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You are here: Home / Blog Post / One silent auction display idea for jewelry, furs, and fashion
Aug 06

One silent auction display idea for jewelry, furs, and fashion

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

Silent auction display ideas for necklace using mirrorGala auctions tend to have no shortage of jewelry. It’s across the board at my events … live auctions, silent auctions, bonuses, games, upgrades, etc.

Some groups do a better job than others at showcasing the pieces.

And then there are those random clothing items that are donated: dresses, furs, coats, and the like.

Given that your silent auction is — at its core — a retail store, what’s one good silent auction display idea for selling your wares?

(Sidebar comment: Gosh, if you’ve spent any time listening to my webinars or teleclasses over the years, you know how much I harp on this “store” concept. 

Your silent auction is not that much different than a store, like Macy’s … Target … Neiman Marcus … or that cute stationary store in the cool part of your town. You’re selling STUFF, just like they sell STUFF. So let’s pay attention to how they get us to BUY their stuff.)

One good idea is to use mirrors.

Silent auction display ideas using mirrorsHave you ever been to a store, held up a necklace, scarf, or hat, and then had to go hunt for a mirror to see how it looked on you? 

It’s annoying to go find a mirror. Personally, I’ve NOT made a purchase for lack of a mirror to see myself.

So if you’re selling jewelry at the gala, shouldn’t you include a hand mirror as part of your silent auction displays?

And if you’re selling clothing, wouldn’t a full length mirror help your bidders make a buying decision?

At a school auction a few years ago, a gently used fur was donated. The event manager put it into the silent auction. She wasn’t hopeful it would even sell. 

Cecelia, one of my floor crew members, opted to work that section of the room. Noticing that the fur wasn’t getting much traction, she started to promote it. 

When a likely target came near, she’d point out the fur.

“Let’s take it off this hanger,” Cecelia would say. “You should be able to try it on to see how soft it is and whether the color suits you.”

No woman is going to buy a fur without seeing herself in it first. And Cecelia was clearly hampered in that she had no way of showing each prospect her reflection while wearing the fur.

Cecelia located the restrooms. She urged each woman to walk down the hall to where the student bathrooms were. 

“You MUST see how great this looks on you,” she’d say, “Walk with me so you can see it.”

And away they’d go.

As I recall, Cecelia only got one bid on the fur that night. But that was all we needed! It sold in the 4-figures and Cecelia was rightfully proud. 

Mirrors. 

Use ’em.

And let me know your thoughts below …

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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. Tori says

    August 6, 2013 at 12:58 PM

    At our estate jewelry auction event, called Baubles & Bubbles (proceeds used to fund an endowed scholarship at University of Las Vegas Nevada), I couldn’t find mirrors, so I purchased beveled mirror tiles and used simple frame stands and they worked and looked fabulous. One per table.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      August 6, 2013 at 1:55 PM

      What a great idea, Tori! And I bet they *did* look fabulous. I would envision they looked elegant. Thanks for sharing.

      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!

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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
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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!

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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.

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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”

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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”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

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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