TheStar: Harry Potter and the Ugly Price War
Firstly , I would like to congratulate ardent fans of the Harry Potter series who managed to get their hands on the book today. Of course, with no thanks at all to the MPH Mega Chain of bookstores.
I feel sorry for my friends who actually took the time to actually pre-order the book from MPH , Popular, Borders, etc at the RRP. Unfortunately for thousands of them right, pre ordering means you have to pay up front , and collect the books when the stock arrives la.
So, news and flyers surfaced yesterday that the hypermarket chains were going to sell the Harry Potter book at 69.90 !!! Walane... so low, so value for money !! some more don't need to pre - order .
Read this: Where to buy Harry Potter7 ?
(pic from Wekna.com )
So what was MPH's Response ? From Potter Price war (3rd update)
My problem with this statement is this. MPH have no more reason to sell Harry Potter 7 at their outlets, because there won't be anymore people buying from them. First and foremost, most people has already pre-ordered. For those who have not, you can always go buy your copies at Careffour, and Tesco , and guess what, at a cheaper price !!!MPH, Popular, Harris and Times at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur at 4pm announced that they would not sell Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in protest against Carrefour and Tesco selling the book at a hefty discount.
The recommended retail price of RM109.90 is being violated by hypermarkets advertising and selling it at RM69.90, the bookstores said.
The four chains, with a total of 100 outlets nationwide, said they were protesting the indiscriminate discount and wanted to show customers that they were not "blatantly profiteering" from them.
However, they said they would honour all pre-orders. "This means the book will no longer be available for sale at these stores nationwide from tomorrow (Saturday) following the worldwide release," MPH Bookstores chief operating officer Patricia Chen said. "
All events related to Harry Potter will be cancelled," she said.
Okay la, supposedly you pay extra 40 bucks ya, you will "stand a chance" get some harry potter premiums. Hallo !!! Your mugs are out of stock liao, what a gimmick man !! Ceh !
Here, this is what Tesco and Careffour flers have to say about this
When contacted, Carrefour Malaysia corporate communications and public relations manager Yuswanis Yusof said they wanted to provide the best for their customers.
She said besides selling groceries and other essential products, the hypermarket wanted to provide a chance for their customers to purchase the book at a lower price.
"It all depends on how one markets and promote its products," she added.
Tesco Malaysia division manager Janice Chan when contacted said they wanted to make sure their customers could read the book at a cheaper price.
"We are popular for selling products at a lower price, and books are no exception.
In other words they are implying maybe or perhaps MPH has been short changing their customers. According to Sayang, when the previous book was released, kanasai MPH said, only those who pre ordered can get their books. Then they always out of stock la.. stock belum sampai la - delaying tactics.
Maybe MPH should help the general public by lowering the price of their books. Please do not forget, we earn our pays in Ringgit Malaysia, not in Pounds / US Dollar. Books are expensive for us, and I believe if the general public can buy the book at RM69.90[jimat 40 puluh linggit !!], everyone would have jumped at the opportunity.
For those who PRE ORDERED, you should DEMAND for a REFUND !!!
1 Comment:
those who wanted could ask for a discount from mph - this was offered from the beginning!!!!!!
i think they acted v. reasonably in the circumstances ... please take a look at my blog for the whole discussion
but the losers were the readers
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