At least the Olympic flame burned brightly and strongly for the first two days. But on day three of the relay the flame went out as it was being carried through the Devon town of Great Torrington.

The torch was attached to the side of para-badminton star David Follett's wheelchair when the flame went out shortly before 10am.

It was not a complete disaster: the torch was re-lit using a backup flame that is transported around with the torchbearers. A spokesperson for the London 2012 organising committee blamed a malfunction within the burner and said it was not uncommon for flames to be extinguished.

The spokesman said: "The flame went out due to a malfunctioning burner. It is not uncommon for a flame to go out and this can happen for a number of reasons, for example, in extreme winds. We keep the mother flame alight in specially designed miners' lanterns so if the flame does go out for some reason we re-light it from the source of the flame."

The committee was also facing questions after it emerged that a woman taking part in the relay may have made up to £150,000 by selling her torch on eBay.

Sarah Milner Simonds, from Somerset, says she will pass the money on to charity but has received abusive emails and could be in for a frosty reception when her turn to carry the flame comes on Monday afternoon.

She is one of a number of runners who are selling their torches, which they can buy for £199 on the internet auction site. By Monday morning one torch bearer from Cornwall, where the relay began on Saturday, had received a bid of almost £40,000 for a torch.

Another torch from the Scottish leg of the relay, which does not begin until the middle of next month, is already on sale together with the bearer's "relay uniform". According to the description, 5% of the money made will go to charity.

It is not yet known if the bid Milner Simonds has received is genuine. She said she would put any money she made to the People's Plot, a west London community allotment.

There has been some surprise among onlookers that each of the 8,000 people taking part in the relay has his or her own torch. The flame is passed from one bearer to the next in what is being termed a torch "kiss".

A spokesman for the London 2012 organising committee said there was nothing they could do to prevent the sale of the torches or the white uniforms worn by relay runners. "The torches are the torchbearers' to do what they want with them. We hope they find a good home," he said.

There was some criticism when it was announced that torchbearers would have to pay £199 if they wanted to keep their golden torch, although organisers argued the cost was subsidised.

Another surprising element of the relay to some is the fact that the flame is not carried exclusively on foot but is transported for part of the way in a vehicle in "convoy mode" On Monday morning, the convoy – flanked by police outriders – was driven along the A30 from Exeter to Okehampton in Devon as the third leg got under way.

Later it was being carried by the former England cricketer Marcus Trescothick and farmer Tony Hill, 86, who was due to be a torchbearer at the 1948 Olympic games but had to dash to hospital instead with appendicitis.

Hill, a former cross-country runner, said: "I never thought I'd get another chance. It's a real honour. I've been doing a bit of jogging to get fit."

The convoy travelling with the flame is made up of 14 core vehicles. There are also sponsors, media and security vehicles plus a command car. A crew of approximately 350 people are set to be working on each day of the 70-day relay.

It wasn't just those who are running in the relay who are looking to cash in. The limited edition aluminium bottles of Coca-Cola being handed out by the soft drinks giant along the relay route as part of its role as a "presenting partner" were selling for upwards of £26 on eBay.

But despite concerns about some participants' efforts to make money from the event, the start appears to have been largely positive.

Police said the population of Cornwall doubled for the day when the relay began on Saturday and business leaders there estimated there had been a £1.1m boost to the economy. The test will be whether the crowds continue to appear over the days and weeks to come.