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Need suggestions for a silent auction item.

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Borla, Aug 8, 2016.

  1. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    In a couple of weeks I am participating in a fund raiser for a children's hospital. The main revenue generator is a golf outing, but there is also a silent auction. I am planning on bringing an item for it, but I don't have any great ideas. I would love some help from the TFP folks to figure out what to get.

    Some pertinent details:
    Budget = $100-125
    Prefer not to be a sports item (tons of them, waters down the bidding for them IMO)
    Prefer not to be something someone has to redeem by attending something or going to a particular city (lots of people visiting from far away)
    Not kitchen/food related (one major sponsor brings a ton of items like this)


    Obviously the broader the appeal of the item, the more people that will bid. My personal preference is to get something that people generally wouldn't buy for themselves, but might spend money on since it is going to charity.


    Any thoughts?
     
    Borla, Aug 8, 2016
    #1
  2. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    Nintendo Wii U
    Cheap 32" or smaller flatscreen TV
    Kindle Fire HD
    8" Samsung Galaxy Tab
    8" Asus Zenpad
    3D Blue ray player
     
    genuinemommy, Aug 8, 2016
    #2
    • Like Like x 3
  3. Fremen

    Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

    Location:
    E. Texas
    So if people are attending from far away, it needs to be pretty portable so they can get it back home with as little hassle as possible, right?

    1. A painting/print
    2. a nice wall clock
    3. a year of Xbox Live/PlayStation Plus
    4. a beginner guitar
    5. a megaphone (bitches love megaphones)
    6. a tattoo
    7. a pair of ass-less chaps
     
    Fremen, Aug 8, 2016
    #3
    • Like Like x 4
  4. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    If they weren't ass-less, wouldn't they just be pants? :p
     
    Borla, Aug 8, 2016
    #4
    • Like Like x 1
  5. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I used to work for a nonprofit that raised money via silent auctions. Each of our locations was in charge of a themed basket for the auction. We did bath baskets, coffee baskets, and tea baskets.

    @genuinemommy has some great suggestions. Many of those kinds of items were giveaways at the company picnic last year.
     
    snowy, Aug 8, 2016
    #5
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Japchae

    Japchae Very Tilted

    Check the Amazon deals of the day. Sometimes they put something up on a big discount that people wouldn't usually up, except that it's on sale.

    Gift baskets with a theme... Bath stuff (robe, bath bombs, wine glass, bubbly, luxury bathing stuff), dinner and a movie (home or going out), outdoor activity (e.g., lawn games with a picnic basket), nostalgia, organization (like office stuff and a tablet), art supplies, night of good reading (book, bubbly or whisky or tea, a mug), etc. Those tend to be good at the fund raisers we attended. You can also contact a local photographer or artist and see if they'd be willing to do a package gift set.

    Edit: a lot of these kinds of baskets can be broken down into suitcases pretty easily. I just saw the part about people coming from far away, so maybe not the local artists. But, you could also do something kid related, that could be donated back to the kids in the hospital. Backpacks full of art supplies, etc. Or sponsoring a kid for an activity? I dunno of that would work. We once auctioned off the chance for a kid at the hospital to get guitar lessons. Someone paid for it and they came to the hospital with a guitar for the kid and did the lessons for free :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2016
    Japchae, Aug 8, 2016
    #6
    • Like Like x 2
  7. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    Great idea.

    Might do some noise cancelling bluetooth headphones.

    The bonus to that one is that I wouldn't mind a pair myself. So if the bidding doesn't get high enough, I can just bid it up and re-buy them for myself. :D
     
    Borla, Aug 8, 2016
    #7
    • Like Like x 4
  8. POPEYE

    POPEYE Very Tilted

    Location:
    Tulsa
    This is for children so
    I would bid on a Henry mock lever action BB rifle. We used to have lots of fun.
     
    POPEYE, Aug 8, 2016
    #8
  9. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    It's a children's hospital, but all the attendees are adults. A few may be flying in/out, so I'm not sure how well a BB gun would be taken in an airport. Not to mention the feelings some people have about guns in general.

    However, as an owner of a .44 Henry Big Boy (same as one below), I like the thought. :D

    [​IMG]
     
    Borla, Aug 8, 2016
    #9
    • Like Like x 3
  10. POPEYE

    POPEYE Very Tilted

    Location:
    Tulsa
    Damn nice @Borla
     
    POPEYE, Aug 8, 2016
    #10
    • Like Like x 1
  11. MeltedMetalGlob

    MeltedMetalGlob Resident Loser Donor

    Location:
    Who cares, really?
    @genuinemommy has some great suggestions; it's hard to go wrong with portable electronics. :)


    Oh, and also:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2018
    MeltedMetalGlob, Aug 8, 2016
    #11
    • Like Like x 4
  12. Fremen

    Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

    Location:
    E. Texas
    Why does the term "fancy pants" come to mind? ;)
     
    Fremen, Aug 9, 2016
    #12
    • Like Like x 3
  13. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX

    Dang, the budget eliminates your Harley :eek: :p.

    I have little to offer. I've very rarely seen anything at a silent auction that really interested me. A recent experience at Penzys Spices does give me a thought--Perhaps a basket containing a variety of spice blends that some? most? people wouldn't buy for themselves.
     
    Chris Noyb, Aug 9, 2016
    #13
    • Like Like x 3
  14. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    As I mentioned, not really wanting to do kitchen/food stuff since one of the sponsors does a lot of that most years. However, I did order a decent set of noise cancelling headphones.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ERMHI2E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
     
    Borla, Aug 9, 2016
    #14
    • Like Like x 2
  15. RedSneaker

    RedSneaker Very Tilted

    Hmmm.... I have no idea whatsoever, ha
     
    RedSneaker, Aug 9, 2016
    #15
    • Like Like x 3
  16. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    Chris Noyb, Aug 9, 2016
    #16
    • Like Like x 1
  17. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    So, the event was today.

    I ended up really wanting the headphones for myself. The min bid was $40, and I put an initial bid of $50 on it. That bid stood until the last 10 mins or so, then some other dude started bidding me up. I ended up getting them myself for $110. So basically I saved $19 and the $110 went to the children's hospital.

    Also, I grabbed one of these:

    Gladiator Premier Series Pre-Assembled 35 in. H x 28 in. W x 25 in. D Steel 5-Drawer Rolling Garage Cabinet in Silver Tread-GAGD275DRG - The Home Depot

    Got it for $150, which was the only bid.

    IMO they didn't market it very well on the silent auction table. All they had was a sign up sheet with a tiny description and a tiny picture, instead of setting the unit out with the sign-up sheet on top of it. I've been looking for another toolbox, and wanted something with drawers that I could set one of my big boxes on top of. This should be perfect. :cool:
     
    Borla, Aug 25, 2016
    #17
    • Like Like x 4