The torch design for the 2010 Winter Olympics was inspired by the lines carved into the snow by skiers and the undulating beauty of the snowy Canadian landscape. The torch design for the 2010 Winter Olympics was inspired by the lines carved into the snow by skiers and the undulating beauty of the snowy Canadian landscape. (VANOC)

A profitable market for used torches has sprung up online, with 100 days to go before the Olympic torch relay arrives to light the opening of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

A man in Greece posted one of the first ads on eBay shortly after the first stage of the relay ended there, offering to sell a torch for $2,700.

Since then, a Vancouver runner has posted a note on Craigslist, offering to sell a torch to the highest bidder — once they finish their leg of the run and show it off to their friends and kids at a local school.

Despite the hefty price tags, demand already seems to be outpacing supply, with at least three people placing ads looking to buy torches, offering up to $2,000.

This is not the first time torches have sold online: a Torino Winter Games torch from 2006 reportedly fetched $1,000 online and a Beijing Summer Games torch netted $3,500.

Sellers may change their mind

While organizers of the 2010 Olympics and the torch relay say they are disappointed the torches are already selling online, Andrea Shaw, the vice-president of sponsorship with VANOC believes most torchbearers will hang on to their souvenirs.

"I've been fortunate enough to do it twice and it is powerful. I don't think they anticipate the impact," said Shaw.

"Once you've run with that torch in your hands and been part of the flame and part of igniting the country ... I certainly can't imagine selling a piece of history, especially once you've been part of it," she said.

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Bombardier is making 12,000 of the torches for the runners, who can buy them for $350 after their run.

But anyone planning to use the Olympic souvenirs as a barbeque starter, for example, will be disappointed — each of the torches has its fuel cartridge removed and its fuel line cut before being returned to the runners.

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games will open in Vancouver on Feb. 12, after the flame completes its 45,000-kilometre relay across Canada and back. The relay began on Oct. 30 in Victoria after the flame arrived by plane from Greece.