That is Great News mom3boys, that you are no longer in the "panic" mode…..and now have enough items to at least have a decent number of items to pull off a good auction., especially with the fact that you have already pre-sold 100+ tickets. By the way, in some venues, some would say that a Rule of Thumb is that you can figure on about one of 3 pre-sold tickets to actually show. My intuition tells me that you will fair better than the 1 of 3 for your auction.
Regarding the forms----When I use my "professional auctioneer" forms, I have a three-part carbonless form that has 12 sales tickets on an 8 ½ x 11" form, that are perforated and can be torn apart by full sheet as well as each of the 12 tickets that can also be torn apart. The top "original" sheet I give to the auction consignor as their receipt and record of the total auction; the second sheet is for my records, and the third sheet to give a copy to the bidder/buyers. You will be able to get by with only a two part form, one for the school’s records, and one for the buyer’s. You could also get buy with either a full 8 ½ x 11 for each, or perhaps by using ½ sheets i.e., 5 x 8 ½ size. I think if you will check with your local printers, they will have a carbonless type paper that you can use, and just have the printer "print" a blank form on both sheets that you can then fill in the info (like individual item description; pre-filled in bidding increments, and a space for the silent auction bidder’s numbers) for each item, as well as utilize for the actual silent auction bidding. Whatever size form or sheet you use, you will need to set up a filing system according to the size of sheet so that you can file the bidder’s copy by their bidder’s numbers, so you can sort and then add up multiple item buys.
As much as I appreciate the value of computerized methods, the "bottle neck" of this type of system is that you are limited by the time it takes to "input" the info.
In my humble opinion, by using a manual system, you can shorten the time frame by utilizing several "manual" cashier/sorters, and make the overall time frame shorter by using more "inputers".
You are right on target in being concerned about having long lines and long check out times. That is truly one thing that you can manage to make it a smooth and quicker process so that it will leave a good impression on how your overall auction event goes….too long a time to check out will result in many not wanting to come back again next year.
One other thing…by using a two part carbonless form, you can leave the copy at the silent auction table to allow the bidder’s to check back after the silent auction closing to see if they were the high bidder, with the original going to the cashiers for the check out process.
As another hint….you can make up a poster board in advance, with all of the bidders numbers printed on the poster boards with 2-3 inch size numbers, and as you being the second sheet copies to the cashiers, you can X out the bidder number if they were the high bidder on any item. It won’t matter if they have more than one high bid items….once they see that they have one item they can then go to the cashier line, and if they have more than one item, that is simply up to the cashiers to add the items up and get payment.
There is just so many fine points and details to a complete auction…too many to fully describe in short descriptions on a "Forum" without getting the posts too long. Perhaps now you can see why I am biased in recommending a "professional" auctioneer who has the experience of the whole process who can walk you through the entire process as well as consulting you with the "tricks of the trade" in other areas also (grin).
Norman O’Neal
Auctioneer