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 auctions1. Marketing your online auction is critical. One of my clients commented ... Read On >
technology
How to easily build your own website on WordPress
Note: This post isn't benefit auction-related. Sometimes I share other content. If you need auction help, search the blog for 500+ auction-related posts.============Today I want to share information about a course and teacher I love.If you're a small business owner, a nonprofit in need of a website, or an eternal student, read on.Back in 2009 I enrolled in an online course for non-techies called the Website Creation Workshop. I wanted to learn how to build my own website. I'd become so ... Read On >
Ready to see bidders “freak out?” Here’s how … don’t include Extended Bidding in your mobile bidding silent auction.
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 >
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 >