Waterstone’s says it’s important for the books chain to sacrifice profits and offer the new Harry Potter at half price. “Pre-orders for the seventh instalment were already close to the sixth Harry Potter book’s total number of sales via HMV’s businesses. For £8.99, customers will get the new Harry Potter for half price plus a free copy of Wizardology: A Guide to Wizards of the World. The offer would not lose money but nor would it bring in much. ‘At half price it’s pretty difficult to make money’.”