There are several problems with this situation. When one of these events are set up and people are asked for donations all kinds of arts and crafts are donated. The value of those items are also varied. It is good when the values are so varied because it give lots of people opportunity to participate either as a person to donate or to bid and buy. No one should be allowed to come early and "cherry pick" the items. Bidding and purchasing are diminished when the "best" items are removed too early. I participated (donated a baby quilt) in one of these events a few years ago. Several baby quilts were given. One person came in and said, before the sale, that she would take them all for a single price. It seemed like a lot of money in one transaction to the organizer-but it was way too low when you considered the whole picture. More importantly, it diminished the selection so that many people felt there wasn't much to choose from. This was not a happy situation. Each person who donates things of significant value like a quilt should have the opportunity to set a minimum or starting bid.