Massachusetts Man Figures Out How to Profit Off Snow

People are paying $89 for packages of 'historic' snow
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 25, 2015 5:38 AM CST
Updated Feb 25, 2015 9:46 AM CST
Massachusetts Man Figures Out How to Profit From Snow
Snow covers parked cars on Beacon Hill in Boston.   (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

In what must be one of the greatest sales feats on record, a Massachusetts man has managed to actually sell some of the absurd amount of snow that has fallen on the state this winter. Manchester-by-the-Sea resident Kyle Waring tells Boston.com that he got the idea for ShipSnowYo.com while shoveling the stuff, and he's now sold more than 100 16.9-ounce bottles of genuine Massachusetts snow for $19.99. Though the snow was treated with dry ice to lower its temp prior to shipping, many of the bottles melted long before they reached buyers around the country. But Waring says he is now selling 6-pound packages in insulated containers for $89, which will reach the customer in 20 hours, with enough snow remaining to make up to 15 snowballs.

So who's buying the stuff? Waring says it "seems to be corporations paying for the $90 product as a funny gesture, where the $20 one is regular consumers." He says there have been no complaints about snow melting in transit. "They understand that we want to clean up Boston, so even if it does arrive as water, they get a kick out of it," he told Boston magazine earlier this month. His website stresses: "We will not ship snow to any states in the Northeast! We're in the business of expunging snow!" (The site's occasionally snarky tone—"Trapped in our tiny ass apartments and dealing with 3 hour long commutes ... we desperately need your help getting this snow out of our city!"—isn't dissimilar from that of another notorious mail-order site.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X