Does Anybody Know...

Two questions for the world at large:

Does anybody know where I can get a true region-free DVD player?
(Preferably region free out of the box, rather than "buy this version and yank out these wires" if I can avoid it.) Because thanks to hildy I have just discovered that not only are there two seasons of a remade Randall and Hopkirk, Deceased series out there on DVD, but the entire first series (not just the first season) is available on DVD.

If you're English.

If I get Comcast cable I'll have a shot at collecting the remake, but at this point it's probably less money in the long run to get the DVD player and buy disks of Brit series as I discover/desire them.

Does anyone know a really reputable collectable/rare book dealer?
(this question xposted to tbr_bookshelf)
Note: for a good one, I'll go out of town. I need someone who knows their modern stuff and can be trusted.

Y'see... last night maureen_the_mad & I threw a little post-4th party, and during the conversation, one of the people there said that one of his friends had called to brag to him that she had a Harry Potter book worth $5,000. Before Harry Potter took off in America, Scholastic came out with a version that wasn't numbered on the spine (with the thought that if it tanked, they wouldn't deal with the rest of the series.) That short-run first American edition is now, according to this friend-of-a-friend, worth 5 grand.

Now, lets rewind 7 years, to when I read this little article in the Post about this kid's book that was so popular in England that they came out with two covers so adults could read it and thought, as I so often do, "Sounds cool. I'll go buy it." Found it in Crown (for 30% off), so I picked it up. As Doug talked, I pulled my copy down and we took a look at it.

I have the rare edition.

In excellent condition.

With pristine dust jacket.

SIGNED!

Not trusting to party chatter, I went online. A quick websearch shows one page that says it's worth $3,500, and another page that says it's worth up to $8-10,000.

A couple of my friends say I should hold onto it, that it will only become more valuable as time goes on. Me, I figure I've got another rare old book (a Nancy Drew worth around $100) that I can brag about. Nancy's value will remain stable; I've got no idea how long Pottermania will last or if it will fade away like beanie babies. If I can knock a decade off my mortgage payments with a book, I'm selling that bugger so fast...

But to whom? How?

If anyone knows a good book dealer, please send me their contact info. For this, I'll travel to Chicago or NYC; if this thing is worth what they say, I'll make plenty enough to pay back a cheap plane/train ticket.

I don't have an icon for "gobsmacked" so I'll have to go with "fainted from shock."

ETA: I'm pretty sure my "Chamber of Secrets" is also a 1st Am. Ed., as I remember kicking my butt for not picking up the Brit edition at Balticon that year and thus being impatient to read it ASAP. According to the same sites it's worth a lowly $200-odd... if I part with one, I'll part with both, 'cause - DAMN! I can buy a new pair of American hardbacks with the price of Chamber and still have cash left over.

Hmmm....

A look at ebay shows deflatingly that 1st Amer. Ed. Harry Potters are being sold for $100 and under. (They also show some Nancy Drews for seriously under value.)

While bearing my parent's dictum about collectables in mind ("Only buy them if you like them for themselves. Because the worth is not what's put on paper, it's what someone will put in your hand.") I'm still going to talk to book dealers - the people who would really know if there's someone out there willing to pay up to 5 figures for it. At this point, I have nothing to lose. If I can't get rich off it, I keep it, hooray. If I can get rich off it, I sell it - HOORAY!

I can't lose. I like bets like that.

In other news, I feel oddly rudderless. I still have a few odds and ends to do before Shore Leave (like, say, pack) but other than that, I'm done. The awards are done. The carbonless forms are done. The database at long last is done, tested, *and* burned onto a CD. I'll only have to enter 10 fields of information (4 of which are rarely used), and it turns out that I do have the ability to both edit the data and to sort it. (This is a surprise because I bailed on learning Microsoft Access or relearning Filemaker Pro and am instead perverting the uses of Word's mail merge feature.) This means that I can enter the data all day long as it arrives, sparing myself a blort of typing all at once - I can enter and sort by entry number well after initial data entry.

I'm... done. Aside from the point of actually doing, but y'know what I mean. The prep is over. The con itself is nigh.

I don't really know what to do with myself now!

Aside from read. Current book: Wee Free Men, because Terry Pratchett is inevitably good for what ails ya.

Harry Potter Specifics

Forgive this method of broadcast, but it's easier than emails, and can be pointed to/copied as necessary.

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE
Near fine condition, original dust jacket.
Signed (not personalized) on title page. Signing was done at National Press Club (i.e., yes, it's a real, verifiable signature)

Copyright page says:
"7 9 10 8 8 9/9 0/0 01 02
First American edition, October 1998"

Original price $16.95

DJ - original. Has "51695" on back next to ISBN. There is NO "Year 1" on the DJ or spine of the book.

(If I understand correctly, this means that it's the first edition, but not the first printing.)

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
Fine condition, original dust jacket
No signature

Copyright page says:
"10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 9/9 0/0 1 2 3 4
First American Edition, June 1999"

Original price $17.95

There is NO "Year 2" on the DJ or the spine of the book

(I'm pretty sure this is a first printing, first edition)