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The bid for a hockey puck used during the warm-ups before the Olympic gold medal hockey game was more than $500 hours before its auction deadline. (eBay.ca)Souvenirs from the Vancouver Olympics are going on the auction block, including everything from hockey pucks to signed player uniforms, medal trays, podiums and pool tables.
"One of the [gold medal game] pucks went for $6,100," said Dennis Kim, director of licensing and merchandising for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC).
It's not a problem for those who can't afford thousands of dollars for a gold medal game puck, said Kim. Pucks used in a Finland-Sweden game were going for a fraction of the higher-priced items.
"They'll be posted [Wednesday] and go for 10 days," he said.
People interested in purchasing items are directed from the Olympic website to eBay.ca, which is handling the actual auctions.
Also offered for sale are the handcrafted wooden podiums used during medal ceremonies, the mesh fabric gates used to mark downhill ski courses, even the little markers used on the speed skating course.
Those in the market for an item for the recreation room could bid on one of the pool tables from the Olympic Villages in Vancouver and Whistler.
"They were made specifically for the athletes," said Kim. "They have the Olympic marks on them."
VANOC said it expects to recoup more than $10 million.
"It's important for us to be financially whole and this is a great way for us to achieve that," said Kim.
Olympic cars for sale
Financially challenged carmaker General Motors is also in post- Olympics mode.
The company supplied 4,600 vehicles used in the Games, and they also were being sold off, although not in the VANOC online sale.
Buyers might have to line up behind some volunteer drivers who don't want to let go of the car they used to shuttle people around during the Olympics, said Greg Keith, vice-president of Dueck GM dealership in Vancouver.
"[They say], 'I want to buy that vehicle. You know, it's my car.' It's pretty cool," said Keith.
Keith said he would have 200 of the vehicles to sell in the weeks ahead at a discounted price and complete with stickers showing they were used at the Olympics.
The ultimate Games souvenir could be a condominium in the Olympic Village, occupied by the athletes during the February competitions.
More than 700 of the 1,100 units that housed athletes will be sold as condos, with the remainder to become rental housing. With some of the best views in Vancouver, the condos are expected to fetch anywhere from $400,000 to nearly $2 million for bigger units on upper floors.
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