O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It" appears on eBay

[moomies]

O.J. Simpson Book 'If I Did It' on eBay: High Bid $1 Million
By Jon Shanks
Nov 23, 2006

The O.J. Simpson book 'If I Did It' is now on the online auction site eBay and the high bid at this hour reads a stunning $1 million. One can only assume that is a fictitious bid and will be pulled.


O.J. Simpson Book 'If I Did It' on eBay: High Bid $1 Million

One may also guess that eBay may pull the book as well.

***

Still at this hour it is online and available to the highest bidder according to seller soup414 of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The seller has but the one copy according to the description and will not divulge where he received the book.

The book has been recalled and certainly this will not be the only book for sale online.

***

Reuters has an earlier report of what appears to be another copy of the book. The wire service reports that a copy of the book, touted as an imaginary account of how Simpson would have killed ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994, was being offered on eBay on Wednesday from a seller in Texas.

"Up for auction is the authentic "IF I DID IT" book by OJ Simpson," the seller said in an eBay posting.

***

"Whether you think he is guilty or not a jury of his peers found him innocent, so who are we to judge. Anyway I received a true copy of this book, did not read it, do not want to read it, but want to sell it," the posting added.

According to that report - two hours after being posted, the book had received 40 bids, the highest at $1,500.

***

That book has now disappeared from the online auction service and was likely pulled. A good move by eBay, but it will be difficult to stop bootleg copies from being distributed.


Expect this one to suffer the same fate.
The listing for now is here (<-- link clickable)

source:
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman...72610032.shtml

[zillah.]

Interesting. The auction is still active right now and at $2,250. There have been tons of really high fake bids. I'm sure excerpts from the book will make their way to the media soon...

[Lobelia]

http://cgi.ebay.com/IF-I-DID-IT-OJ-S...QQcmdZViewItem

This guy is selling a picture of the cover of the book, but the description is kind of vague. I wonder how many people think they're actually bidding on the book?

And wow, at this moment, the actual book auction is up to $5,500

[UndercoverGator]

There are currently two copies of the book up on Ebay, sold only as collector to collector, which doesn't violate any laws or rules of Ebay. One is going for 20K and the other for 6K right now. Sick and twisted.

[Lobelia]

What does that mean, collector to collector?

[UndercoverGator]

Okay, it usually means that you're not selling any rights with it, like to republish any part of it or to use it for profit in any way. You are just selling the item as a curiousity to someone else who collects the same thing. No rights granted, you cannot be held as violating any copyright if it's sold just as a collector piece.

[Lobelia]

Ok, thanks.

Now the question is, how did he get it, and was it legal, hmmmm?????

[UndercoverGator]

There are always copies available of books for the media and other connected types before the book actually goes to print. Usually there will be a designation on the cover that it's a pre release copy and may not be sold for profit. That's why you could state you were selling from collector to collector and get away with it. It's a rarity and you're selling it as a rarity instead of just another book to read. Those are the ones that get sold collector to collector because sometimes things get slightly edited or changed before official publication. These are obviously advance copies that have ended up in the hands of either journos or publicists.

[Biatch]

I still call those people sick...why help him make any money???..

Like we don't know the story - chapter by chapter!!!

[AgentOrange]

I'm still waiting for some of Paris Hilton's vomit to surface on EBay.

[moomies]

Brown's Family Accuses eBay of Complacency


By WENN| Friday, November 24, 2006


HOLLYWOOD - Relatives of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown have slammed Internet auction site eBay for taking too long to remove his explosive new book from listings.

A single copy of the former football star's scrapped book If I Did It appeared briefly on the site on Wednesday, before being removed. The item attracted more than 50 bids of up to $1,600 before the sale was stopped.

Now the family of Brown, who was murdered with her friend Ron Goldman in 1994, has accused eBay of complacency over the delay.

Their attorney Natasha Roit says, "The voice of the American public was heard loud and clear by News Corp. and HarperCollins in recalling the books.

"We really need to stem the tide and get these books out of circulation because anything that's out there now is really hurtful to the family."

The online auction house has brushed off the criticisms, insisting it's doing everything in its power to remove copies from the site.

Simpson was paid a reported $3.5 million to write the book, a hypothetical description of how he would have killed his ex-wife and Goldman.

The project and a two-part TV interview on the subject were scrapped after criticism from the victims' families and mass public outcry.

source:
http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/3589790

[Lobelia]

Originally Posted by UndercoverGator

There are always copies available of books for the media and other connected types before the book actually goes to print. Usually there will be a designation on the cover that it's a pre release copy and may not be sold for profit. That's why you could state you were selling from collector to collector and get away with it. It's a rarity and you're selling it as a rarity instead of just another book to read. Those are the ones that get sold collector to collector because sometimes things get slightly edited or changed before official publication. These are obviously advance copies that have ended up in the hands of either journos or publicists.

Thanks for the explanation Gator. I don't know much about book publishing.

Have y'all noticed that the auction was ended early? Something about an error in the listing. If you look at the list of bidders you'll see some crazy, obviously fraudulent bids. Don't know if he'll list it again.

ETA: The explanation given says that the seller ended it, but is it possible that ebay made him end it?

[Moongirl]