Hundreds of copies of the latest Harry Potter book are being offered for sale on eBay by people who say the book was shipped early, and it has author J.K. Rowling fuming.

One copy is being offered for $250 US on eBay by "willpc" from Atlanta.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be officially released July 21.
(Raincoast)

"I don't work for a bookstore, and I don't have a magic wand — an online store shipped a copy early," said a statement from willpc.

Copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final instalment of the wizard-in-training series, were obtained by the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times newspapers. Both publications had reviews of the book in their Thursday editions.

"I am staggered that some American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children, who wanted to reach Harry's final destination by themselves, in their own time," Rowling said in a statement on her website.

Retailers were required to send out the book on July 20, in time for the official July 21 launch.

The early sales are just the latest in the Potter frenzy with fans posting page-by-page photos of the latest book.

Stores have signed contracts promising not to start selling Deathly Hallows before the official release date and time. Some retailers are using security guards to secure their shipments 24 hours a day.

Scholastic Inc., the book's U.S. publisher, announced Wednesday it was taking legal action against an online retailer and a distributor after learning that some individuals received copies of the latest book through the mail.

Scholastic says "one one-hundredth of one per cent of the total U.S. copies" have been shipped prematurely. With a print run of 12 million, that would mean about 1,200 copies.

As well, it has ordered Photobucket, which provides file-sharing services, and a social networking site, Gaia Online, to remove copies of the book posted on those sites. Scholastic has declined to comment whether photographs of the book are authentic.

The series has sold more than 325 million copies worldwide. Publishers of the book — including Canada's Raincoast Books, Scholastic in the U.S. and Bloomsbury in the U.K. — have fought a desperate bid to keep the final plot a secret. Rowling has indicated two main characters will die and that has only helped to fuel speculation on whether teen wizard Harry will win his battle against his evil nemesis Lord Voldemort.

"I'd like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know EVERYTHING!" pleaded Rowling on her website.