Giant Mutant Hermit Craze - Is It A Local Thing?

My LFS showed me an article about a month and a half ago about a guy keeping one of these. I want to say it was Coral Magazine, but I'm not 100%. He said he had to buy shells off ebay and the cost of the shells alone was way more than I would ever pay for a fish (and I have fish that I paid over a $100 for lol), I can't remember the exact cost. I'll have to see if I can find the article, I know he said he has already had a few asking for them after reading it, but he refuses to bring them in.