Thai newspapers featuring the death of Michael Jackson are for sale on eBay.
Copies of many of the country's newspapers including The Bangkok Post, The Nation, Thai Rath and Daily News have been posted by several users.
Prices vary. One copy of The Bangkok Post can be yours for US$9.99 with free shipping. That's more than ten times the cover price. The 'Buy It Now' price for a copy of Thai Rath or Kom Chad Leuk is US$24.95, also with free shipping, which equates to 840 baht. The cover price of either is just 10 baht.
Have your say. Are these sellers trying to cash in on Jackson's death or have they spotted what could be a good business opportunity?
I will kick off the debate.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's anything wrong although I can understand if some people will be offended. Newspapers that feature momentous events are big business, and it could easily be argued that the Thai newspapers have missed an opportunity by not offering something similar already. Newspapers covering disasters are also highly collectible. I recall ones immediately after 9/11 being sold for hundreds of dollars.
The sellers' motives are easy to understand and it's a legitimate enterprise but what makes people buy these things?
ReplyDeleteAssembling a creepy shrine to Michael Jackson is odd thing to do but I guess we shouldn't be too surprised by the buying decisions of his deranged fans.
The 9/11 thing is harder to understand because there's no good reason to display a framed front page of the towers coming down unless you happen to be a terrorist.