Is 10.8 Million Copies Enough?

With a bit less than two months to go before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits stores, some of the same issues that surrounded the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are beginning to surface. Topping the list at the moment is whether the 10.8 million–copy first printing for Half-Blood Prince will be enough to meet the demand from retailers. Scholastic has received requests for 18 million copies of Half-Blood, a figure that reflects "the wish list from all our accounts," said spokesperson Kyle Good. Good wouldn't comment directly on how Scholastic would allocate the huge print run, noting only, "We've had a tremendous amount of dialogue with our accounts to reach the best decisions we could."

Good said most independent stores that are regular Scholastic accounts will receive their full order, and a spot check by PW found indies satisfied with Scholastic's efforts. Distributor orders have been cut, but not by as much as with Phoenix. Scholastic is under pressure to get as many copies of Half-Blood in stores on July 16 as possible, since most retailers believe the bulk of sales will occur over the July 16–17 weekend. For Phoenix, Scholastic sold about five million copies of the title on the first day of sale.

Scholastic went through an allocation process for Phoenix and, despite fears of many retailers that they would be caught short of supply, most ended up finding ways to meet consumer demand. One of the most notable aspects of the Phoenix frenzy was the decision by many independent booksellers to turn to warehouse clubs as a way to replenish stock for the short term.