If you’re planning a fundraising event, you may be wondering which is better: a live auction or a silent auction. Whilst both are great ways to raise money, they have their own benefits.
In this post, we’ll discuss the differences between each type of auction and help you decide which option is right for your organisation.
Auction: An Exciting Way to Raise Money at a Fundraising Event
For a fun, fast-paced fundraising event to add to your calendar, an auction is just the thing. Whether you’re planning a major fundraising event or just want to get some friends together for a good cause, an auction is a great way to raise money. And it has the added benefit of being fun.
An auction can be live or silent, meaning that bidders have their hands raised and make bids aloud (live auctions) or they just bid on an item using paper bidding sheets or mobile auction software applications (silent auctions). Either way, it’s exciting and can be very fun for all parties involved.
Auctions are also a great way to get people involved with your cause and have fun at the same time! They’re useful for all sorts of purposes—from raising money at charity events like galas and golf tournaments to generating excitement around large-scale giveaways, such as weddings or birthdays.
Live Auctions
Live auctions are often the most exciting and fun way to raise funds. The action is non-stop and you never know what’s going to happen next. This can make it more difficult for a bidder to focus on the bidding process since they are constantly being distracted by other activities or things happening around them.
However, this option may be more costly than a silent auction, especially if you have a large number of items to sell.
A live auction requires many volunteers who help run the event from start to finish—from setting up before the sale begins, selling during the actual event itself, collecting payments after it’s over and making sure all proceeds go where they’re supposed to!
What Happens in a Live Auction
Live auctions are where the auctioneer does the talking. The auctioneer is usually professional, but sometimes it’s just someone with a loud voice who knows how to sell things.
In live auctions, the item for sale is brought into the room and set up on display. The floor of the room has something called an ‘auction block’, which is used to hold up any items that need to be displayed.
The live auctioneer will then begin by explaining what’s going on and selling off some smaller items to get people excited about what’s going on in front of them. When it comes time for bigger ticket items like cars or houses, you’ll often see two or three different people bidding against each other to win their dream home away. Once there are no more bids left (or when one bidder drops out), then they call out ‘sold’ and hammer down their gavel signalling that they’re done.
What Can You Expect at Live Auctions?
The best thing about live auctions is they’re fast-paced and exciting. They can be a great way to raise money for a cause, as well as an entertaining night out with friends. The auctioneer is usually a good entertainer who keeps things moving at just the right pace so that everyone has time to participate and bid on items they like.
The main advantage of live auctions is that they are suited for larger groups of people since everyone’s bidding is done throughout several rounds instead of all at once—so you don’t have to worry about losing track or being outbid before you get your chance!
If many people are interested in the same item, it’s easy to see how this format could lead to higher bids than silent ones would allow (and more money raised).
Silent Auctions
A silent auction is an event where items are displayed, allowing bidders to assess and place bids on them. With this fundraising idea, attendees may bid by writing their offer on paper bid sheets or mobile auction software applications.
The advantage of a silent auction is that it allows bidders to remain anonymous; there’s no loud bidding to the auctioneer and no need for you to project your voice so that others can hear you.
The main disadvantage of a silent auction is that it can be difficult to gauge how much interest there is in an item.
What Can You Expect at Silent Auctions?
Silent auctions are similar to live auctions, but there is no auctioneer and participants place their bids using paper bid sheets. The minimum increase requirement will also be on the paper bid sheet, along with how many lots have been sold or unsold at that point in time.
Silent auction bids are then collected by an individual who takes them up to a designated collection area where they are tallied, verified and confirmed by an official overseeing the silent auction process. This process usually happens immediately after all of the lots have been presented for sale as well as any last-minute changes made before closing time for registration purposes only.
Helping Hand Group Auction Services: Lending You a Helping Hand
If you’re looking for an exciting fundraising activity and want to boost ticket sales or increase the amount of cash from any donations made at the door, then consider holding a silent or live auction as part of your festivities.
Consult us at the Helping Hand Group now to start planning your fundraising event. From planning to execution, we can lend you a hand.