The Art of Displaying Items at Silent Auctions

I am guessing that you have clicked on this article because something like this might not have crossed your mind until recently. Since it has come to the forefront of your mind it is a great idea to take some of the things we layout here and incorporate them in any way you see best fit for your charity or fundraising event. Sometimes how and where you display certain items at a silent auction can be the make it or break it factor of your event. Let’s get into the best ways to do this.

By taking a first birds eye view of the location of your event you are going to want to try to consider the place that will have the greatest traffic, or where most people will have to come by at one time or another. This sounds obvious, but determining the mindset of people at the time that people will be passing by the silent auction items is also very important. We want to make sure it is at a time that most people will have the most amount of time to look at the items.

With this in mind it is suggested to place the tables for the gift basket ideas for silent auction silent auction items either at the front entrance where everyone will have to enter, or where there will be a lot of traffic, like in the middle of the event (unless there is a dance floor there). Another great option is if the event is going to have each table get up and come to get their food instead of having the food brought to them, it would be a ingenuous idea to place the silent auction items along their left hand side before they get to the table with the food. This way every item will have ample time to be looked at and studied, making sure no item is overlooked (unless there is no line, but if planned right there will always be a line to the food).

Besides the location of the items at the auction it is a good idea to try to see if you can make some sort of a package out of items to get a higher perceived value. For example, if there is a bid sheet for a spa treatment, a massage and a facial, you would want to try to place all of these items in a group to make it a special package, people will be more than likely to bid on it if they think they have a chance at getting all 3 items.

If there are items that need further explanation it would be a good idea to have someone tend the silent auction table answering any questions and trying to place a better image and value to each item that is being displayed at the table.

Then lastly take the time to make each item look attractive. This can be done by elevating things that can be stood on their sides, placing white tablecloths underneath each item, spacing each item so that can look more important, and then lastly making sure the lighting for the event is perfectly situated and focused at the items on the auction table. It will help to draw the eyes to the table and help to bring people from their location to the table. Sort of like nats to a black-light.