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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Consignment items for fundraisers are plentiful. Even when you order less.
Oct 29

Consignment items for fundraisers are plentiful. Even when you order less.

Sherry Truhlar 4 Comments

consignment items for fundraisers Dan MarinoIn two weeks, I’m teaching a FREE teleclass on auction procurement and how you can get donated items without leaving your house.

(Click to register for my Seven Procurement Secrets no-cost call.)

I’ll be writing about procurement until then. Today I’m sharing a short story about consignment items for fundraisers.

++++++++++++++

Here’s a quick story about consignment that clients tell me again … and again … and again … and again … and you get the idea. 

While working for a small gala in Florida recently, I was surprised in the silent auction room. Given the crowd size and overall size of the silent auction itself, there were a lot of sports memorabilia items. Way too many.

Knowing that the group had a connection to the Miami Heat, I didn’t look too much at those items. But good grief … all this other stuff?!

I tracked down one of the organizers. “Did you end up working with a consignor? Where did all this stuff come from?”

“Yes,” she said, “but he sent more than we ordered. In the rush of preparing for last-minute gala details, I just thought maybe my team member told him it was OK. But when I checked with her, she thought maybe I’d told him it was OK. But by then, our team already arranged everything on the tables.”

The nonprofit was sent over 30% more items than they’d ordered.  

consignment items for fundraisers Miami Heat MVPI can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard a client share a similar story. 

  • “We told him we wanted X, Y, and Z. But when Shelly went to pick it up, they’d also boxed up A, B, and C.”
  • “We told Tracie that we only need a FEW items, but that guy convinced her that all of these were top sellers, and she brought everything back!”
  • “I don’t think we need all that jewelry, but they told us they usually put 25 items on the table.”

In the last minute rush to finalize everything, my client couldn’t avoid this … but here’s a suggestion if this happens to you: Don’t include extras. 

Some consignors may urge you to put out everything, reminding you that you’re not being charged for it unless it sells. 

But having all that extra stuff on the table does hurt you. It doesn’t hurt the consignor (they stand to gain from the extra visibility in dominating the auction; they have better odds), but it impacts you in other ways.

  • Most groups are trying to sell too many items in their silent auction anyway. Adding more stuff reduces the competition for the merchandise you DO have. High supply and low demand deflates prices. 
  • Space is often in short supply in silent auctions. Items get cluttered as there is not enough room or tables to properly display everything. Instead of having nice displays with good spacing, your silent auction displays cramp up, resembling a garage sale. Do people spend a lot of money on items at a garage sale? Not where I’m from. You’re setting yourself up for failure by presenting items as if you are a garage sale. Crowding devalues all items.
  • Having more items is more work for your display team. Even if you’ve got the space, you’re now taking their time and energy to get the bid sheets together, box up the items, move it to the venue, set it up, tear it down, and send it back if it doesn’t sell. 
  • Your auctioneer and the team promoting the silent auction items should be promoting items that are 100% donations, so let them know what isn’t. My crew is told to sell donations first, then turn to consignment. (Incidentally, some full-service consignors will send someone to your event to sell their own items.  I love that!)

I’m sure you and your auctioneer put some thought into how many silent auction items you should have, and what types of items would appeal to your crowd. Stick to your guns.

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Copyright © 2013 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Comments

  1. Susan says

    February 20, 2019 at 7:14 AM

    How do you price consignment items?

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      February 20, 2019 at 12:14 PM

      Susan, given that I’m not sure how you’re planning on selling these (raffle, live auction, silent auction, blind bid, etc), I think the best suggestion would be to figure out the minimum you’d want to make on each piece and price accordingly. For instance, one of my clients likes to guarantee she gets at least $500 on each package. Another insists that she wants $2000 or she’s not putting it in her auction.

      I’d also encourage you to listen to my Mastering Auction Consignment course for an in-depth understanding of what’s available to you.

      Reply
  2. Barbara Rothenberg says

    January 25, 2014 at 2:25 AM

    Thank you so much for your very helpful Advice! I am in charge of an auction to raise funds for a scholarship at our reunion. We are getting some donations but I was considering using a sports consigner. Now I know they will probaly send more than we want and I can just use a few of their items. Without you I would be totally lost! Thanks so very much.
    Barb Rothenberg

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      January 25, 2014 at 9:40 AM

      Information is power, Barbara. 🙂 Good luck with your event.

      Reply

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Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick

Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)

Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)

Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)

I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)

If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member

The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee

We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” 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 The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

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Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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