Maria Greiner, the mayor of Steinach, a German village, stumbled upon the idea of selling snow to raise money for child cancer victims.
"It was completely by chance, like so much in life. But it was worth its weight in gold," Maria Greiner said.
She placed an advertisment on the eBay Germany site, that read: "Snow, impeccably white, soft, without any signs of use, fresh from the heavens and as much as you want."
Bidding was brisk, with a mail order clothes company in Frankfurt making the top bid of 1,420 euros (1,700 dollars) and smaller bidders securing smaller lots as hundreds of residents gathered in the village square to cheer on the auction.