I am not sure where to buy the final installment of this book.
I am torn between buying from Amazon and having it delivered to my mailbox on the day of it’s release or buying from a Local Independant bookseller to keep with my personal moral code of giving money & business to those that actually care about books deeply.
I will be needing to buy two of the latest installments as my son is into the series and I have to have my own copy, as I am still a greedy impatient 12 year old girl deep down.
Amazon Plus: Cheaper price. Delivered to my mailbox, saving me gas and helping the enviroment somewhat also allowing me to read in the leisure of my home and being able to keep pace with the other fanboys of this and sprint to my computer to be the first to make comments on this wildly anticipated tome.
Amazon Minus: Large soulless corporation. My mail shows up about 4 in the afternoon or later. Indy Bookseller Plus: Supporting a family owned and operated business and helping our stumbling economy here in MIchigan. Make a day trip of it with/for my kids and showing them the importance of helping small businesses and giving them a memory for their old age to remember the hype around the final book.
Indy Bookseller Minus: More money, I have to drive about 1.15 minutes to this particular bookseller ( which is fantastic), gas prices are on the rise and the whole Ozone/enviroment thingie. The drive there to Nicola’s Books (to ann arbor Hi Olivesmarch4th and back take 3 hours ( plus other stops to visit places and stuff) out of reading time and I cannot drive and read at the same time.
I have been flip flopping over this issue since #6.
Not a Harry Potter fan myself, but I would say not to buy it at amazon or another major online concern simply to PUNISH them for the way that they’ve been FLOGGING the durn thing since the moment it was announced.
I think that most of them have a ‘get the final Harry potter book’ banner ad on EVERY product detail page - even the ones that have nothing at all to do with fantasy or fiction.
I’m sorry, that’s taking things too far. No order for you!!
I don’t believe that Amazon is a large soulless corporation and they’ve actually been great for indie press (as opposed to the brick&mortar chains who were well on their way to killing small press - shoutout to Borders for being the exception). I go there all the time to get stuff I can’t get locally, but I also patronize the locals from time to time.
The carbon footprint for your drive is minimal (as is the gas unless you drive a Hummmer or a dump truck), if you’re really worried about, just wait until that day to do some other errand that you were going to have to do anyway and combine the trips. I would imagine your local bookseller would be happy to take a pre-order so that you can walk through the door, show your receipt, get your book and be gone.
Overall, I would throw the local a bone and buy there.
At least you know you need to order it, still. I can’t remember if I did! (so do I re-order and end up with 2 copies, thus depriving some not so enthusiastic young reader of his or her chance to really get into reading via HP7?). I’m up at night about it, I tell you!
Drive to the bookstore. Buy local–it’ll make it more fun and help your community.
Take the drive.
Bring a lunch (in non-disposable containers – ya know, for the environment).
Buy the books.
Spend the afternoon in a park space reading and grazing.
Drive home.
I vote for the drive to the local independent bookstore, if they say they are going to have it.
Another possible option: have it delivered, but order it from an independent bookstore.
e.g. http://www.powells.com/biblio/18-9780545010221-0
I am thinking of making plans for an overnight trip involving getting the book and laying in a hotel room with my son, each of us reading our new books.
I shall check with the indy store to see if they have any Harry Potter early release midnight party thingie going on.
Thanks for everyone’s input.
We need two copies anyway, so I’ve decided to do both. I’ve already pre-ordered from amazon, now I just need to figure where to buy the book locally. If anyone knows of an indie bookseller in Chicago I can support, please let me know.
No matter what Bookstore I go into in Toronto, it’ll be owned by Chapters anyhow so it doesn’t really matter to me. I’ll probably just pick it up after I’m done at the gym that day as there is one right next door.
They always make this big deal about buying it early which I might do specifically for the savings, but there won’t be a shortage of copies available. There were two massive skids of the things at Chapters for the release of number 6.
As for your OP, I say make the drive. I have nothing against Amazon but I do like the experience of going to the bookstore…
Here’s what I don’t understand about Amazon and ordering it there. The retail price of the book is $34.99. It’s on sale at Amazon for $18.99. Now, if I order one day shipping, so I can get it when it comes out, there’s a shipping and handling fee of $16.48. That totally wipes out the sale discount, and makes my final price $35.37.
So, that being said, I don’t understand why not to go to someplace like Borders (which, if you preorder, has it on sale for $20.99, and lets me get it at midnight instead of wating for Saturday.)
First, have you discussed this with your son and asked for his thoughts on the matter?
Second, Equipoise’s solution appears to be applicable to your need for two copies, although, not very adaptable to the overnighter plan.
I ordered mine from Borders, which isn’t exactly local, but if you order online, there is no guarantee you’ll get your book on release day. You might not get it for two days. That would be unacceptable, don’t you think?
I would’ve ordered from Powells (which is just about two miles away) but a PAIN to get to, so I get it from the suburban Borders on my way to work.
I think the book is going to be discounted heavily, so I don’t think the local independent bookstores benefit very much when you buy it from them. If you want to support the independent bookstores, it’s more important where you shop the rest of the year.
So I’m going to get it from Barnes & Noble or maybe Target. I really don’t see any reason to pre-order it from Amazon. In fact, given that it’s going to be released on a Saturday, I’d be worried about missing the UPS or Fedex driver and not getting it until Monday. And it’s not like the book is going to be sold out. Every Walmart, Target and Costco will have a pallet-load of copies. (Actually, I’ll bet the supermarkets will have copies available for sale.)