OK, we have a fantastic Committee, we have members who are out there asking for items and donations, they did a great job and your room is full of donated items.

 BUT now you have to consider the old “supply and demand” hundreds of items look good in the catalog, but think about it!! Slow down. If you have 300 silent auction items, and 150 guests, you have “over supply” for the number of guests and you yield will be lower per item. I work with so many committees that do not take this equation into consideration. I do not want to throw water on your fire, but it is important for the committee to understand the dynamics of a true auction as compared to a gala “with an auction” there is a difference.

Folks we want to raise money and that should be our focus. Competition will raise the prices.  And your yield per item will be higher. The same holds true to your live auction. Is it really better to have 60 items and try to keep your bidders focus, for 180 minutes, or 30 items of higher value? So many schools that I work with think quantity equals higher return, not always. Your Professional Benefit Auctioneer can help you with the focus of your evening.

So where do we set the prices for many of our silent auction items, consider the following, it may not be the golden egg, it does offer some room for thought.

Minimum bids are set generally at a level based on the "buying power" in the audience. If you plan to have more items than people, you are in a "buyers market" and will need to set the opening bid LOWER to generate interest in the item, because the bidders have so many choices. If you have fewer items than buyers, you can set the opening bid HIGHER because you now have a "sellers market" and supply in demand will work for you - more competition for the fewer items.
Typically, the range is from 20 or 30% of value (buyers market) to 40 to 50% of value (sellers market.) You do not want to be too aggressive on the opening bids. Generally, 50% of the value would be the very top end, otherwise the bidders will pick and choose what to bid on, and you will be left with many items unsold.

Work with your Professional Benefit Auctioneer, after all he is conducting dozens of auctions a year with various groups, he can help you keep your focus on your evening and your balance between “raising money” and “ having a good time”