[HPforGrownups] Reserving Order of the Phoenix ... when?

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 18453

Hi --

nera at rconnect.com wrote:

> How soon before the release date can one reserve a copy?

You can reserve a copy on amazon (and probably other online booksellers
as well) right now!  I reserved GoF on pre-order through amazon, and
then became nervous that I wouldn't receive it in a timely fashion (this
was before their decision to FedEx copies to the first 250,000 pre-order
customers).  I also ended up wanting to take part in the midnight hoopla
events at an actual bookstore (and be able to settle in with my copy
early the next morning).  So, I ended up giving away my amazon pre-order
copy to a friend (a less obsessed friend) -- it did arrive via FedEx on
Sat morning, before noon btw.

> So, anyway ... do you put your name on a list for the book? Then
> what? You show up at the store and IF your name is on the list, you
> get first chance at buying the book?

A group of friends from my husband's law firm joined me at a local
bookstore last July.  One of them had reserved the copies in his name
and ended up having a late-running mediation that threatened to prevent
him from coming.  I thought it was hilarious that he insisted on taking
a break from mediation about 10:00 pm to call the bookstore to be sure
that they would release the books in his name to me or one of the
others.  They assured him that they would (but he did end up scurrying
in around 11:30).  We got tickets on a first-come first-served basis
(and you got the tickets by proving that your name was on a list with
reserved copies).  Then, they called people to the register in groups of
50 or so once the clock struck midnight (they had a New Year's Eve style
countdown).

> How much time does the store give you to claim your book before they
> take your name off of the list and sell it to someone else with cash
> in hand?

I had audio versions reserved at a B&N, and they called me before noon
on Sat morning to be sure I still wanted them.

> Has anyone had their name on the list and when they got there,
> decided they wanted two or three copies? If so, what happened? Does
> JKR always do the midnight thing?  I know it was a huge deal with
> book four ... was it also with book three or not?

Not that big a deal in the US.  The release date was different for one
thing, and alot of US customers ended up ordering PoA through the
internet booksellers rather than waiting for the US release date.  With
GoF, they decided to release simulataneously in the US & UK, and I doubt
they will ever change that.  Hard to say how the OoP events will be
handled -- I think the midnight events went off well, but there will be
even larger crowds & demand for OoP than for GoF.

Penny


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