Scholastic (US) Potter Books

Advance Reader Copies (ARCs)

An advance reading or reader copy, advance review copy, advance reader's edition, advance copy, or a reader's edition (ARC or ARE) is a free copy of a new book given by a publisher to booksellers, librarians, journalists, celebrities, or others, or as a contest or school prize, before the book is printed for mass distribution. These books, like the Bloomsbury proofs are not for sale to the public. In the case of the Scholastic ARCs, we are fairly certain that 3,000 Sorcerer's Stone ARCs were produced. Of the other two, we assume 3,000 were produced as well, but we don't know. I will say that the other two seem to be more common than the Stone ARC, but that can also be for a myriad of reasons. And you'll notice the cover art for the Azkaban ARC is checkerboard instead of the cover art (like you see with the other two). This is because the publication date for Azkaban was pushed up to meet the demand (and to keep US customers from ordering their books from the UK as they had with book 2). And since the date was pushed forward, GrandPre hadn't finished the cover illustration yet, so the checkerboard was used. Also, each ARC has the same copyright page as the 1st print, 1st edition trade.

Advance Reader Copies

ARC, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Advance Reade Copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer' Stone producd by Scholastic.

Advance Reade Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, produced by Scholastic.

Letter from the publisher inside the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, produced by Scholastic.

Close up of the backside of the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, produced by Scholastic.

Close up of the Note from the Publisher inside the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone produced by Scholastic.

ARC, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Front cover of the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, produced by Scholastic.

Backside of the Advance Reader Cop (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, produced by Scholastic.

Inside of the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets produced by Scholastic.

Close up of the backside of the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets produced by Scholastic

Close up of the front inside page of the Advanc Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and te Chamber of Secrets

ARC, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Front cover of the Advance Reader Copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban produced by Scholastic.

Backside of the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban produced by Scholastic.

Inside page of the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban produced by Scholastic.

First Edition Trades

The simplest way to define a first edition is that it is the first commercially distributed edition of that book. Sometimes first editions are called trades or first edition trades because they are traded or sold to the public via large bookstores like Waterstones, Foyles, Barnes & Noble and so on. It is also important to note that a first edition is NOT the same as a book club edition.

For the 1st US edition of Harry Potter, the title was changed away from Philosopher's Stone to Sorcerer's Stone after some back-and-forth with Jo. In October of 1998, there were somewhere around 30,000 - 35,000 first print, first edition Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone books released. Twenty-one years later, that same first edition is in its 100th print--a phenomenal feat.

The first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has changed over time as the book and series became more popular. For example, the first print was released with a price of $16.95 and now you can buy the 100th print, first edition for $27.00. There are other changes that have happened as well through time, like the addition of the "1" on the spine sometime around the 26/27th print.

First Editions

1st Print Stone

1st Edition, 1st Print Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1998)

1st Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, published by Scholastic.

*First Edition: VERY FIRST time the book has been published by ANY publisher; if another publisher picks up the rights, then people say First Edition (insert publisher's name) or just "publisher's name" edition.
*Trade: has a price on the book and can be purchased at bookstores, like Barnes & Noble; in the Potter books, the first edition trades are the most collectible (and sometimes valuable) over the book club and other later editions.

The Sorcerer's Stone First Edition trade is one that is usually misrepresented on eBay, as many people assume that because it's a first edition, it MUST be valuable and/or rare; however, that's not the case. Additionally, some people (easily) confuse the first edition trade with Book Club Editions (I will cover those later on).

Before discussing value, first, let's properly identify a first edition trade.
Book/Boards: a First Edition trade Sorcerer's Stone MUST have purple boards with bright red spine cloth; ANY other board colors and you don't have a first edition trade.

Spine: The spine top has gone through some changes, so sometimes you will see a book that is missing a "1" on the spine, or has other changes from the now common "Rowling / 1" on the spine's top.

A later print jacket from a 1st edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone published by Scholastic.

Jacket:

The First Edition trade jacket is textured and MUST have "Harry Potter" in RAISED gold foil lettering, a price to the upper front inside flap, and back bar code that is either cream or pink, and quote by either the Guardian or Publisher's Weekly.

The most valuable First Edition Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the First Print.
*First Print: VERY FIRST time the book has been printed EVER.

Identifying a First Print, First Edition (sometimes called 1/1 on eBay or other ecommerce sites) Sorcerer's Stone.
Book/Boards: Purple with red spine cloth.Spine says "J. K. Rowling" (no "1") at top.

The First Edition, 1st Print was issued in two separate jackets--the 1st state and the 2nd state; 1st state is the most desirable among collectors.
1st State Jacket: Textured with Harry Potter in RAISED gold letters; J. K. Rowling at Spine's top (no "1"); $16.95 price to the front inside flap; cream back bar code with 51695 above smaller bar code; Guardian quote to the rear.

2nd State Jacket: Textured with Harry Potter in RAISED gold letters; J. K. Rowling at Spine's top (no "1"); $16.95 price to the front inside flap; cream colored bar code with 51695 above smaller bar code; Publisher's Weekly quote to rear.

Copyright Page:

Number Line that reads "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" at the bottom with 8 9/9 0/0 01 02 / Printed in the U.S.A 23 / First American Edition October 1998 around it. ALL of this information MUST be present to have a first print. The "1" in the number line indicates that the book is a First Print; if the number line is missing the "1", but all the other numbers are present, you'd have a 2nd print, b/c that's the lowest number in the line; a number line with just "10" is a 10th Print.

Note: The Book clubs also have this same copyright page; do NOT confuse the two--the book clubs do NOT have the purple boards with red spine cloth. And don't worry, I'll cover the Book clubs later :)

Value of the 1st Edition Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:
MANY people are under the impression that ALL first Edition Sorcerer's Stone are rare and or valuable; however, that's just not the case. There were approximately 30,000 - 35,000 First Print Sorcerer's Stone books printed; the book, last time I checked a few months ago (January 2021), the First Edition Sorcerer's Stone was in its 106th Print, meaning there are 105 prints AFTER the first print, with each subsequent print run being larger than the last. Essentially, there are millions of these books in circulation and only about 30,000 of then have any real collectible and monetary value. Currently, a 1st Print, 1st Edition Sorcerer's Stone in Very Good or better condition is selling on eBay from $800 or higher; they've sold for much higher and lower than this number as demand and markets fluctuate. But, of all the First Editions, this is the one that will retain its value the best.

Second Print Sorcerer's Stone (Number Line 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 5 2):
Many people assume that because the First Print sells for $800 or better on average, that the 2nd print will bring close to $500 or better. It doesn't. People don't want to spend a lot of money on a 2nd print when they can save for a 1st.

Second Print Sorcerer's Stone books can be found in a 1st state jacket (with Guardian Quote), and these generally sell better than the 2nds in 2nd state jackets because sometimes people just want to own a Guardian quote jacket and don't think they can afford a 1st print. 2nd prints are also found in 2nd state jackets (Publisher's Weekly Quote). These typically don't do as well because it's just not nearly as highly desired. As far as value, in Guardian Jacket and Very Good or better condition, a 2nd Print Sorcerer's Stone can bring $300 or better right now, and maybe a bit higher on average; $300 is average for this book at the moment (01/21). a 2nd print in 2nd state Jacket in Very Good average condition typically goes for around $100 average.

Prints 3-10: The Sorcerer's Stone jacket actually changes once again to third state jacket sometime around prints 3 and 4. The J. K. Rowling was dropped from the spine top and replaced with Rowling; still no "1".

A Very Good or better 3rd Print (Number Line 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4) in 2nd State Jacket (J.K. Rowling to spine) on average is selling for around $100 - $150. A 3rd print in 3rd State Jacket (Rowling to spine top; no "1") sells for about $75 on the top end.

4th Print (Number Line 5 7 9 10 8 6 4) in 2nd State jackets (these happen, but are more rare than the 4ths in 3rd state jackets) sell for around $75 and 4th prints in 3rd State jackets (Rowling to spine top; no "1") sell for around $60.

5th Print: Currently, there is a 5th Print on eBay for a few hundred dollars; but at least at this time (and for the foreseeable near future), an unsigned 5th won't bring that. A 5th print in Very Good or better usually sells around $50-$60.

6th Print: The majority of these prints were issued without the diamond embossed purple boards, making them a fun book to own. In Very Good or better condition, these can go for $60 or so.

7th - 10th Prints: these can bring anywhere between $35 - $60 condition depending. These prints are fairly common and can be found somewhat easily if hunting through eBay or ecommerce sites; Do NOT overpay for them; they are around :)

11th - Current Prints: Current prints can be bought at Barnes & Noble and other stores as well and haven't entered into the secondary market yet--I've seen people try to sell these for $100 or better touting the rarity of the US first edition; it was a 106th Print, so not rare at all. The 11th - 106s can all easily be found for $30 or less with value decreasing as print number increases; of course condition and whether signed plays a factor in value, so make sure to keep that in mind while purchasing.

*All of these values are based on UNsigned books; Rowling's signature definitely ups the value; we will talk about those in another place here.

For more information, watch my YouTube Video OR read this Blog Post "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Book Club Editions–Valuable?".

For more information about US Potter Book Club Editions, check out This Video

For information about the Junior Library Guild (JLG) Book Club, Read On

20th Anniversary Edition

These lovelies were released in June 2018 to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which was published almost 20 years before in September 1998. The illustrations are lovely independently, but also work together as 1 beautiful illustration when all lined up together. The box set is also amazing!

20th Anniversary Editions