We’re over half way through the 8,000 torch relay, which isn’t much of a relay as most of the time the Olympic Flame is being safely driven in convoy instead of being carried, but we thought we’d take a look at what the .
Gone are the days of the £150,000 unpaid items for Olympic Torches, in recent weeks more modest values are being achieved, but ones which in all likelihood are being paid. We used our favourite eBay research service, Terapeak, to discover the latest torch price.
The price to pay when buying an Olympic Torch
In order to discount commemorative copies of torches we discounted any selling price below £500.00 and also decided to ignore any sale prices over £50,000. You’d have to be mad to pay that much as the average selling price is way lower and with 8,000 torches being used there are likely to be hundreds sold over time. No need to throw money away!
Terapeak reveals that there’s a 90% sell through rate for Olympic torches, so demand remains high and the average selling price is £6,220. There are plenty of successful sales at prices below £2000 though so if you really do have to own a torch it’s worth bidding cautiously so as not to over pay. Certainly you shouldn’t be paying anywhere near to £6,220 unless a significant chunk of money is going through eBay for Charity and you’re feeling philanthropic.
Getting the best price when selling an Olympic Torch
If on the other hand you’re selling a torch then you need to differentiate your listing to get top dollar. Including your medal and running suit and the torch stand will definitely bump up the price as will donating a percentage through eBay for Charity. You want your images to be great and the more information you put about yourself and the leg you ran on appears to bump up the price. Don’t forget to add in international shipping to appeal to overseas buyers as most sellers won’t.
Ultimately if you want to sell your torch then cashing in now is likely to generate a higher price than after the games. Once the interest dies down (as can be seen from the prices torches from previous games are fetching) they won’t rise in price in the coming years. If you want to buy a torch don’t be in too much of a rush. Prices are only going one way and that’s down so bide your time and pick up a bargain. The torch will still be just a hunk of metal getting dusty and certainly won’t be worth what you paid for it any time soon.
