Sharon Chaffino

My guild has a silent auction every 2 years and it is very sucessful with small items like quilted table runners, pot holders, place mats. Pillow cases and aprons do well and quilted totes and bags also. It seems like every one likes small items for gifts.

deedum

Now that is worth noting. Goodwill gives us a receipt as well as other places we donate to, so I can do that. To me it really isn't about what I have in it as much as the family asked me to and I am honored to help in anyway. Having said that I am being very careful about my cost. As others have said, it may make sense to donate the money, but then the family didn't ask me to do that, they asked for a quilt for the auction. That they will get. I also plan to have a few smaller items as suggested to donate. Anything I can do to help them raise money for the medical bills I am happy to do graciously.

GrannieAnnie

This part of WE will always write a check instead of throwing away a hundred dollars.

GrannieAnnie

And that's the way I'd do it.

k9dancer

I don't think it's about ego. Many of us have to scrimp and save, and to have our investment of time and money bring in less than we put into it is heartbreaking. Not only that, but the charity loses, too, and here's how:
Let's say someone hires a band to put on a concert. That person says to the charity, "you can have all the proceeds of the concert." The concert cost, let's say $5000 for the band and the venue. We haven't even added in the cost of promotion, which was only about a month prior to the concert. Not enough time. Anyway, the ticket sales were under a thousand dollars. So the concert goes in the hole over $4000; the promoter, who wanted to benefit the charity, was a nice guy, but the charity would have been better served by the $5000 instead of the few hundred that they gained. I know, because I am an officer of that charity. This is a true story.

k9dancer

Speaking for myself, I spend plenty on my charity of choice, a little each month. I bet lots of us do.

GrannieAnnie

Maybe I am selfish, then. I'm not spending my money and my time to let folks have nice things at a fraction of the price I spend. I'm sure you could find buyers for that kind of deal all day long.

quiltmom04

Maybe you could put a quilt in with a "reserve". If I were to ever donate a quilt again, I would do that. Some, I would have gladly bought back, rather than see them essentially given away for sooooo much less than they are worth. Live and learn. Think of it as spending $300 to have them get back $75. Plus I can't imagine that if you were willing to spend several hundred on a quilt, the charity wouldn't rather have that than a fraction of that! Up to you.

GrannieAnnie

The simplest way for a group to handle a silent auction is to allow a starting bid. If someone spent $125 making an item, they ought to be allowed to ask that the $125 be the opening bid. If no bids above that, then the item should return to the giver.

Some items I make wouldn't have a starting bid, but the angel pillow (which I bid $5 on myself and got back) had a $9 pillow form in it. And that does not count the fabric & time.

Neesie

I agree, 100%! If people want "nice things" from a fund-raising event, they should at least be willing to pay the cost of actual production.