The unfinished Roald Dahl children’s story that went up for auction on eBay last week fetched $1,900 for Jerry Biederman, who has owned the document and the rights to the story since 1982 when he paid Dahl $200 for its use in the proposed Do-It-Yourself Children’s Storybook. “I know that’s not what the story is worth,” Biederman said of the relatively low sale price. Before putting The Eyes of Mr. Croaker on eBay, however, Biederman researched the market for similar items and found that prices have dropped considerably. “I was prepared for this, and I’m just pleased that the piece went to a good home.” The two typed pages were purchased by Robert Utter, owner of the Other Tiger Bookstore in Westerly, Rhode Island.

Although the Roald Dahl estate confirmed that Biederman owns the rights to The Eyes of Mr. Croaker, a recent attempt by the Times of London to sponsor a contest for children in the U.K. to complete the story was met with displeasure by Dahl’s family. “The Times wanted to buy the rights to the story and run a big contest for Christmas,” Biederman said. “The estate is very protective of their brand, though, and they got upset. My original agreement with Dahl was to only use the piece in the Do-It-Yourself book. So in the end, we backed off.”

A few literary agents have approached Biederman since the eBay auction ended, and he hopes to find a publisher for The Do-It-Yourself Children’s Storybook in the New Year.