Amazon wants you to pay down their J.K. Rowling auction debt

So, J.K. Rowling sat down and wrote the fictional Tales of Beedle the Bard, which is a book inside the Harry Potter universe. She made seven copies of the book; six were given away as gifts, and the seventh, the "Moonstone" edition, was put up for auction. It was thought it would sell for around 100k, but Amazon.com ended up buying it for roughly $3.98 million bucks. Yow.

To Rowling's credit, the money all went to charity, but Amazon is now selling "deluxe" editions to the tune of $100 bucks a pop. Ouch. This is supposed to be a replica of Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore's own edition, which he willed to Hermione in Book 7. Is that a bit ridiculous? Perhaps just the asking price and the complete getup.

According to Amazon, "Tucked in its own case disguised as a wizarding textbook found in the Hogwarts library, the Collector's Edition includes an exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction, as well as 10 additional illustrations not found in the Standard Edition (which is only $7.59) or the original. Opening the case reveals a velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature, in which sits the piece de resistance: your very own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, complete with metal skull, corners, and clasp; replica gemstones; and emerald ribbon."

So, if you've got Harry Potter money burning a hole in your pocket, order away. But I'd suggest you buy the standard version and use that other $92 and change to look for a new hobby.

Comments

[JM]

I think you underestimate book collectors. Someone gave me a copy of the Sorcerer's Stone special edition as a celebratory gift and that was $100. They sold out and that was around the time only book 4 was out at the latest and none of the films!