autographed copy?

[HermioneWeasley]

i visited a used books store in my town recently(i live in the U.S.) and they had an autographed copy of Harry Potter for sale. It was a British edition of book 6 and cost $700. I didn't look at the signature, but even if i did i don't think it would do much good, i'm not an expert. do you think this is a fake or not? i mean, it's not sold online but at a used books store. however, seeing as it is a british edition, how did it get over to the US? is the price reasonable or too good to be true? is there a chance of this being authentic?

 

[StillILearn]

My first impulse is to say, if you're not an expert and you don't have access to the advice of one, save yourself the $700.00.

 

[Miss Shelf]

Besides, autographed copies are only good if they're rare, and first editions. A first edition, signed, of the first book is worth investing in, but probably it's at an astronomical price.

As for first editions unsigned, I wouldn't bother collecting those, since in a few years, after the last book in the series has come and gone and the fuss over Harry Potter has died down, I don't think you'd be able to unload any copies at all, there are too many floating around. Maybe in a hundred years, though.

There are lots of ways a British edition gets over here, chief of which is a person on vacation in the UK picking up a book and bringing it home.

 

[venusunfolding]

you can get British versions online, and I have friends that collect British versions of the Harry Potter books as well. It's easy to get British versions in the US.

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

I don't think that it is worth spending $700 on it personally. As Miss Shelf said, they are only valuable if they are first editions and rare, and I'm quite sure that there are a lot of people who have put away signed first editions of the 6th book. They won't be rare for a long, long time and by then Pottermania would have died down a whole heap.