Mkting Study & Adult Purchases of HP

[plinsenmayer]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C7627
From: plinsenmayer
Subject: Mkting Study & Adult Purchases of HP
Reply To: [Yahoo! #7624] Re: NY Times Strikes Again
Date: 8/23/00 7:56 am  (ET)

Hello --

<<<>>>"The article goes on to quote a mkting study that shows 43% of
the HP books were purchased by someone over 14."<<<>>>

Harriet said: <<<Just because books are purchased by someone over the
age of 14 doesn't mean they're READ by someone over 14. As the birth-13
set doesn't typically have a lot of disposable income, especially for
hardcovers, they generally depend on adults to make their purchases
for them.

MOST children's books, in fact, are purchased by adults.>>>

Your points are all true Harriet, and I'm sorry I didn't make my point
more clear in my original post. The study shows that 43% of the HP
books sold are being purchased by someone over age 14 *FOR* someone
over age 14. They are being purchased by adults FOR adults. The WSJ
article doesn't really make that too clear, but I've seen that same
study quoted elsewhere.

You don't sell over 35 million copies of books SOLELY to children. It
just doesn't happen -- it has absolutely *no* basis in reality. A
number of sources have indicated that a "bestselling" children's title
is considered a "bestseller" when it sells 300,000 copies. The sales
figures for HP clearly, clearly show that a number of these books are
being bought by adults. Mkting studies support this. The NY Times editor
has his head in the sand. IMO.

Penny