During recent client consultations, discussions turned to when my client should open and close their silent auction. The best answer is, it depends. Do you desire wide participation? Better have your silent auction run entirely online, so more can participate. Do you want to avoid shipping items, or having winners drop by your office to pick up their winnings? Better close the silent auction at the gala and ensure that only gala guests can win packages. There are any number of ... Read On >
silent auction
SuperSilent / Best of Silent Auction categories are becoming obsolete for some
If you decide to change your silent auction into an online-only auction (meaning guests use mobile bidding instead of paper bid sheets, **and** you don't set up displays for the silent auction), you will need to make some operational changes to your auction. The reason being is that some activities work only with paper bid sheets. Two quick examples: encouraging guests to bid on a particular line, and closing the silent auction item-by-item. A third activity that can be eliminated is the ... Read On >
Silent auction bid sheets: Using Buy Now the right way
Guaranteed Purchase (also known as Buy Now, Win It Now, Take It Home, Guaranteed Buy, and many other names) allows guests at your fundraising auction to buy an item in the silent auction at a set price. It's used on both paper bid sheets and incorporated into mobile bidding (electronic bidding) auction software systems. I like to think of Guaranteed Purchase as a convenience fee. The Guaranteed Purchase price is often set to be 150% to 200% of the value of the item. Thus, a $100 item ... Read On >
Is this a live auction item or a silent auction item?
How do you know if an item is right for the live auction or is a better fit for the silent auction? Generally speaking, I encourage you to work with your auctioneer to determine that. But if you aren't working with one, consider these eight pointers to determine if a donation is worthy of the live auction. https://youtu.be/WLyejaEIL60 ... Read On >
Silent auction procurement idea: Buy Nothing
Silent auction procurement is more difficult this year, but I’ve got a tip for you. Your neighbors have items your guests will buy, and they are giving them away. Buy Nothing sites facilitate that generosity. Some of those items are silent auction-worthy. To give you a flavor of the site, here are a few items I saw listed in just the last few days. Watch the video to learn more about this resource. https://youtu.be/1fvn746KjDU ... Read On >