Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:

An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.

If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.

Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.

Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.

After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:

Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.

Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.

A Case Study

Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.

Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.

Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.

I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.

There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.

According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?

As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.

When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.

While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.

So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:

The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.

Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.

If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.

When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.

And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.

Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.

I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.

Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.

There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.

There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.

Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.

There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.

Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?

Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.

Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.

A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.

Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.

When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.

When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.

With all due respect for Thomas A. Edison, Nikola Tesla was an equal, if not greater, American inventor. Edison is highly lauded. Tesla is nearly forgotten.

Broadly speaking, Edison could be described as an innovator. He improved on existing technology. He did not invent the incandescent light bulb, for example.

That was patented and demonstrated publicly by Joseph Swam of Britain in 1878 — a year before Edison. Later, Swam and Edison formed a brief partnership and Edison bought him out.

Tesla, a native of Serbia, also began as an innovator. He wanted to be an electrical engineer. At that time, “direct current” electricity was produced by chemical batteries charged by a steam-driven generator.

Direct current is affected by resistance in the wire conducting it. Within a mile or so, electricity is used up in the form of heat. At the University of Prague, Tesla was challenged to solve the distribution problem.

Tesla had a phenomenal memory. He memorized the complete works of Goethe and Voltaire. While strolling in a park, reciting poetry about the sun, Tesla suddenly perceived the direct-current solution.

An electric current that alternated from negative to positive could be sent in separate wires. At the receiving end, the two currents would be “induced” to flow to separate magnets — one stationary, the other rotating like the sun.

Tesla patented his idea. “Alternating current” and “induction motors” is the principal system we use today for our homes and factories.

Upon graduation in 1882, Tesla worked for the Continental Edison Company in Paris. He came to the United States a year later to work directly with Edison. Upon arrival he had four cents in his pocket and a sheaf of his poems.

Edison held several patents on direct current improvements, which he leased to General Electric. His installation of a complete direct- current lighting systems at lower New York City was widely hailed.

Inevitably the two men quarreled over the merits of their two systems. Tesla quit, opened his own laboratory and became a naturalized citizen in 1891. He sold his alternating current patents to George Westinghouse. A battle of titans ensued.

Edison tried to convince the public that the low-voltage Edison-General Electric system could be handled with complete safety, while the Tesla-Westinghouse high-voltage system was dangerous.

Someone in the Edison camp toured state fairs mildly shocking stray cats and dogs with direct current – then killing them with alternating current. The pitch was that the Tesla/Westinghouse high-voltage alternating current was fatal if touched accidentally.

First Human Electrocution

During this public relations war, the state of New York bungled several gruesome hangings. Condemned prisoners sometimes were slowly strangled or decapitated.

A Dr. Brown, dentist and spokesman for the Medico-Legal Society of New York, searched for a “more humane and scientific way” of applying capital punishment.

He convinced state authorities that alternating-current electricity was the quickest and surest.

The warden of the Albany Penitentiary asked Westinghouse to install an AC generator with which to execute an axe murder named William Kemmler.

Both Westinghouse and Tesla were strenuously opposed to capital punishment and refused.

Through subterfuge, someone – Historian Theo Benson says it was Edison – obtained a Tesla generator for the world’s first human execution by electricity.

The voltage was too low. Kemmler was literally cooked after repeated jolts of current. The disgusted Westinghouse later said, “They’d have done better with an axe.”

For years thereafter, people killed accidentally by electrical mishaps were said to have been “Westinghoused.”

Tesla System Wins

Westinghouse and Tesla forged ahead of General Electric and Edison by winning a contract to illuminate the 1893 Chicago Exposition with 200,000 light bulbs. It was a sensation.

Three years later they installed the first hydroelectric alternating – current system at Niagara Falls for the city of Buffalo. Edison and General Electric thereafter manufactured light bulbs and other appliances compatible with alternating current.

With royalties pouring in, Tesla could concentrate on the nature of electricity and its potential.

His approach of exploring the nature of energy was science – as contrasted to inventing things for specific purposes. During the next few years, he filed 830 patents.

Tesla’s watershed invention was a particular coil of wire that ushered in hundreds of uses we take for granted today. They were however, too futuristic for the time.

He achieved illumination with “filamentless” bulbs filled with various gases. Today we recognize these as fluorescent lights and neon advertising letters.

He experimented with “shadowgraphs” of human bones through clothing years before Roentgen published his work.

His “Tesla coil” created high-voltage “energy waves” by which he projected radio signals to “telautomaton” model ships. They maneuvered in response to levers on a control box.

Tesla said he could replace the lever box with a telephone to transmit voices, music – and, ultimately, images. No commercial backer was interested because there were no instruments to receive ethereal waves.

This was two years before Marconi succeeded in broadcasting a single telegraph click. After a legal suit, Tesla’s primacy was upheld.

The Navy was mildly interested in a tiny submarine without a crew that could be controlled by Tesla’s waves. However, the admirals did not foresee the smart bombs and torpedoes of today.

The ‘high-power oscillator” – that Tesla invented to control ships at sea — is the power supply for our television cathode-ray picture tube.
Man-made Lightning

The U.S. War Department in 1893 asked Tesla to expand his wireless communications systems. The request came at an awkward time. Tesla’s patents expired. His New York laboratory and papers had burned.

The manager of the Colorado Springs municipal lighting system offered Tesla free electricity for his project. He moved to Colorado Springs and built an experimental radio station 10 miles out of town.

He determined that the Earth is a huge magnet with energy flowing between positive and negative poles. Also, he computed the frequency necessary to project an electrical spurt completely through the planet and recapture the spurt when it bounced back.

It was his intent – by a huge Tesla coil — to add additional spurts to successive bounces. When a massive voltage had been built up, he would release it from a tall antenna to zoom around the world.

When all was ready, Tesla, wearing shoes with two-inch-thick rubber soles for insulation, threw the switch for one second “to see what it would do.” The plateau was carpeted momentarily with blue St Elmo Fire — but no explosion.

Tesla threw the switch again and stepped outside to measure the expected lightning bolt. Amidst deafening thunder, a bolt leaped from the antenna and lengthened as earth charges accumulated.

Folks in town were alarmed. Sparks crackled from fire hydrants. People in leather shoes, or barefoot, skipped from heat.

At 130 feet, the bolt collapsed. All was silent.

Tesla ran to the phone and called the Colorado Springs municipal electric plant. “You have ruined my experiment?”

“To Hell with you,” was the reply. “You have burned out our generators.” They sent him a bill for damages and electricity. .

Nevertheless, Tesla had learned a great deal about earth resonance and aerial propagation of radio waves. He became obsessed with the possibility of capturing earth energy and broadcasting it free to the whole world.
Search For Free Energy

Tesla returned to New York City to build a radio transmitter capable of reaching Europe. He obtained backing from J.P. Morgan, a prominent financier of promising projects.

A huge Tesla coil and 85-foot broadcasting tower was built at Wardenclyffe on Long Island. It soon became apparent to Morgan that Tesla was more interested in broadcasting free energy than commercial radio programs.

Morgan wanted to know, “Where will you put the meter?” He refused to advance any more money. Work stopped. The huge transmitting tower fell into disrepair and was finally demolished as a hazard.

The laboratory and land was acquired by the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in payment for a $20,000 room bill.

In the ensuing years Tesla experimented with a “particle beam accelerator” that could destroy invading airplanes. The newspapers dubbed it a “death ray.” Today we call it microwaves for kitchen ovens.

He invented a small “energy turbine” consisting of closely-spaced disks on an axle that spins on any gas or liquid containing energy – gasoline, hydrogen, propane, or methane – without burning the fuel.

Unfortunately the disks warp or melt from the molecular action of energy atoms. Energy and pollution problems would be solved if we could invent a suitable disk material.

Tesla postulated that sunlight could be converted directly into electricity (solar panels), energy could be extracted from atoms (bombs), hundreds of messages could be transmitted simultaneously over one circuit (fiber glass cable), drone planes could be powered by electricity (NASA has one powered by solar cells circling indefinitely at a high altitude).

During the First World War he proposed bouncing radio waves off enemy airplanes to learn of their approach. The War Department ignored his proposal. It wasn’t until World War II that RADAR was introduced.

He detected radio waves from outer space and thought they might be signals from aliens. We now know that radio waves from space are static left over from creation of the universe.