Thanks for the input. To Ruby Mama, is pricing things at 150% value successful? Do you give the option on all items or just select a few; and if so, which ones?
I chair the silent auction at my kiddos elementary school. We did offer a Buy-it-now price at our auction last year. It was only offered on items in the 'theme basket' category. We didn't want to undercut the potential of any classroom art projects or teacher experiences. This could probably be offered also on corporate donations, although we have had gift certificates sell above their value.
We had about 53 large baskets and buy-it-now was used for maybe three items. How did it work? We set the price based on our estimation of the value of the items in the basket and a small contribution to the school. To use buy-it-now the buyer would sign their name and contact an auction rep. They could pay for their item and take it away, as long as this took place 30 minutes before the auction closing process, otherwise they would just pay that price at the regular checkout.
What will we change this year? I think we will still offer this but we will make the prices lower. Our baskets, unfortunely, are pretty good bargains, so the padded price was probably pushing it. I will also try to promote this better. I am not sure if it was well enought publicized.
I am sorry, S.A. stands for Silent Auction. That is how we abbreviate it at our school. A "Buy It Now" option is similar to what they do on EBay. Instead of just bidding on an item, you can have a price which someone can pay and just get the item. It ensures that the person does not have to pay more than they want but also may result in them paying more than bidding would have. I am not sure of the success of this option, which is why I was asking. Sorry for the confusion.
