Harry Potter first edition bought for 1p sells for £1000s

The book - signed for "Alexandra" by JK Rowling - was bought for 1p plus postage

A signed first edition Harry Potter book that was bought for 1p has been sold for £2,300 at auction.

Mark Cavoto had bought the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 1998 hardback online and was unaware it was signed by JK Rowling until it arrived.

The Derbyshire businessman owns about 1,500 Harry Potter books and makes a money by buying and re-selling them.

Auctioneers Hansons said a private international buyer bought it after a phone and online bidders' battle.

Mark Cavoto has 1,100 Harry Potter books in a warehouse and another 400 at home

The book went under the hammer at Bishton Hall in Staffordshire, on Thursday.

Mr Cavoto, from Buxton, said his sales succes began about 10 years ago when he decided to sell some of his daughter Holly's copies of the boy wizard stories.

"Three of them were snapped up within 20 minutes on eBay for £9.99 each," he said.

"It turned into a business. I started buying Harry Potter books for next to nothing at charity shops and online."

Hansons Auctioneers' books expert Jim Spencer said he gets about 50 emails a day from people who think their Harry Potter copy may be valuable

The father-of-five, who was buying about 10 Harry Potter books a day at one point, has bought and sold around 3,000 of them since.

This led to his chance first edition purchase that was signed: "To Alexandra (again!) J. K. Rowling".

The 51-year-old said it was Holly who opened it when it arrived.

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"She stared at me and said, 'Oh my God, it's been signed by J K Rowling - and it's a first impression'," he explained.

Following the sale, Mr Cavoto said: "The book sold at the top end of its estimate and I'm over the moon."

Jim Spencer, Hansons Auctioneers' books expert, said: "That's some return for spending one penny."

Mr Cavoto has already had one notable success - a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone from the opening title's second print run was sold to an Australian dealer for £4,600, after again being bought for only 1p.

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