Harry Potter Makes Huge Splash At Fishpond.Co.NZ

18 July 2007

Media statement: For immediate release

Harry Potter Makes Huge Splash At Fishpond.Co.NZ

Daniel Robertson, founder and CEO of New Zealand's biggest online bookstore Fishpond.co.nz experienced deathly hallows of a more mortal kind as pre-sales of the latest Harry Potter story smashed all previous pre-order records.

"We've already sold-out of our first shipment. We projected our orders using sales of last year's Half Blood Prince, which itself set new records, but the pace of sales for this last installment has surpassed all expectations," said CEO Daniel Robertson.

Fishpond.co.nz has received hundreds of pre-orders for the Deathly Hallows, with the Adult Edition proving to be twice as popular as the Children's Edition, suggesting that Harry Potter is more widely read by adults than kids. The only difference between the two editions is the book cover.

With just a few days left to go before the July 21 release, pre-order volumes are climbing as fans lay their claim to one of the 12 million first run copies. The 784 page manuscript has already smashed records, surpassing sales of its predecessor, The Half Blood Prince, to become the number one pre-ordered book of all time.

Every customer who pre-orders Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows through Fishpond will receive a $5 gift voucher that can be used for any subsequent purchase from the online bookseller.

Distributors and Retailers alike are obliged to adhere to strict embargos to ensure that no one discovers Harry's fate before the official release date and time. But this has not stopped rampant speculation. A search in Google for "Harry Potter spoilers" reaps a multitude of results including: the-leaky-cauldron.org and beyondhogwarts.com

"On Fishpond.co.nz, we let customers write reviews about the books available on our site. The idea is that people who have already read a particular book can share their opinion with other shoppers. However, in the case of the Deathly Hallows, users have been busy writing "pre-reviews" on the site, speculating on the fate of Harry, Hermione, Ron and the others at Hogwarts."

"It's just as well the book release falls on a weekend, otherwise, a lot of people would be calling in sick to school or work.”

Some Potter Facts:
*An initial print run of 12 million books vs. just 50,000 for the first Harry Potter book, The Philosopher's Stone
* Deathly Hallows was completed by J.K Rowling on January 11, 2007
*1.6 million pre-orders on Amazon.com as of July 2 2007
*The six Harry Potter books to date have sold over 325 million copies worldwide
* Book 6, The Half-Blood Prince was the fastest selling book of all time selling 6.9 million copies on its first day.
* Fans can look forward to 784 pages of reading, into the wee hours and Harry's final showdown with Voldemort
* Release date: July 21, 11.01am NZST

About Fishpond.co.nz
Fishpond.co.nz is New Zealand's Biggest Bookstore with over 1.1 million books, available for sale at low prices.

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