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News 2008
- June 17, 2008
- Charity Auction Management Agencies Make High-Profile Auctions Sizzle
(part 1 in a 2 part series) - A charity auction management agency is a firm that manages high-profile charity auctions on eBay (listings that typically have celebrities or one-of-a-kind items or experiences) for clients. High-profile listing have the potential to generate thousands – sometimes hundreds of thousands--of visitors, so there are great benefits when experienced professionals craft the strategy and manage the execution.
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Why use an Agency?
- When you hold high-profile charity auctions online, consider using an agency if/when you are short on time or staff. An agency is a full-service firm that most likely has years of experience in creating effective, exciting charity auctions that grab the public’s attention.
- Charity Auction Management Agencies:
- know the best times to start a listing
- implement best practices for writing compelling descriptions
- have design expertise to create professional looking About Me Pages
- employ methods for generating maximum buzz
- work to get the best possible return for your sponsors’ and donors’ investments
- Using an agency will ensure your charity auction is in capable hands to yield maximum results. Eric Gazin of Auction Cause
explains, “Doing a high profile eBay event is not the time to find out that the intern in your office who said they know eBay in fact has only bought a few things there.” What an Agency does
- Agencies can put your charity auction together from A to Z. “Literally, a company could drop off the items and pick up a check within a few weeks,” says Gigi Liberati of Agency Won
- Agencies are adept at public relations and moving traffic to eBay listings. Leslie Du Clos of Kompolt elaborates, “If you're looking to raise awareness for your cause as well as raise money, it's also a good idea to seek out an agency that specializes in high-visibility auctions. Often having an agency involved makes the difference between having hundreds of people visit the auction page and thousands.”
An agency’s tasks may include:
- 1. registering with eBay
- 2. creating compelling About Me and listing pages
- 3. photographing, writing the description of, and listing the item
- 4. Promoting the items to their own database of buyers
- 5. pre-qualifying bidders when necessary (making sure bidders have enough money to pay
for high dollar items) - 6. responding to bidders’ questions
- 7. invoicing winners
- 8. collecting payment from the winner(s)
- 9. shipping or delivering
In It Together
- A good, solid agency forms a true partnership with clients. They answer questions, thoroughly describe processes, as well as leverage their relationships with the media and other contacts to make your charity auction sizzle. By writing and disseminating press releases as well as getting the word out to the eBay community, agencies draw attention to your nonprofit, mission, sponsors and charity auction simultaneously.
- Coming soon…Part II: Agencies can help secure celebrities, the costs of working with an agency, and more.
