Merchandise and film

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Simon" <pigwidgeon at i...> wrote:
> Hello,
> Action figures and cuddly toys are things more often linked with 
the 5-8
> age range, or possibly even younger, but for what reason would 
people of
> this age be reading the books? 

Well, I quite like stuffed toys, and both myself and my grown up step 
daugher want a Hedwig.  I actually bought a selection of merchandise 
for my step-grandson recently, for his eighth birthday, including a 
Fluffy.  I did ask him if he was a bit old for cuddly toys, and he 
said yes - but wanted the Fluffy all the same - not to play with, but 
to look at and to own.  He, BTW, started reading the books when he 
was 7 and loves them.

> This continued into a discussion of the clothing, which seems to be
> available to fit anyone (from young to old). At the time the EYO was
> wearing a Nike t-shirt and his older brother (13) a QuickSilver t-
shirt. At
> that age the kids seem more interested in having the brand names 
displayed
> prominently and having Harry Potter instead does not even enter 
their
> thought process. It would just 'not be cool to be wearing such 
stuff'.

Well, again, talking about the 8yr old again - he does wear the 
fleeces and t-shirts etc.  He is very label conscious, but still 
likes the HP stuff.  Perhaps this is an age thing and he wouldn't 
have been so interested if he'd been a few years older.

Well there have been
> reports that the merchandise is not selling well. Wherever I have 
been
> recently there seems to have been large stacks of it and very few, 
if any,
> people even looking at it. Possibly there could be the same lake of
> interest in the film as well. What would happen if the film was a 
flop?

As regards the merchandise, I am surprised that you've heard it isn't 
selling well.  I was in Bluewater yesterday, and there were loads of 
people buzzing round the HP displays - and buying.  It is the same 
story everytime I go in there.   There is always a lot out, but I 
think that part of the reason is that everytime I go in there, they 
have added more lines - there is always a large pile of something new.

> Finally I leave you with another comment on a similar theme. In the 
UK
> bookshops there are tons of copies of GoF in paperback. They seem 
not to be
> selling. If it is two years between GoF and the next book will that 
mean
> that the 'Harry Potter fad' will have passed? Will many have lost 
interest
> and moved onto the next big thing?

Most of the children and adults that I know who are obsessed with HP, 
went out and bought, begged, borrowed a copy of GoF as soon as it 
came out in Hardback.  I am sure there were a lot of children out 
there who wouldn't give their parents a moment's peace until they had 
the book.  As so many places were selling it for under £10 (and 
Amazon at half the recommended retail price of £14.99 - at £7.50, 
only slightly more than the RRP of the paperback) I am sure that 
there were a lot of people who gave in and didn't think it was worth 
waiting for the paperback.  Perhaps that is why there do seem to be 
large numbers of the paperbacks on display - most people who are 
going to read it have already done so.

Catherine