The seller who put up that non-existent Groo book on Amazon for $999 assured me it was a "software error" and that they would take it down. They haven't yet. But many of you have written me to note a lot of Amazon offerings with the same problem. They all seem to be books that were announced but delayed…and though they've yet to be printed, some seller is offering used copies in "acceptable" condition for $999 each.
A couple of folks have written me with varying degrees of insight. All suggest that it was a software error; that many Amazon sellers use a program that uploads and prices their listings, and that said software has a problem with some items that missed their scheduled release dates. It sometimes doesn't recognize that they didn't come out.
So, uh, why is it so sure that the seller in question has X number of copies in a certain, specified condition? I am told the weird pricing is because the software looks at other sellers who list the same book and it bases its prices on theirs. If no one else has the book, it somehow can't handle that possibility and so defaults…to $999. No one has yet explained why it thinks that the seller's copies (which the seller doesn't have) are in "acceptable" condition but I guess that's a way of hedging one's bet or something.