According to his publisher, Dan “Da Vinci Code” Brown's latest book, The Lost Symbol, sold more copies in its first 36 hours than any other adult hardback sold in total. (A certain boy wizard is excluded by the artful qualifier, “adult”.) The sales of Brown's book were given a boost by an unprecedented price war. According to The Bookseller, an industry magazine, Waterstone's offered a mere 50 per cent discount – £9.49 instead of £18.99. Tesco asked £7 and Asda £5. Asda's book buyer celebrated “fantastic” sales, despite the fact that the store is thought to be losing £4 a copy. The old joke is made real: losing money on every sale, but making it up on volume.
據《達芬奇密碼》(Da Vinci Code)作者丹•布朗(Dan Brown)的出版商介紹，布朗新書《消失的符號》(The Lost Symbol)最初36小時的銷量，超過了其它任何一本成人精裝書的總銷量。（巧妙的限定詞「成人」把某個男孩魔法師排除在了外面。）空前的價格戰提振了布朗新書的銷量。行業雜誌《書商》(The Bookseller)的數據顯示，Waterstone's僅提供50%的折扣，從18.99英鎊降價至9.49英鎊。樂購(Tesco)要價7英鎊，阿斯達(Asda) 5英鎊。阿斯達的圖書採購員爲銷售「火爆」而歡慶，儘管據信，該店每售出一本書就虧損4英鎊。那個古老的玩笑成了事實：每筆出售都虧本，但卻會在銷量上得到補償。