O.J. book burns up the resale market
PUSSS...@aol.com
O.J. Simpson's book, If I Did It, may have been scrapped by its
chagrined publisher, but purported copies have been offered for sale
online - briefly.
Two major online marketplaces for new and used books, Alibris.com and
Biblio.com, removed listings for the book Friday after it was offered
at prices up to $5,499. And eBay, the online auction site, has removed
at least eight listings, the latest Tuesday. At least one early eBay
listing went undetected, and the book sold for $50.
Alibris CEO Martin Manley says, "It's a disgusting book, and we don't
want to sell it," even if "people may have a right to sell it." He
wasn't aware of the listings until a reporter called.
Catherine England, eBay spokeswoman, cited policies aimed at offensive
items and "murderabilia."
"Out of respect for murder victims, eBay may remove items closely
associated with murder cases dating over the last 100 years," she says.
"We reached out to the publisher who holds the copyright; they said
they did not intend to distribute this book."
Biblio.com didn't respond to messages.
At AbeBooks .com, listings have been blocked since publisher
HarperCollins warned in an e-mail that copies "may have been stolen or
otherwise obtained without authorization."
After an outcry last month, HarperCollins said it would destroy all
copies of the book, which was touted as Simpson's hypothetical story of
how he would have killed his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her
friend Ron Goldman.
According to a HarperCollins editor at the time, 400,000 copies were
printed. Spokeswoman Erin Crum won't confirm that now or say how many
copies have yet to be returned or destroyed. She did say, "The books
are property of HarperCollins and should be returned to us." And, "we
haven't sued anyone yet but reserve the right to do so."
Martin Garbus, a New York lawyer who has represented publishers and
authors, says it could be hard to prove the books are stolen "since
there was a window of time between distribution and recall. If someone
buys a book, they have a right to resell it," he says.
AbeBooks spokesman Richard Davis says he's not surprised by the asking
prices: "The rare-book business is defined by supply and demand.
Clearly, the supply of O.J.'s book is extremely limited."
One of the would-be sellers, who asked not to be identified, told USA
TODAY he bought 11 copies for about $12,000 from a "guy who knows a guy
who works in a bookstore." (Attempts to verify his books as authentic
were unsuccessful.)
He says he "privately" sold three at prices ranging from $2,500 to
$5,000, but he hasn't read the book.
The seller says he believes in free speech, opposes the destruction of
books and doesn't want to be identified for fear his desire to make
money reselling the book will be interpreted as "evil."
Agent Smith
news:1165848550.3...@16g2000cwy.googlegroups.com:
> By Bob Minzesheimer and Maria Puente, USA TODAY
> AbeBooks spokesman Richard Davis says he's not surprised by the asking
> prices: "The rare-book business is defined by supply and demand.
> Clearly, the supply of O.J.'s book is extremely limited."
>
> One of the would-be sellers, who asked not to be identified, told USA
> TODAY he bought 11 copies for about $12,000 from a "guy who knows a
> guy who works in a bookstore." (Attempts to verify his books as
> authentic were unsuccessful.)
>
> He says he "privately" sold three at prices ranging from $2,500 to
> $5,000, but he hasn't read the book.
Somebody needs to scan this thing and put it online, where we can *all*
steal a copy.