BiddingForGood says "Better Late Than Never"
For those of you out there who are part of the team assembling a catalog for your auction, online or otherwise, you know the following to be true: When donation requests are made, it is humbly asked that the donor provides the item by a certain date that will allow your team ample time to do what needs to be done to use that item in your auction…(see where this is going?)
The majority of your donors are able to accommodate that! However, there are always some donors that read “by a certain date” as “we’re a non-profit, so really whenever you have a chance to look at this request and approve it, even if it is after our event has happened, we would be so grateful to have it.” Now, there’s some shred of truth to that, non-profits are extremely resourceful and will certainly find a use for the item…but it would have been great to have this item on time, right? If that is what is really running through your head when you see gift certificates and baskets trickle in after the event, you are not an ingrate (nor are you alone). What’s a non-profit to do!?
With BiddingForGood, you have options! You can actually add a late item to your online auction up until the last day (or moment, really). Let’s say, however, that these items are coming in way, way too late. Why not take advantage of the fact that you can run as many auctions as you want throughout the year! Try putting the latecomers in what is known at BiddingForGood as a “one-off” auction?
One-off auctions, like their robust counterparts, take on all different shapes and sizes in the real world (like this one and this one, for example). They could truly be comprised of one item (the cooler the item is, clearly the more successful it is likely to be) or you can run a miniature version of the larger auction you just ran. Sometimes you only have a certain amount of time to get some great tickets to the highest bidder. Whatever the specific reason for your one-off, it gives you an opportunity to coordinate another marketing push and continue to familiarize your community with the online auction technology that you will be using for next year’s event.
You may be thinking, “I have to do this all over again?” No! You are able to copy your settings, homepages, and even unsold items into a new auction with a few clicks. Instant one-off auction. Now when an auction item misses the cutoff date, instead of thinking “Where am I going to keep this for an entire year,” you can already have your homepage copied and an e-blast waiting to clear your Outbox!
Happy one-offing.