Marketing eYe

a biztactics.com blog | by Ankesh Kothari

Also read: Marketing Stories

Subscribe to Business Bullet
Receive blog updates And hidden articles

How to Sell a Piece of Wood for $1.63 Million

From the files of Craig Arthur

What is a 34 inch piece of wood worth? Ok, we all agree not much.

What if we turn that piece of wood into a baseball bat? What is it worth now? Ok, a bit more. Let’s say $100.

So how can we now increase the value even more?

The baseball bat (a 34 inch piece of wood ) Babe Ruth swung to hit the first home run out of the New Yankee Stadium on April 18th, 1923, sold at auction on December 3rd 2004, at Sotheby’s in New York, for $1.63 million (Australian).

Touted as the Holy Grail of sporting memorabilia, the bat was donated by Ruth as top prize in a newspaper’s high school home- run hitting contest. Victor Orsatti, the boy who won the contest, preserved the bat for eight decades, willing it to his caretaker, who had kept it until now.
- The Townsville Bulletin Saturday December 4th 2004

This piece of wood has a history, a story. It is the link… the key… the portal… to another time… another place. Its buyer is paying $100 for the 34 inch piece of wood and $1,629, 900 for the story, the history behind the bat.

Raw Materials = $

Raw Materials + Labour = $$

Raw Materials + Labour + *A Story / Emotion = $$$$

*The higher the Impact Quotient of your story, the more value is added to your product or business.

Does your product or business have a story to tell? Are you telling it?

Or are you simply doing price and product advertising just like your competitors?

Email Post to a friend

Posted on 12/23/2004 | Permalink | |