John D Schultz

I recently came across an article about individuals having fun at auctions, and how that equates to more revenue.  I can’t seem to remember where I read the article, or who wrote the article.  However, I was reminded of the article over the weekend.

Sunday, I worked at an auction for a local church.  The auction typically features garage sale and better items that are donated.  Our task is to sell the items to raise money for the church.  This is the third year of the auction, and each year it has grown to be a bit bigger than the previous year.  This year was no exception.  However, there was one ingredient that was in play that had been missing in past years.

The article I had read discussed how auctions exceed expectations when individuals bid on items for the fun of bidding, and to support the cause, and they stop focusing on the perceived value of an item.  This happened early and often on Sunday’s auction.  It was about 30 minutes into the auction, when we sold an item that easily was a garage sale leftover for $1 to buyer number 59.  He quickly quipped that while he bought the item, we should deliver the item to number 58.  Well, it wasn’t too much later when number 58 returned the favor, and bought a similar item but asked that the item be delivered to number 59.  This went back and forth a few times, until number 59 loudly announced to the crowd there now was a game being played between four bidders.  The game was simple, the high bidder paid for the item, but the backup bidder had to take the item home.

Well, the game worked.  Those $1 and $2 items quickly escalated to $10 and $15 items, and the energy and enthusiasm at the auction escalated right along with the prices.  Simply put, the bidders turned the tables, and began to realize they were there to have fun and support the cause and they stopped focusing on the value of the item, and started focusing on the value of the cause.  As a result, the revenues for the auction escalated beyond expectations, and the bidders fun and enthusiasm escalated right along with the revenues.  It was a triple win.

The lesson was simple.  If you can cross the threshold where bidders begin to bid because of the cause, for the pure fun, and without regard to the value of an item, you are well on your way to higher auction revenues.  This principal applies to all types of auctions.  When bidders are smiling and having fun, they often are spending money, and happy doing so!