FAQ's

What is the difference between a 'traditional' auctioneer and Bob McDonough?

Traditional auctioneers are generally classified as those who do estate sales, car auctions, cattle sales, antiques, artwork, corporate liquidations, etc. Bob does not accept work in any of these areas.

Those traditional professionals will do a great job selling Aunt Millie's collection of china after she's passed away. Your question should be, "Do they know how to effectivly sell your kindergarten class project for $3000"?

Our auction has hit a plateau. Now what? Can we fix it?

You can approach this issue several ways.

1. Let your well meaning committee or Board of Directors tell you what they think the auction needs.
2. Copy what the guy down the street is doing at their auction and hope he's getting it right.
3. Just keep guessing and keep your fingers crossed.

Another option is to consider the opinion of a professional consultant who sees the same problems at charity auctions every day. Even better, a pro will be able to share the success stories from established, time tested auctions and tailor the approach to fit your particular organization. We can all learn from other people's mistakes.

How many items should we have in our auction?

There is no perfect number for every auction. Bob works one on one with your auction to choose the right formula for your event. Number of guests, the evening schedule, quality of items, history of event and barometric pressure can influence this decision.

(sigh) Fine, you want a number? A good rule of thumb: Very seldom do we see an advantage to having more than 25 items in a live auction. There are exceptions, but not many.

Why hire a professional auctioneer? Our person does it for FREE.

Just because they don't send you a bill, doesn't mean it is not costing you money. A bad auctioneer will cost you considerably more in lost revenues than a professional's fee. Your auction is very likely a major part of your annual fundraising goal.

Whether the auction goal is $10,000 or $100,000 you can't afford to get it wrong. The saying is true, "You get what you pay for." Gambling on the performance, advice and overall effectiveness of someone who dabbles in auctions is risky to say the least. Just because someone is "really charismatic person who knows everyone in the room " is not always the best approach.

Fortunately there are some very good benefit auctioneers who work with non profits everyday and understand your specific need needs. They will be able to help develop an event that your guests and donors look forward to every year.