The Latest in Bootleg…Guess What?

First it was bootleg designer handbags, perfume, jeans, videos and DVDs, now books, or to be specific…Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, bootlegged in an English version by Chinese pirates. The softback copy of Rowling’s novel, cleanly printed on slightly rough paper, costs 40 yuan ($5.30) — 30 after bargaining — while a legitimate copy sells in local bookstores for 210 yuan for a British edition and 218 for the U.S. version.

Reuters reports on pirates successful attempts to siphon off a bit of the Harry windfall.