That - is - hilarious. Too bad the Little Green Footballs guy didn't get an early shipment too!

Kinda OT,

Now that your “secret identity” is out, I couldn’t help but poke around a little on eBay.

Your recent purchases definitely add to your geek cred!

CBS is just trying to cash in on the hype like everybody else. It just doesn't benefit them as much as some others like...

Deepdiscount.com clearly did this on purpose. They have gotten a huge amount of free publicity out of the whole transaction and they don't have to worry about being black listed because this is the last book. I am just shocked that more booksellers didn't do the same thing.

Also, Will has done pretty well out of the whole thing as well.

You gotta exploit the magic when it happens.

Kudos on the NRO article Will. Enjoy the dinner.

Is this "the" Eric Powers, late of 319 North College by any chance?

Will, congrats on everything. Great blog fodder.

let me get this totall straight:

1. Will orders book online.

2. Book reseller ships product, breaking with all that is right in the world, they shipped it ahead of schedule.

3. Will receives said book, making it in fact and in practice, "Will's book" even in these days of Digital rights, theres just no way around that one. You could have gone totally 'eveyln wood' read it quickly provided a synopsis on the blog and simply revealed every little detail about the book to the world, rendering the surprise factor useless. ( ala "Rosebud" is the sled, so save your money moviegoers!)

4. You quickly see an opportunity for making a little scratch, and promptly use the tools available to you. The very same tools available to anyone who is mobile enough to get off the sofa from any location on the planet earth.

5. The publisher who shipped the book to reseller freaks out, and naturally overreacts.

6. The reseller freaks out, and again, overreacts.

7. The auction provider freaks out, and yes, overreacts.

8. Will pockets 200+ dollars for all the fun, gets a write up in National Review, gets on CBS news.

9. AP, and EBay, the publisher all look like schnooks.

One book, one post, one auction.

That my friend, is a very good week.

I can only conclude from all the interest in this that the war in Iraq is going well, terror attacks in western countries have now fallen to the "Mohammed Salameh" level of recruit generating mockery rather than fear, the economy is great and unemployment is at an all time low, bird flu is not a problem after all, paris hilton is not in jail and off the cover of every periodical in the western world, tom cruise isnt impregnating anyone at the moment, Rosie o'donnell has lost her voice, valerie plame has no recourse, scooter libby isnt in jail now and wont be any time soon, cheney hasnt shot anyone recently, britney spears has all her hair and her kids are not sitting in her lap while driving, posh spice and david beckham are really just two more freaks living in LA and hardly likely stand out in that crowd, brad and angelina are currently out of the country prowling the orphanages of africa in search of another addition to the family and cannot generate headlines with the newest edition to the brood and CO2 levels are also down, despite everything Bush has done to bring them up.

ahem...

So I think you were just in the rotation at the right time, but it is fun to watch I have to admit.

It is. I stop in here occasionally, but have never commented.

I think the slowest news week was when Paris Hilton went to jail. This story, by contrast, at least has a modicum of respectability in that the whole hullabaloo surrounds a book that has gotten many children interested in reading.

Will,

Just curious, did the CBS folks ask you anything about the AP “lies” aspect of the story, or was it all Harry Potter buzz stuff?

After it's on CBS tonight, many senior citizens will get interested too, except they'll wonder how this could happen, how you get a book out of a computer, what ebay is and where did they leave their reading glasses.

Will, I don't think you mentioned in your earlier posts, did you have enough time to read it? :)

Funny! Funny! Funny!
CBS doesn't have Google...maybe the funniest thing I have ever read.

Will,

On second thought, maybe you are underestimating CBS. There are two other points that you could conclude:

One, having you on the show will cause your audience to tune in to watch and, I suspect, double or triple their ratings as a result.

Two, CBS researched you with the same fine tooth comb they have used for all other news events, including the war in Iraq.

What? Not a hard hitting story about the other news outlet claiming to have contacted you and the rampant problem of media loosing credibility?

Well, that's one way to get me to finally see Katie Couric's newscast. I'm doing it for you, Will.

You're on!

I just saw you on TV!

You should file suit against the literary agency and law firm that contacted eBay for tortious interference with the contract between you and eBay.

But what I want to know is -- did she really model Voldemort on Richard III???? I blogged about this interesting theory over on the blog that links from my name.

Ay yay yay.

Thanks, everybody. Pretty crazy day.

Regarding the AP story, I've been in touch with somebody... mmm, let's say very familiar with the situation, and I'll post an update to the original item directly.

Nice interview, job well done Will.

Cheers Brother

Ferris and Eric (Powers), you guys need to email me. Except for Ferris, who, er, already has.

Nice job, for some alleged critic of the MSM, slobbering all over himself with joy at the prospect of a few seconds on the evening news.

Gee, I missed it.

Here's Dex as a bigger ass:

Le travail de Nice, pour un certain critique allégué du MSM, slobbering partout lui-même avec joie à la perspective de quelques secondes sur les nouvelles de soirée.

Gee, je l'ai manqué.

Ruisseau Occidentaldroit

Please, just don't say "War Eagle!" on national TV.

What is truly amusing about it is that the vendor was DeepDiscount.com. As DeepDiscountDVD.com they have a horrible customer service rep. The only thing they have going for them is their prices, and the fact that you usually will eventually get what you order.

So I doubt they actually planned this, I'd blame it on incompetence.

No. CBS hasn't interviewed me yet.

re: CBS not having Google -- reminds me of once a few years ago I was browsing around the PCs at Best Buy or some place, and some empty-headed woman shopper asked me if I "had Yahoo" on my computer at home...

As DeepDiscountDVD.com they have a horrible customer service rep.

LIAR! I love(d) DeepDiscountDVD.com, and they always came through for me. And since I'm the only one who counts...

Will, nicely played.

BTW, here's a link to the vid:

http://showbuzz.cbsnews.com/sections/video/main500620.shtml?id=3078212n

30 sec commercial, then Will is about 35 sec into the main story.