Your Auction: Proper Use Of Reminders And Price Settings

At Perfect Silent Auction, we think a lot about how to have the best online silent auction possible. We talk to a lot of people who are responsible for setting up these events, and maximizing what they get out of them for a cause or an organization. So we think about this process a great deal. What comes out of that is some of the best resources for people who are needing to optimize a silent auction process. 

Setting up and implementing an event like this can be a complex task – there are lots of details to think about and significant logistics to deal with.

Some people have a committee to deal with all of these issues, and others have a ‘committee of one.’

Either way, we can help to crowdsource ideas for silent auctions that will return the best value. Take a look, and you’ll see how easy it can be to go above and beyond with a silent auction plan. 

Bidding Reminders

So what’s the proper use of a bidding reminder?

We talk about this a little bit in our associated resources on the site. The idea is that you want to be able to set bid reminders so that people who have bid on objects know when they have been outbid.

This is the way to generate higher prices in an online auction scenario. In a real-life auction, people see that process happening in real time. However, if they’re online, they won’t see it unless they get a timely bid reminder. You only need to look at how this works on generic auction sites to see that bidding reminders are ultimately important!

So build that into your event footprint and think logically about how that’s going to work. Try it out – or brainstorm with a workflow chart or visualization of some kind. Then you will have a better window into what’s happening for your bidders and buyers. 

Price Setting

We also help with hints around price setting.

For instance, you hear us talking about how consignment items should be started 20% above any applicable cost so that there is a built-in profit.

Then as you use things like bid reminders to maximize price, you’re starting from a solid starting point.

We can also help you to think about revenue and expense templates and advertising and domains and everything that goes along with an online auction. Instead of decking out a physical sale space for a live auction event, you are investing in a digital experience for your bidders. Think and plan accordingly! Ask about what we can do to help your auction be the best it can be and if you have to do this again in the future, you’re likely to come back here for more useful ideas.