Bookshops buy Harry Potter from Tesco
Updated on 17 July 2007
Bookshop owners eager to stock the new Harry Potter novel will be shopping at Tesco on Friday - because it's cheaper than the wholesale rate.
Independent booksellers will also be raiding Asda and Wilkinson for the seventh and final book of the series, to take advantage of discount prices.
One big retailer is even advertising the book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - for as little as £7.99, a huge saving on the recommended retail price of £17.99.
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury has faced criticism over the discount deals; with claims it has allowed big chains to enter into a price war - devaluing its real worth and damaging traditional bookshops.
Matthew Clarke, of the award-winning Torbay Bookshop in Paignton, said he'd be stocking his shelves with Tesco books. His margin for profit will be just £1.60 a copy.
He told The Times: "The magic of Harry Potter has gone mad. Nobody is making any money in the distribution of this book. Amazon, Tesco...are either breaking even or losing money.
"We are a community bookshop. We do it because we have a lot of fun. But I'm pleased this is the last one."
Tory MP Charles Walker is calling for an Office of Fair Trading inquiry into the issue. The book goes on sale at midnight on Friday.
