Yesterday I explained the difference between Max Bid and Extended Bidding. I don't want to tell you what to do, but if you don't understand the difference between the two features (and most people won't...), you should read that post FIRST. +++++++++++++ Max Bidding doesn't work that well because most people aren't honest with themselves when it comes to putting in our "real" top bid. We put in a number that we "hope" to buy the item for. We don't put in what we are REALLY willing to pay, ... Read On >
Technology
Mobile bidding devices: Extended Bidding versus Max Bid
Back in 2010 I wrote about how handheld bidding devices were trendy. Later, I wrote about my gripes with the technology. Today we're readin' the auction dictionary. One point of confusion voiced by my clients’ stems around the definitions of two features often discussed in mobile bidding devices: Max Bidding and Extended Bidding. Each feature impacts your auction in a different way, though some planners are led to believe that if you have one feature -- namely, Max Bidding -- then that is ... Read On >
Electronic bidding devices: A list of vendors
About four years ago, silent auction electronic bidding devices hit land in the USA. It's been a race for promotion ever since. Nearly once a month I entertain a phone call from a new vendor, eager to show me his new state-of-the-art service. Interestingly, the technology was pioneered by European companies.1 Event-services company IML was the first to actively promote its offering to US-based charities. It didn't take long before their competition followed suit. With the US charity ... Read On >
Charity Auction Trends 2013: gift bags, technology, and trucks
Heads up! I published this article weeks ago in my e-newsletter. Only today am I re-posting it here, on my blog. But not every article from there makes it over here. So, subscribe to Benefit Auction Ideas (it's free) to get great content delivered to your in-box. +++++ Trends in the benefit auction world don't change as often as fashion, so upfront I'll admit that the three I identified in 2012 still hold. (Read Charity Auction Trends 2012 here.) But after working with over 100 onsite and ... Read On >
VIDEO: My gripe with some mobile silent auction solutions and online auction platforms
As I've talked with more vendors about their mobile silent auction solutions and online auction products, I've become disheartened to learn that most of them do NOT offer a key feature that is generally an accepted standard in the commercial auction world. It's not a "new" feature, but perhaps vendors servicing the charity auction market failed to understand how it can generate more dollars for charities. For whatever reason, it's been missing from most vendors' products. I hope that with ... Read On >