My lovely parents took us out for dinner last night. And over delicious pasta, my mom mentioned that Folio Society is apparently offering a specially-bound Harry Potter collection.
That’s not a ripoff. Folio books are excellently bound, as a rule, and quite attractive. It would be a good deal for a Potter afficianado. (Please nobody be mad that I’ve only read the first one…I started the second in Spanish, but it’s slow going. I’m in chapter 4, though.)
But it made me remember something I saw last May. Borders was displaying a special box edition of the first 6 Harry Potter books. Box edition. 6 books. Box. What?
2 months before the new one was coming out and they were trying to sell box sets with no room for it. Were people supposed to let #7 just sit in its own? Were they supposed to buy another set? There wasn’t room in the box for it to be added.
Apparently they did this for the first 5 as well, and possibly earlier. One of those many ripoffs in life. Of course, can you rob the willing? I suppose if it’s worth that much to people, they can do it. But financially savvy? Not unless you planned on skipping the Deathly Hallows.
(Can anyone think of a time where buying the 6 book boxed set might actually be practical when there’s only one more left in the series?)
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We bought the first 3 in one of those boxed sets. So I have 3 in paperback and 3 in hardback. Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me, since A. it’s for the kids, and B. I don’t buy books for the way they look on my shelf. And that 3 book set was a good price too. 🙂
I’ll admit that a set of 3 books makes more sense than the first 6. Especially buying the first 6 on the eve of the 7th. 🙂
I’ve actually found that boxed sets can be kind of annoying. I got the Chronicles of Narnia in one as a kid and had the hardest time getting them out. Finally got smart and chucked the box. 😉
I don’t buy the boxed sets. I wonder if people would actually buy the set of six, then go out and buy the set of 7 when it came out? No wonder JK is so rich.
You are very smart to be able to read a book in Spanish by the way. Did it take you long to learn it?
Thanks, Catherine. Spanish is still kinda new for me, so reading HP involves a lot of dictionary time. I have been fluent in French and keep my skills not-quite-rusty. But it’d take a couple days before I could become fluent again.
Actually, when book 6 was coming out I decided that I was going to read all the books. At that time to buy the first 5 separately would have cost $60 MORE than the box of the first 5 so I bought the box and the sixth book that day. When 7 came out, I bought it and asked for one of the shipping boxes they came in (they happen to hold exactly seven books) and had my “complete boxed set.” Actually, I threw out the box the first 5 came in; the choice to buy was pure consumerism.
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