Signed Epic goes for £20.01

The first copy of Epic sold for £20.01. I asked the seller where he got it from:

The book was purchased directly from the publisher who had the author sign them for me . So yes it is guaranteed authentic Regards Bill

I wondered how he was able to do this, his reply:

I do have contacts, as you can see from E-bay rating I've been selling books for a number of years now Regards Bill

I asked the publisher, O'Brien Press, whether they would sell me a signed first edition. So far there has been no reply.