good money by commodotizing a hot property that doesn't need to be sold on price. Really, when you have something that everybody wants, why cut your own throat to make a sale? That's why I'm mystified by the Standard Operating Procedures of the bookselling trade:
Yahoo!: Harry Potter magic spells losses for booksellers
Yahoo!: Harry Potter magic spells losses for booksellers
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Harry Potter has no spell for bookstore profits.
Millions of people will descend on stores for a copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in July, but deep discounts mean many will struggle to turn a profit from the jamboree.
"Everywhere you go there is huge, ridiculous discounting by the chains," said Graham Marks, children's editor at the British-based trade magazine Publishing News.
"They are literally not going to make one penny out of the book. It is stupid -- just throwing money away ... The world has gone mad."
Online retailer Amazon.com and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have slashed nearly 50 percent off the book's $34.99 list price, forcing many independent booksellers to follow suit to stay competitive.
Millions of people will descend on stores for a copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in July, but deep discounts mean many will struggle to turn a profit from the jamboree.
"Everywhere you go there is huge, ridiculous discounting by the chains," said Graham Marks, children's editor at the British-based trade magazine Publishing News.
"They are literally not going to make one penny out of the book. It is stupid -- just throwing money away ... The world has gone mad."
Online retailer Amazon.com and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have slashed nearly 50 percent off the book's $34.99 list price, forcing many independent booksellers to follow suit to stay competitive.
...
Amazon.com boasted more than 1 million advance orders for the book, easily besting advance orders for Rowling's 2005 release, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
In April, Barnes & Noble said advance orders for "Deathly Hallows" topped 500,000 copies, breaking the bookseller chain's record for advance sales.
But with widespread discounting biting a gigantic chunk out of any potential profits, many booksellers are not enthused about its release. And for smaller, independent book stores, the discounting makes for a hard calculation.
In April, Barnes & Noble said advance orders for "Deathly Hallows" topped 500,000 copies, breaking the bookseller chain's record for advance sales.
But with widespread discounting biting a gigantic chunk out of any potential profits, many booksellers are not enthused about its release. And for smaller, independent book stores, the discounting makes for a hard calculation.
If "staying competitive" means "losing your ass" then what's the point? "Market share" is a bogus, emphemeral number, and the top line on your P&L doesn't mean jack unless you've got a nice fat number on the net, or "bottom line." Am I the only person who thinks that turning a profit is a good idea?
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