Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com soak up the demand for new Harry Potter book
Pundits say that one function the Internet fills powerfully for retail is to aggregate demand. Amazon.com Inc.’s orders for the new Harry Potter book is proof that that is true. Amazon reports that worldwide, it has received 875,000 orders for the forthcoming “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” not even due for publication for another month. In the U.S., Amazon’s orders for the book have exceeded 500,000.
BarnesandNoble.com says Harry Potter has been popular at its site, too, but will only report that it has received hundreds of thousands of orders.
Amazon says “Order of the Phoenix” is its most popular pre-order ever. The previous number one: Harry’s fourth volume, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” which racked up 350,000 pre-orders in the U.S. and 410,000 worldwide. Amazon has arranged with FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the books on Saturday, June 21. Amazon will not charge extra for the Saturday delivery.
Based on orders received to date, FedEx and the Post Office will deliver 1.4 million pounds of Harry Potter books on June 21.
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