James Bond Auction Heist
Several first edition copies of early James Bond novels were just sold at Dominic Winter’s auction house and the prices they got were staggering . First edition copies of each of the first three Bond novels were sold. Casino Royale went for £19,000, Live and Let Die went for £6,600 and Moonraker went for £7,200.
Now it is widely agreed that these early Ian Fleming works are among the most collectible modern first edition titles around, but seriously? Those prices are almost like thievery, the buyer could have saved themselves a mint by skipping the auction and buying from AbeBooks. Without all that bidding hassle they could buy Casino Royale first for £12,500, a Live and Let Die first for £5,700, and a Moonraker for £4,500.
Saving £10,100 which you could use to pick up first edition copies of Diamond’s Are Forver and From Russia, with Love and still have enough cash left over to take your favourite Bond Girl to the Caribbean for a week.
Just sayin’.
How true. I used to check Abebooks before bidding on Ebay. Once the bidding went past the price of a previously identified copy I would just bail out and buy it here.