Although securing a private behind-the-scenes tour of any of the Smithsonian Museums is a fascinating donation, the Smithsonian Institution has two lesser-known research facilities that make for unusual benefit auction items. These work great in the silent auction or possibly the live. (I've written before about the popularity of research-related benefit auction items.) The Feather Identification Lab (jokingly called "CSI for Birds") of The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is one ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
Use signage (a bid board) to let silent auction bidders know they won
Here's one of the most common questions you'll hear from auction guests: "How will I know if I won anything in the silent auction? If I didn't win anything, I don't want to stand in the check-out line." How can you easily let bidders know they won? Relaying winning bidder information should become part of your silent auction checkout process. One option is to invest hundreds to thousands of dollars into technology so you can text or otherwise alert your winners, but that's a big ... Read On >
Buying a prize for a raffle? Consider Woot!
When your conducting a raffle, the best prize is often one which is donated. But if no appropriate donations are forthcoming, another option is to buy an inexpensive prize with the understanding that your modest investment will be handsomely rewarded in ticket sales. Consider shopping (or at least monitoring) the Website Woot for an appropriate prize for a raffle. Woot sells one product per day, and prices are worth watching. Here's how Woot works. Woot sells one product per day until it's ... Read On >
Sherry takes 3rd at the Virginia Auctioneer Championship contest!
Each year in August, the Virginia Auctioneers Association (VAA) hosts its Mid-Year Seminar for all auctioneers (VAA is not just for benefit auctioneers in Virginia ... it's all specialties.) During the day are continuing education classes. I was the first speaker of the day, teaching the class of ~65 auctioneers how they can set up their own benefit auction businesses. In the early evening -- when summer heat is at its worst -- we make our way over to N&W Salvage Auction Warehouse where ... Read On >
Auction Item Idea: Heavy Equipment Training School
I love to learn. I believe that any subject can be interesting -- an adventure, really -- if you simply have the right teacher. I've undertaken dozens of classes over the years just for the pleasure of learning. (Auctioneering school was one of those classes.) Tonight while driving back from a client meeting, I passed a training academy which was so unusual it made me whip my neck around to read the sign again. Call me crazy, but this could be a unique auction item idea for the live or silent ... Read On >