Q&A for How to Run a Silent Auction

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Question

What do I need besides food and auction items to have a successful auction event?

Community Answer

Entertainment, especially after bidding closes and people need to wait to pay and receive purchased items.

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Question

What should I auction?

Community Answer

Anything you want. Consider who will attend your auction and tailor the items to that demographic.

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Question

Do larger businesses set up auctions?

Community Answer

Yes, the larger businesses do set up auctions, generally with bigger prizes.

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Question

Can I sell a house in a silent auction?

Community Answer

You can sell anything, although you might want to think twice about something of that size and value.

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Question

What do I do with the items that nobody bid on?

Community Answer

Hold on to them for a next time, or hold a raffle at a subsequent fundraiser and raffle these.

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Question

What are some good locations to host a silent auction?

Community Answer

Your home or a bar or restaurant are great options.

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Question

Should I use different bids for several of the same items, or one bid and divide it among that number of bidders?

Community Answer

I found it was easier for people to understand if there were different numbers on each of the items and corresponding numbers on the bid sheets.

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Question

Is there an advantage to concealing names of bidders on bid sheets so they are unaware of each others' identities?

Community Answer

This hasn't been shown to make an enormous difference. The only advantage I could foresee is if there are power players who are overly competitive or bullying bidders. This is somewhat bad form, though.

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Question

The host took almost a month to notify me of a winning bid. I thought it was a bit shady so I declined to accept it, fearing the prize (lessons) would never materialize. Was I wrong to decline the bid after so long?

Community Answer

Sometimes auctions are simply mismanaged. If you didn't want the item any longer, that's one thing, but the donor of the item generally won't withdraw a donation once given just because someone takes a month (or more) to redeem. I've redeemed items that I've won in a silent auction after more than a year and been successful.

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