I was in my local Bookstore called Chapters and out of curiosity decided to check out the prices for the Harry Potter Books.
I was stunned to see that they are all over 40 dollars each.
Is that a set price everywhere or does it vary from Country to country?
I had been planning to purchase the whole Hardcover series at once but now I think I shall just buy one at a time.
I am thrilled that it has gotten a whole generation into reading.
What better way to relax than with a good book.

I am still waiting or the library to call and tell me to come pick up the Newest Harry Potter.I am looking forward to it.
PF

40 US$??
That is double what they are here.
If you mean C$ then they are about 30 here. I got mine very cheap as I went with a bulk order at school, most of the school ordered a copy , so the price was much reduced with the discount. I have done this for the last 4 or 5 HP orders.

I just tried to calculate what I paid for mine into Canadian dollars -I think it would be about $19 as it cost me £8.50. Have you tried Amazon? I just looked on there and they seem to be about half what they're asking in the shops.

$43.Canadian which is what they are selling for is 52.00 American.
I looked on the internet at a few places and some of the prices were ok but once you figure in the exchange rate and shipping then it isn't much less.

I shall buy one at a time and that way maybe they will go on sale.

LPP

I got my book for $30 AUD which is about $23 USD and $28 Canadian Dollars.

Sadly, I have found that if you buy them right away they're quite reasonable (I got the last one for $21 Canadian). However if you buy them later (I had to replace one that I left somewhere, and when I went back someone had taken it), and then you pay big bucks for them then, because the massive numbers aren't lying around the stores.

Every now and then Costco comes out with a boxed set which is quite reasonable - do you live near a Costco?

I don't read Harry Potter but I know in Ireland it is 12.93 Euro and up in Northern Ireland I seen it the other day in a book store for £8.95, which works out as the same price when you convert 12.93 Euro to Sterling. That's really good price for a book that size. I brought a different book last week here and it cost me €11.95 and it's big but not as many pages as the harry potter book. I think here the smaller the book the dearer it seems to be.

They are $15.48 US at our local Walmart here in Pennsylvania. There has been a large stack sitting in the center aisle all week.
I'm seeing several on half.com (my favorite source for used books), the lowest being $12.00. They ship by Media Mail, which is $3.25. Ebay has some for a "buy it now" price of $9.99, with various prices for shipping.
Sounds like the price does vary greatly by country!

Wow what a discrepancy in prices. I wonder who determines what they will charge per book?
This is very interesting. Thank you all for replying.It is so amazing what we learn on here if we just ask for help or want to know the answer to a question.

I look forward to hearing from other places on their prices.
Thank you.
PF

Yes Skunkee we have quite a few Costco's here but I don't live that close to any of them but what a great idea. I never thought of them.Thanks for reminding me they sell books.

I think I'll be getting mine at Costco too. Looks like Canada is on the expensive end, and the store you pick really matters. I live in a small town, 2 hours from the nearest city. It's well over $40.00 C here, too. I think places like Superstore are fairly cheap, though.
By the way, PF, you went backwards on your conversion from Canadian to US funds - $43 C is $35.30 US. Still a lot of money.
Buying books in Canada online from US suppliers tends to get expensive, as they don't usually give us the good deals on shipping, and exchange and sometimes customs bumps it up.

What are book prices in general like where you guys are? A basic new release paperback novel is now $12.99 - 15.99 Canadian, while you won't find a hard-cover less than $40 in a bookstore. The cheaper places tend not to have the books I want, as I read very few best sellers. Thank God for second hand stores and garage sales, I say.

OOps math was never my strong suit.
I agree it is the most expensive in Canada.
I doubt if I will find a Harry Potter in a used book store which seem to be disappearing fast.
Maybe I should ask for the books as Christmas and Birthday gifts.
I might check with a friend of mine back home and see if it is cheaper there.
Like I wondered who sets the prices and why such a huge difference in prices?
Happy Reading.
PF

I'm always astonished by prices when I walk into Chapters. I ended up buying their discount card and now I get 10% off of everything in the store. It's always good to wait a little while for newer books anyways because they'll mark them down another 20% or 30%. Occasionally, you can get really good deals. I'm always buying books there.

The latest Harry Potter costs 17-19 € here in the Netherlands. The Dutch version will probably be quite a bit more expensive when it comes out. We have fixed book prices for Dutch books, meaning that all stores have to sell them for the same minimum price (or more). English books don't fall under that rule, so their price basically is a free for all. Harry Potter is being sold in drugstores, grocery stores, everywhere, and they're all competing to offer the best price. No complaints from me!

Lol, I've got one word for ya, PF... WALMART! Seriously, though, if you go to Chapters/Indigo or private book stores or stores that only deal with books, I find they tend to be priced higher. In Toronto, at Walmart, I saw them for as low as $26.50 Canadian. And at the Grocery store I shop at, I saw them for $29.99. I guess if you don't live near any Walmart's or if you don't like ordering online and can't find them cheap anywhere near you, you could always send out for a copy from a friend who lives someplace the books are cheaper.

Thanks Gemini19. I don't go to Wal -Mart very often but when I do I shall look for the book.Also I shall check out Costco.
It is interesting to see how much the book costs in other countries and back east.
I like to explore used book stores when we travel.Depending on if we drive or fly I usually get a huge box of Books from my Sister.

Happy Reading.
PF

Down here on the south coast of England, Ottakar's and W H Smith are offering the new HP at £9.99 (€14.35; US$17.45; Canadian $21.25). That's just over 40 per cent off the publisher's recommended price.

A good place to buy best-sellers is often the British Booksellers/Sussex Stationers chain. I got 45% off the latest Flashman novel there, but they don't seem to be stocking the new Harry Potter at our local branch. Strange!

I also got my copy from Smiths, pre-ordered it for £1 and the got a companion book for £1.99 on the day. The Harry Potter book was £9.99 in total.

Here the new Harry Potter book costs $60 pesos, and that's around $20 US. In dollars it is not much, but it is quite a lot in pesos!

Hmm, this has intrigued me now as I wonder if prices of the books in foreign countries is also influenced by the fact that the book needs to be translated. I mean, someone needs to get paid for the translation from English to which ever language is spoken in the country. Interesting.

Gemini, yes, books that are translated do cost a little more. The English version is the one that costs $20 US. I'm sure that the Spanish version will cost more; it hasn't come out yet. I'll post the price of the translated book when it comes out.

Gemini, I was talking about the English version too. It'll take some time for the book to be translated, the Dutch version is expected in a couple of months. Usually Dutch translations aren't noticeably more expensive, probably because they're printed locally whereas English books have to be imported.

mine was 30 USD.....I think it was cheaper at the Barnes and Noble. We went to the local shop.

I got my copy of the first Harry Potter hardcover (with the dust jacket) for $2.99 US at a Goodwill store. Over the last couple years I've seen the others for around the same price, but since I'd never gotten around to reading the first, and I NEVER have enough room for books, I refrained from buying them. But, it might be another thing to consider. If you have second-hand stores (most of ours are run by charities) where stuff is donated and then sold cheap, keep your eye out there. Surely not everyone who's purchased a copy of the books there in BC has wanted to hang on to them.

Surely not everyone who's purchased a copy of the books there in BC has wanted to hang on to them.

Oh How I wish that were true.But as the hard cover books here are so expensive not alot of people tend to give them to a second hand store.
I would get the paper backs but to me hard covers look so classy in a book case.I know that statement sounds snobby and I don't mean it to. I have had thousands of paperbacks and my Earth Children series are in paperback.

What ever forum I purchase a book in it is special and I am loath to give them up but I only have so much room.

I shall look in the second stores but I doubt I will find the hardcovers.
I shall just bide my time and hopefully they will go into the bargain bin.
PF

There's a fantastic used and discontinued/out of print book site that I have used for years and I couldn't be more pleased.

They have the first Harry Potter hardback for $1.

Check out the American Book Exchange at:

http://abe.com

Rich