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 Auctions
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 >
Auction item idea: White House Christmas ornament
Living in the Washington, D.C. area, I become accustomed to seeing certain auction items at many of my events. For instance, flags flown over the Capitol and tours of the House or Senate buildings are easy donations from your congressman. But I forget that if you live outside the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia metro area), some auction items and ideas are not necessarily as well-known. One such item I saw recently at a school auction was the White House Christmas ornament. The ornaments ... Read On >
When to close the silent auction (and other tips for post-pandemic galas)
Silent auctions are nearly all online auctions now, using mobile bidding. This launches a question in our post-pandemic world: When is the best time to close the silent auction – before or after the live auction / appeal? After all, with mobile bidding checkout isn't as difficult (guests are charged automatically for purchases), items often aren't at the venue (guests get them later), and mobile bidding allows for wider participation (guests not attending can still participate). In ... Read On >