Book collector, Mark Cavoto, purchased a copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets from Amazon for just a penny, which ended up being a first edition signed by J.K. Rowling herself – if that’s not a bargain I don’t know what is.
Cavoto had no idea just how special this copy of the best seller was when he first purchased it, but now plans to sell the book on for an estimated price of £1,800-£2,500 at Hansen’s Auctioneers on December 12th.
As a father of 5, Cavoto exlained how his daughter, now 25, started a collection of Harry Potter books when she was a child, which became the start of his own interest, and subsequent business, in buying and selling Harry Potter books.
Now Cavoto is the owner of possibly the biggest collection in the world, consisting of around 1,500 Harry Potter books.
However, this isn’t the only success Mr Cavoto has had throughout his time selling Harry Potter books – he sold a copy of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone to an Australia dealer for a whopping £4,600.
Cavoto said he used this money to start Partworks Collectables, an online business that helps book collectors like himself complete their collections.
Jim Spencer, books expert at Hansons, explained how “We’ve had phenomenal success with Harry Potter books this year – so much so I’m still getting about 50 emails a day from people who think their copy may be valuable.”
