Enterprising Individual Selling Michael Jackson Tribute Edition of Haute Living on eBay

It can be hard to get your hands on a copy of Haute Living, which is the way we designed it. We don’t offer subscriptions any longer, and our direct distribution model ensures that the magazines only end up in the hands of the most affluent individuals in each of our markets.

This past summer, following the untimely death of superstar Michael Jackson, Haute Living Los Angeles published a special tribute issue. On the cover was a never-before-seen photo of Michael, snapped by Haute Living Fashion Editor Tatijana Shoan, at a private event. For the cover article, I sat down with Al Malnik, the famous lawyer, businessman, and restaurateur whom was one of the few people Michael trusted wholeheartedly, enough so that Malnik was asked to be the godfather of Michael’s youngest son, Blanket. This was only the second time Malnik spoke out following Michael’s passing, and he shared his personal history with the legend with Haute Living in hopes of setting the record straight about the private life of this public figure. He opened up his personal photo archive, and sent us never-before-seen photos of Michael at moments when his guard was down, which we shared with our readers. The issue also includes reflections from a number of celebrities who shared their thoughts on Michael’s passing, as well as Tatijana’s recount of the night she met Michael and took the stunning photo that ended up gracing our cover.

Obviously, interest in this particular edition was very high, so it’s not surprising that one enterprising individual is selling one of the rare copies on eBay. Currently, bids are up to $51 (the cover price was $20), and the auction is ending in a few hours. So if you are not one of the chosen few who get Haute Living delivered to your door, or if you don’t fly private and pick us up in one of the 180 private airports we are distributed in across the country, you can try bidding on this copy. Which gets me thinking: we have some copies in our archives…maybe it’s time for me to try to turn a profit as well.

UPDATE, March 19: The winning bid was $66.99, more than three times the original cover price.