The hit movie Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe has clearly renewed interest in the classic novels by C.S. Lewis. Terapeak Marketplace Research, a research firm specializing in the eBay platform, reports that The Chronicles of Narnia jumped 51 spots to number one on their Hot 100 eBay book list.
Terapeak found 110 copies of the softcover version of The Chronicles of Narnia listed on eBay the week after the film hit North American screens on December 10th. This is up from just 13 listings at the end of October. Listing Success, a good measure of demand for items on eBay, also jumped 18% over the same period.
In all, 893 copies of Narnia books (paper, audio, and box sets) were listed on eBay the week of December 10th to 16th, with an average price of $28.24. During the last week of October, there were only 213 Narnia listings on eBay, and they had an average price of $22.48.
You may be wondering how sales of other novels were impacted by the big-screen versions this holiday season. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has already grossed more at the box office than the previous two Harry Potter films, but sales of the novel have been consistently strong on eBay. All six Harry Potter books (plus the box set and audio versions) are currently in Terapeak’s Hot 100, with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince leading the way at #3.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden could also be found on movie screens this Christmas. eBay sales of the novel have jumped slightly, climbing nine spots on Terapeak’s Hot 100. The Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice was also adapted into a major motion picture in December. However, eBay sales of the book have actually decreased since October!
Terapeak Marketplace Research has developed the most advanced research tool for analyzing eBay consumer transaction data. With over 1.4 Billion transactions in 2005, eBay is the most reliable consumer activity index in the world.