| "One of a kind" auction items will always perform well | | | | boy in the school had an opportunity to visit the |
| in an auction. A potato cannon ... made by the school's | | | | department at least once to see the cannon. |
| beloved maintenance department ... in an all-boys | | | | 2. The maintenance team named the cannon and |
| Catholic school ... is a perfect example of that. | | | | painted the name (which I've forgotten) on its side. |
| What is a potato cannon? True to it's name, the | | | | That gesture elevated the cannon's reputation. |
| cannon is designed to propel potatoes hundreds of | | | | 3. Prior to the auction, a "test" was conducted by the |
| yards. It's typically constructed of ABS pipe and uses | | | | maintenance crew to ensure their workmanship was |
| a can of hairspray as the propellant to launch the | | | | free of flaws. They launched a potato over the |
| potato. (For obvious reasons, this is probably not the | | | | gymnasium, beyond the lacrosse field, and into the |
| best gift to give a boy who lives in a city. Damage | | | | baseball diamond. What a great marketing idea to stir |
| would no doubt ensue...) | | | | up the talk around the school! |
| If you have the means to build a cannon, be sure to | | | | 4. In the maintenance department and at the auction, |
| market it appropriately. Here's what this school did to | | | | the cannon was marketed with a bag of ammunition |
| ensure the cannon sold like a rocket! | | | | and an instruction manual, written in both English and |
| 1. The cannon was displayed in the maintenance | | | | Spanish. The cannon was sold as a complete |
| department for two weeks prior to the auction. Every | | | | "batteries included" item. |