Should You Hold an Auction?
Before you commit yourself and your group to holding an auction, you should make yourself familiar with all the tasks that will need to be done. Then, you must be comfortable that it is within the power of your community to accomplish them.
 
Start by going through this guide to familiarize yourself with the various aspects of such an event.  Next, ask yourself the following questions, and see if you think your community could be successful.
 

Will you have enough staff and volunteers? Certainly, if you don’t have enough help to get all the jobs done, you will either overwork yourself.  Many jobs may be done poorly, and many may not get done at all.
 
Will you have enough event guests?  These are the people that come to your event and purchase the items you have for sale.  Can you get as many people as you want - or need - to your event?
 
Will you have enough items of the right sort to sell?  This can be a bit of a balancing act.  You need enough items, with enough variety, to make the event interesting.  If you have too many items, or many that don’t appeal to your attendees, you may end up with a lot of unsold items.  That means lost revenue for your cause.
 
So, what sort of items will be most popular with your guests?  Perhaps you know you can procure a boat for your event.  Do you have people coming to the event with enough interest, and deep enough pockets, to make it a successful item?
 
Do you have enough financial resources to get you started?  Before you ever sell a ticket to your event, you may need to spend money for printing or to make deposits for services.

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