Items that don’t “make the cut” for the live auction, will naturally go in the silent auction, right?

Wrong. There are a couple of things You can do with these big ticket items.

1. Use it as a prize for a raffle. Not everyone can afford to bid a $1000 or more for a live auction item, but they may want to have the chance to win an item valued at $1000 or more. Plus, some people do not like bidding on items in the silent auction either, but they would be willing to buy a raffle ticket. Many groups use raffles to increase their opportunities to raise money by selling tickets from $10-25 per chance.

2. Have a SUPER SILENT Auction. You may think this is redundant, but it is not because this silent auction is guided by an auctioneer. Rather than bidders writing down their number or names on auction sheets, they will call out their information and the auction facilitator will write it dow on a white board. Whoa! This one is exciting. It gains quite a bit of attention in the last 5 minutes of the bidding. This is set up in the same room as the silent auction. It is a lot of fun.

3. Set up a display for “Almost Live” or “Premier Auction” Items in the center of the silent auction area, or right near check in so it’s the first thing guests see. This helps to bring awarene