Sometimes the simplest solutions...

[Perchoutofwater]

I'd guess we average a charity even a month. Everyone we go to seems to have silent auctions, and most have live auctions as well. If we see a gift certificate on the silent auction that we know we will use we will always bid face value for it. My wife works with a number of charities and has been in charge with numerous silent auctions over the past few years. It is very rare that a gift certificate goes for less than face value. It happens, but not very often at all. I know I've never bid less than face value for one. The way I look at it is I'm there to support the charity, not get a great deal. Having said that I've never bid over the face value of a gift certificate either. If I want to give the charity more money, I just write them a check. I'd also add that normally the gift certificates I buy for dining rarely cover the cost of our meal, so typically who ever donated that gift certificate is getting some additional money. Additionally sometimes where we dine is determined on where we have a gift certificate to. So I see it as good for the donor as well.

 

The thing I don't see being a good deal on is stuff like sports memorabilia, art, etc... Things that are hard to put a real value on. On items like that, I bid what I think it is worth to me. There is no doubt that I have gotten some items like that below "market value". Items like that only have appeal to certain people, and people are less likely to bid as high when they don't really know what it is worth. A great example of this is a football helmet I got that Joe Montana wore in a game and autographed. I had no idea what it was worth at the time, but I knew what I was willing to pay for it. I won it for $1,200 or something like that, but have since been offered been offered $8,000 for it. The next year I did up my donation to that charity a bit more than usual.

 

I rarely participate in live charity auctions because they typically end up being a contest over who has the biggest dick. Most items on live auction go for way more than they are actually worth. People tend to get caught up in the bidding process and have friends encouraging them to keep bidding, and before you know it, you've spent $5,000 on something you could purchase for $2,500.

[detlef]

I'd guess we average a charity even a month. Everyone we go to seems to have silent auctions, and most have live auctions as well. If we see a gift certificate on the silent auction that we know we will use we will always bid face value for it. My wife works with a number of charities and has been in charge with numerous silent auctions over the past few years. It is very rare that a gift certificate goes for less than face value. It happens, but not very often at all. I know I've never bid less than face value for one. The way I look at it is I'm there to support the charity, not get a great deal. Having said that I've never bid over the face value of a gift certificate either. If I want to give the charity more money, I just write them a check. I'd also add that normally the gift certificates I buy for dining rarely cover the cost of our meal, so typically who ever donated that gift certificate is getting some additional money. Additionally sometimes where we dine is determined on where we have a gift certificate to. So I see it as good for the donor as well.

 

The thing I don't see being a good deal on is stuff like sports memorabilia, art, etc... Things that are hard to put a real value on. On items like that, I bid what I think it is worth to me. There is no doubt that I have gotten some items like that below "market value". Items like that only have appeal to certain people, and people are less likely to bid as high when they don't really know what it is worth. A great example of this is a football helmet I got that Joe Montana wore in a game and autographed. I had no idea what it was worth at the time, but I knew what I was willing to pay for it. I won it for $1,200 or something like that, but have since been offered been offered $8,000 for it. The next year I did up my donation to that charity a bit more than usual.

 

I rarely participate in live charity auctions because they typically end up being a contest over who has the biggest dick. Most items on live auction go for way more than they are actually worth. People tend to get caught up in the bidding process and have friends encouraging them to keep bidding, and before you know it, you've spent $5,000 on something you could purchase for $2,500.

I'm sure if the benefit is well run and well attended, most things do go for at least face value. And those are simply the ones I want to make sure I'm doing.

 

As far as being good for the donor, they're still lucky to break even on that particular transaction unless the GC is for way less than what it costs to eat somewhere. Assuming you dine at a time when the restaurant is not at capacity and are, therefore, not taking a spot that could be used for a full-paying customer, the restaurant still spends about 30% or so of your total bill in the marginal cost of feeding you. So, if your GC is for $50, Your bill, prior to tax and tip would need to be around $75 just for the place to break even. If you run up $100, the restaurant only makes $20 (and that's, again, assuming that you were a truly marginal diner so there's no need to amortize the fixed costs that rightfully must be factored into everyone who walks through the door). If you choose to use that GC at 7pm on a Saturday night (or even at peak hours on plenty of other days of the week), you'd have to go really, really big, like spend several hundred dollars for it to be "worth it" at least in terms of that specific transaction.

 

Now, of course, if you've never knew of the place, go there because of the GC, and enjoy yourself and become a regular, that's another thing. However, I wonder how many people buy a GC for a place they don't know about. I would have to guess that the lion's share are bought by people who like the restaurant and are already customers.

Edited February 7, 2011 by detlef

[redrumjuice]

Who's fault is it that the teachers union has been unable to negotiate good pay so merely had to settle for the fact that bad teachers can't get fired? The first may be an impossible request if the money simply isn't there. The second is an easy concession, even if it's not one that should be made. However, the first would go a lot longer way to making sure it worked (as long as the second part was not in play). Pay teachers enough so that people actually want to do the job but hold them accountable for results and such and don't make it impossible to fire someone. That would seem like a fine way to ensure a motivated batch of teachers.

 

LOL, public school teachers teach cause they couldn't come CLOSE to making that kind of money doing anything else. They are the bottom of the barrel candidates.

[redrumjuice]

The Chicago Public Schools system is suffering from a $700 million budget shortfall. So why did some educators travel to Las Vegas just days after a travel restriction was ordered?

 

Hope you bought some candy bars.