In the auction industry, there are a few of us -- maybe 4 -- who consistently contribute to a blog. One writer is Mike Brandly in Ohio. Mike is primarily a commercial auctioneer who mostly pens about auction law. Many of his interesting articles aren't directly applicable to my narrow career niche, but he recently published a post I felt appropriate to share. A few days ago he wrote, "Are online auctions going away? Probably ..." He ponders the future of online auctions for commercial ... Read On >
Online Auction
List of 35+ silent auction software vendors (including mobile bidding)
This is a good post to share with your other Gala Chairs who are seeking to invest or change their auction software, but don't know all the players. ============================== It's been five years since I published a list of silent auction software vendors. Specifically it was a list of mobile bidding software vendors. Back then, mobile bidding had been growing in popularity. Sharing a list of companies selling the tool seemed like a good idea. I struggled with what to name ... Read On >
How to sell date-sensitive item donations that can’t be sold at your auction gala
In December 2017, this story hit the news. A Beatles fan in Australia donated seven tickets to the Salvation Army. The tickets were to be given to homeless clients so that they might enjoy the December 5, 2017 concert. Four hours before the show, two of the ticket holders returned the tickets. One of the managers at the Salvation Army made an effort to find other clients or volunteers to attend, but because of the late notice, no one accepted. At that point, the manager made the ... Read On >
What’s wrong with online silent auctions this spring?
Every year my spring season is filled with school auctions. Many of them run online auctions in conjunction with their live events, and the majority this year have complained of lower revenue with the online auction. So what's up? If you're running an online auction and looking for ways to avoid a downfall, here are a few thoughts I've gathered from conversations with my clients. Four tips for online auctions 1. Marketing your online auction is critical. One of my clients commented ... Read On >
Mobile bidding for auctions and one impact on onsite auctions
This post is written in conjunction with three other posts examining the best number of auction items for your live auction, silent auction, or online auction. How many silent auction items are best. How many live auction items are ideal. How many online auction items are good. Today's post, sharing an observation about technology. (Specifically, mobile bidding for auctions.) I've written posts about mobile bidding, but not on this topic. This post gives one example of how mobile ... Read On >