Hi Patti,
Yep, those auctions can definitely go wrong. When possible I want to go do my own set-up and take-down. I want to be sure that everything is displayed properly, that the picture light is on, and that my display stuff doesn't "disappear". Most importantly, I want to review the bid sheet in advance. I have resrictions that I am very clear bout -on the auction form, on the bid sheet, an if someone doesn't see them, I also put up a placard telling exactly what the gift certificate is for - a credit toward, and that the price to the winner to redeem the certificate is to put in the difference.
Despite my being very specific, I occasionally still find an error on the actual bid sheet once it's placed at the auction table, so I want to be sure it is corrected before I leave for the evening.
Still, there will people who don't read it, and think they are getting a giant oil painting of everyone in the family, sigh.
Sometimes I have to depend on the auction committee to handle the display, and I hope for the best.
I have had only one really awful experience - an auction where none of the restriction were stated, and the bidder won a certificate for which she was not eligible. When I called the auction chair later, she said that the auction catalog bid sheet was new, and make a mistake but that she expected me to honor the certificate anyway, because the winnning b idder was important. ( Seems to me that regular donors are pretty important too.) I refused to honor the certificate and suggested she award it to the next highest bidder. The auction chair was very angry- at me. Needless to say, I never again paritcipated in any event the woman chaired.
Regarding the starting price: every auction handles things differently. Some set an opening price at a percentage of the retail value. Some start everything at a common price, say $50 or whatever. Some don't seem to have any plan at all. There are some auctions that look at the event as a way for rich people to get good stuff for next to nothing. Others see auctions as way for rich folks who have a charity donation in mind, amont ito find a fun way to spend it - and , yes, that a charity auction's purpose is to raise money for the charity.
If you give a credit toward purchase, it doesn't matter - (at least to me) if the certificate sells for $10. If you are donating a whole gift - a completed portrait, then it matters much more.There's an advantage to having a lot of completed portraits in homes, but if the family can't afford to really buy one, then it's less likely that their social circle will be in a vastly different economic state. You just have to figure your own market and placement strategy
