In its inevitable piece on the aftermath of Harry Potter spoiler and copy proliferation, the Washington Post’s Monica Hesse tracked down Atlanta-based engineer Will Collier who, though only a casual Harry reader, had ordered an advance copy of DEATHLY HALLOWS off DeepDiscount. When the book arrived four days early, Hesse writes, Collier took immediate and responsible action: He placed it on sale on eBay with a reserve price of $250. Collier said the book was purchased yesterday by an editor at Publisher’s Weekly.
PW didn’t comment on Collier’s claim, to the post, and it remains unverified for now, but it’s interesting to note that he was interviewed extensively by Deputy Editor Karen Holt in a PW Daily piece about the embargo breach published yesterday. In fact, Holt also mentioned the Ebay sale, adding that Collier did so without reading the book and with harsh words for anyone who would reveal the book’s contents. “I think that’s pretty rotten,” he said. “When I was a teen-ager, I wouldn’t have wanted anyone coming out of a movie theater telling me, “Darth Vader is Luke’s father.” And yet, the righteous indignation of this comment seems to be at odds with Collier’s behavior to the Washington Post – offering a written account of his story, which he’d sentimentally titled, “I Was an eBay Voldemort,” to the paper for $300. They declined, and now we want to know what’s really going on here…