How to host a silent auction in 2022

If you are planning on hosting a silent auction and getting bidders excited beforehand, then it will require a great deal of planning and strategizing to succeed. Silent auctions are a great way to raise funds and entertain your guests. If done right, silent auctions can help you raise the desired amount of funds to support a cause or charity of your choice.

A silent auction can be held as a standalone event, but typically, it is organised as part of a bigger event or gala night. So, what exactly is a silent auction and how does it work? Compared to a traditional auction event where an auctioneer is required to moderate the event and capture and raise bids for auction items, a silent auction can be executed without any auctioneer. Typically, in a silent auction, guests can place their bids using a mobile app or website. Some silent auctions also use bid sheets to capture bids.

A mobile bidding silent auction is the go to choice in today’s digital first, technology driven landscape. With a mobile app, guests can easily view auction items and place their desired bids using their smartphone. A mobile app based silent auction eliminates complexity and makes the bidding experience smoother and non-fussy for both hosts and attendees.

If you are ready to host your mobile bidding silent auction, then it’s time to explore an online platform to get you started. Charity Auctions Today is one such platform where you can easily set up a silent auction online and invite guests to take part and support your cause.

Check out Charity Auctions Today and experience the simplest and quickest way to set up, promote and organise your silent auction.

How Do Top Online Auction Sites Work

It is now common for organizers to use top online auction sites as a part of their fundraising efforts. One is the many benefits that these sites offer and the other is the forced restrictions on large gatherings and social distancing norms enforced after the Covid-19 pandemic.

So how do these top online auction sites function and why do they have an edge over the traditional auctions.

The first is the cost factor. In traditional auctions, setting up the event itself can be quite expensive. A hall and an auctioneer have to be hired to hold the auction along with other staff to take care of sundry work. The items for sale have to be physically transported from donors and sponsoring merchants to the venue and displayed on tables for verification by the potential bidders. Calculate the expenses, and together all these can cost a pretty sum.

Top online auction sites, on the other hand, provide fully-managed services through websites that use specialized software to conduct the proceedings. Everything from registration of participants to conducting the bidding, to declaring the winners and offering payment gateways are taken care of. Moreover, the items do not have to be physically transported anywhere but only their photos are uploaded on the site. This leads to substantial savings and higher profitability, two critical goals of all fundraisers.

The offers for items on sale at top online auction sites are higher too. This is because as the auction is carried out over the Internet, people from all corners of the globe can take part. The bidding is, therefore, more competitive and fiercer with nobody giving any quarter, thereby pushing up the prices.

The Functioning of Online Auction Fundraisers

To understand the functioning of online auction fundraisers, it is necessary to compare it to that of traditional auctions that the world recently was used to.

In the auctions of the past, a venue and auctioneer had to be hired and the goods had to be physically transported to the hall to be displayed on tables. Additional staff had to be hired to help in sundry work. The scenario is different in online auction fundraisers. Specialized websites hold these events and offer fully-managed services. These include registration of the intended participants, conducting the bidding, declaring the winners, displaying photos of the items on the site, and providing payment gateways. 

Hence, an important benefit of online auction fundraisers is the cost factor. As compared to traditional auctions, the charges of holding online auctions are negligible. Moreover, the auction sites are often free and most charge very nominal fees for holding auctions, However, fundraisers have to pay third-party service fees like that charged by payment gateways.

Online auction fundraisers fetch higher sale prices than the usual auctions. There are two reasons for this.

First, as the auctions are held over the Internet, participants are not limited to specific geographical boundaries. Anybody from any corner of the globe can take part in these auctions. Therefore, with more attendees, the bidding is generally fierce and highly competitive, thereby pushing up the prices. This is a boon for the fundraisers as they are assured of high profitability.

Second, the items offered at online auction fundraisers are often scarce and precious commodities elsewhere in the world. Hence, bidding here too is highly competitive and auction organizers can be assured of higher selling prices for their items.        

 

How to choose the right platform to host an auction online

 

Hosting an auction is hard work, thankfully, technology has changed that and made life easier for auction hosts and organisers. Gone are the days when one had to run on ground to do a lot of things like displaying auction items, managing guests, promoting the event and the likes. With the internet, anyone can easily set up an auction online, and take their auction online to raise funds for a cause or charity.

 

The key to hosting a successful online auction is to choose the right online auction platform with the right feature set to easily create, build and host auctions. WIth a digital auction platform, hosts can easily set up the auction items on display with a virtual storefront and promote them to attract potential guests and buyers.

 

Having a powerful online auction platform at your disposal means as a host you can get access to various features and tools to simplify the auction process. With ease of use, hosts can save time and efforts, and elevate the auction experience.

 

 If you are looking for the right platform to host an online auction, check out Charity Auctions Today - a one stop solution to all you need as an auction host and organiser. Charity Auctions Today is the perfect feature packed solution with all the features such as - attendee management, live event bidding, accepting donations, pre-register guests, and others needed to run a live event smoothly.

 

If you are all set to start hosting, it’s time to get started today.

The Benefits of A Virtual Auction Fundraiser

 With the Internet invading almost every part of the lives of people, can auctions be far behind? Shopping, reading, booking holiday packages, conducting job interviews, and much more are held online. What speeded up the introduction and exponential growth of virtual fundraisers was the Covid-19 pandemic with the resultant lockdowns and implementation of strict social distancing norms. A virtual auction fundraiser has now become a very critical component of getting money together for a cause.

There are several benefits of a virtual auction fundraiser. People from any corner of the globe can take part in these auctions. Hence to cater to bidders from various countries cutting across time zones, such an auction generally runs 24x7.

Further, a virtual auction fundraiser raises more money than traditional auctions. This is because the items are displayed to people from all over the world and hence the bidding for them is much more competitive. An item that is quite insignificant in the country of the auction is generally a prized item for other people in different countries. Go online and hold a virtual auction fundraiser and the profits too will be higher.

A virtual auction fundraiser is held on websites that use specialized software. Organizers are offered fully-managed services starting from registration of bidders, displaying photos of the goods being put up for sale, conducting the bidding, and finally declaring the winners. All sites have several modes of payment gateways for payment by the winners. The responsibility of organizers preferring a virtual auction fundraiser is restricted to the dispatch and shipping of the items to the winners.

It is for these benefits post Covid-19, that most auctions today are conducted over the Internet.