I had no plans to either read or buy the book, but now I am tempted to buy a copy before they get pulped - but that would give penguin/CS some of my hard earned cash and I imagine there will be enough of these first editions out there that it won't have any particular future value above standard charity shop price.
I am also giving consideration to buying a copy and then returning it to the publishers and demanding a refund on the basis of inaccuracies. But I think the ratio of effort to satisfaction is probably low so I don't think I can be bothered. It would be funny if a lot of people did that though.
I recall listening to a mother and child on the radio 4 flagship consumer programme that used to be on around lunchtime back in the day, where the child had noticed a misprint in the latest Harry Potter book and was returning it with a complaint and demand for a refund. The mother sounded so proud of her precocious, priggish child. I just thought "You stupid woman, you are encouraging your child to be a thoroughly obnoxious lifelong complainer".
It irritated me so much, that's why I remember it. As children we weren't allowed to complain! I tried to install similar in my own children but unfortunately I married a complainer so I was destined to fail but hopefully have managed at least to temper complaints with a sense of proportion.
AI summary of what happened
AI Overview
The user is likely thinking of the highly publicized real-world event from October 2000, when a 9-year-old child named Laila Banjar from Somerset spotted a glaring editorial error in the first edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 1]
The Misprint Details
The Error: On page 503 of the UK edition, the book mistakenly reads, “‘Dumbledore, come!’ said Crouch angrily.” 1]
The Problem: The character Barty Crouch Sr. had already gone missing much earlier in the plot (on page 485). The line was actually supposed to be spoken by the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. 1]
The Response: Laila’s mother emailed the publisher, Bloomsbury, who admitted the mistake and stated they were "very upset that this error went unnoticed until after printing". 1]
The Radio 4 Connection & Refund Demand
Following the discovery, the story was picked up across British national media, including newspapers and BBC Radio 4, where the logistical absurdity of the error—and whether such a mistake warranted a product refund or book recall—was discussed.
A spokesperson for Bloomsbury publicly responded to the wave of children writing in, noting that it would be "very unusual to withdraw books because of such a small error," especially given how many millions of copies had already been printed. Ironically, rather than making the books worthless, these uncorrected first editions with the "Crouch misprint" became highly sought-after collectors' items.