Word that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be released in the U.S. July 16 was quickly followed by announcements from Borders, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million that customers who order the sixth installment of the Potter series before pub date will receive a 40% discount. Scholastic has set a $29.99 cover price for Half-Blood. The most recent Potter title, Order of the Phoenix, was also priced at $29.99 and also was aggressively discounted, with the steepest discounts found at warehouse clubs and online stores. Amazon.com is also discounting Half-Blood at 40%.
The sale of Phoenix set records at both B&N and Borders, and B&N CEO Steve Riggio said the company had collected 500,000 e-mail requests from customers who want to be notified when Half-Blood will be available. Riggio said that as they did with Phoenix, B&N stores will host parties nationwide and will begin selling the embargoed book at 12:01 a.m. BAM is also planning Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince celebrations that will begin at 9 p.m. July 15.
