Fool for Proofs

How is it that an uncorrected proof of a book can be valued at 50 times a finished version?

From a piece in the Guardian...

ARCs will often have plain covers, or covers carrying publication information and quotes from those who have already seen the book. For a reader, the appeal of a proof is almost negligible. True, you may get to read the book a month or so before publication, but proofs are often uncorrected, unedited and sometimes even early drafts. A proof of Grant Morrison's non-fiction treatise on superheroes, Supergods, which I recently received, had whole sections that were changed in the final product. But proofs are, by their nature, of limited availability – which is why those who like to collect rarities in the book world trade them. But such trade is rife with legal grey areas – and the market is currently convulsed by one of its periodic kerfuffles.

There will be those who boggle at the item on eBay that has caused the latest flap. I certainly did. One uncorrected proof copy of Hannu Rajaniemi's critically-acclaimed science fiction debut The Quantum Thief can be yours for just … £275.

Even when seller Brito123 describes this "2010 Gollancz hardcover, London, UNCORRECTED BOOK PROOF" as "EXTREMELY SCARCE", it's hard to imagine why anyone would shell that much out for a book that you can pick up in a brand new paperback edition for £7.99 - £4.87 if you buy from Amazon.

Granted, no one appears to have taken the seller up on their offer yet, but the fact is, it's out there, at that price. Jon Weir, senior publicity manager at Gollancz, an imprint of Orion, expressed his puzzlement on Twitter, commenting that the book was being sold "with my press release in. I mean, it was a good press release, but not worth £275!!"