merchandise and waffling

[Simon]

Me: <<<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?>>>

Catherine: <<<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.

Well this is basically my point. Your step-grandson only just wanted the
cuddly toy, admitting it was not really aimed at people his age and has
only just started to read the books. This seemingly only leaves a small age
range of people that know about the series (i.e. those who have read it)
and still want such toys.

I too want a Hedwig, but cuddly toy thing that they are selling at the
moment is crap. It looks as if someone has dropped a ton weight on her and
squashed her. She should be more like the film pictures - tall and
majestic. The little ornament I have is better, but still not great.


Me: <<<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?>>>

Catherine: <<<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.>>>

I heard that the merchandise was not selling in one of the newspapers (I am
not sure which as it was a month or so ago - but probably Times or
Telegraph as those are the papers I read most often). On recent trips to
West Quay (Southampton) and Bournemouth I saw virtually no people looking
at any of the HP merchandise in any of the shops I went in and yet both
places were fairly busy (Bournemouth especially as it was not that good a
day and lots of people visit this area at this time of year).


Ben: <<<My network cable has just fallen off the ceiling. Perhaps I should
stop waffling.>>>

Amazing a way to stop you waffling has finally been found. Now is there one
for me?


Simon
--
"In adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. Other things
are felt to be more important - technique, style, literary knowingness.
Present day would-be George Eliots take up their stories as if with a pair
of tongs." - P. Pullman
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