Quarter Auctions: Share Your Experience & Win!

[nicki25]

Has anyone ever participated in a Quarter Auction?? If so, what was your experience and what kind of products did you take with you???

 

[dannyzmom]

What is a quarter auction?

 

[SilverCeladon]

Never heard of it.

 

[chefann]

I've done this as part of a Mega Show. In fact, I recently participated in one with my Exec and we ran the auction a little differently (some things better, some I wouldn't have changed).

First off, it will take a round or two before people get used to the concept. Unless they've been to one of these before.

The first couple of times my group did this, we used actual quarters and planned it so that if someone wanted to play for every item they would use one roll (40 quarters, $10). Items "cost" from 1 to 6 quarters to play, depending on the value of the item. We tried to figure this out based on how many people we expected for the evening (assume most will play for a given item, and divide the cost by the number of people, then divide that by .25 to figure out the number of quarters each person will need to pay - this will help cover costs for every item). The only 6-quarter item was the Roasting Pan with Rack. But I think that $1.50 is worth it for a chance to get a $150 item!

We kept items hidden in a closet before they came up, so people didn't know what would be coming up next. We started with a couple of small things to get the ball rolling, and then mixed it up a little. We'd descripe the item and announce how many quarters it was to play. People would toss their quarters into a cup on their table and raise their numbered paddle. We'd collect the money from each table and draw a number. If that paddle was raised, the person won the item. Otherwise, we'd draw again.

The "new" way to play that my Exec does used tickets instead of quarters. Everyone coming into the hall purchased a strip of tickets for $10. They could purchase additional tickets if they wanted to. Products were on a table, but not all products on display were part of the auction. We'd announce the product, and if people wanted it, they would toss half of a ticket into the cup on their table. If they REALLY wanted it, they could play more tickets to have a better chance. We'd collect the tix and draw a winner.

The good thing about this variation was that people could "load" the cups if there was an item they really wanted. And then they could purchase more tix to have more to play with. But I think the lack of noise from the coins made it seem less exciting. And people were really confused that there were products on the table that weren't going to be used. And we didn't know which those were. Because there was no pre-determined number of items to be auctioned, people ended up with extra tix at the end, which they would have used on other items if they had known that there were only 3 items left (or whatever).

But, the "new" way has been used as the sole fundraiser for the elementary school where my Exec's sons went. So I think that once people are used to the format, it would be better.

Did that help, or did I competely confuse you?

 

[DanielleQ]

Maybe I'm just a little slow--I don't get it.

 

[chefann]

Auction is a bit of a misnomer, because they aren't actually bidding on the items. It's more like a raffle.

And it is hard to explain without seeing it in person.

 

[nicki25]

My sister got me involved in this quarter auction. She said it was so fun and there were about 96 people at the one she went to (which is the one that I am going to do in Jan). There are about 8 or so companies being represented. Each consultant is suppose to bring a minimum of 10 people with her. It sounds mostly like I will be there to meet new people and get some new contacts (which is good for me). I am hoping to get some contacts in a different area where I don't normally do shows.
The lady in charge of the quarter auction said I can do the one in January as a trial and if I like it then can do it on a normal basis. Thanks for the info.

 

[DanielleQ]

K--I've reread your post and I think I kind of get it. But how do you know which quarters belong to a person? Or--do you give them a ticket or something to know that they won?

 

[Chef Diane]

This sounds like a lot of fun. What do you do to get one started or is it something you do at an event or what? I could go broke at one of these lol

 

[chefann]

K--I've reread your post and I think I kind of get it. But how do you know which quarters belong to a person? Or--do you give them a ticket or something to know that they won?

Now that you mention it, I may have forgotten to type that everyone has a paddle with a number on it. When they put their quarter(s) in the cup, they hold up their paddle. Then we draw a number. If they have their paddle raised (meaning that they entered that round), they win the item. If they didn't play that round, we draw another number.

 

[DanielleQ]

Got it...you did mention it. I just glossed over it, I think!

 

[speedychef]

And you get enough money to cover the cost of the item? I think if I were there I'd get it, but just sitting here, I don't get it...

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

I'm going to be the PTO president for my son's middle school next year. It's a new school (3 yrs old) so we are still establishing fun traditions/fundraisers, etc. I want ideas to increase attendance at PTO meetings, this would be fun.

This sounds like a cute idea but.....(I understand how you would do this with tickets) if you are using quarters and want to increase your chances, how do you do that if they only write down the number on your paddle? There's no way to know if that person put in 5 quarters or 1 quarter. I think the "clinking" quarters would make it more fun.

Someone help me work this out

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Okay, I apologize for how this looks but I just googled "quarter auctions" and found this. A group in Ohio does this monthly. It's a multi-vendor event. Thought I'd post it here to give us an idea of how someone else does their's.



Join us for a fun-filled Girls Night Out!

Cost of Admission: 25¢!

Proceeds go to Charity of the month!: The Child Wellness Medically Fragile Daycare Facility
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Will Happen During the Quarter Auction©

FUN Prizes Given For:

© MOST un-invited guests - “WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN BEFORE”!

©'Worst' paddle of the night! (YOUR NUMBER HAS NOT BEEN CALLED ALL NIGHT)

©TICKETS will be sold for 10 different products donated by participating
ODSN members. Proceeds from tickets sold will be given to our charity
this month:

Charity: Child Wellness Community Fund

(www.childwellnessfair.com)

© Free Door prizes drawn by Auctioneer

Bid on items for only 1, 2, 3 or 4 quarters!

Only bid on what you want and you can win items for only a quarter or two when your # is called!!
Break out the piggy bank
Bring your Rolls of quarters or bag some up!
Bid on absolutely EVERYTHING that night it would cost you less than $35! Of course, you only bid on what you want to win!!

Things you can do to help us start on time:


· Recommend guests arrive 20 to 30 minutes early.

· Sign In – (Sign sheet with ODSN member that invited you).

· Pick an auction paddle.

There will be a number on the paddle and a chip clipped to the paddle
Insure Numbers Match
Put Chip in Bucket.
· All guests will bid. (There will be a bucket passed around).

· If you bid, raise your paddle up high.

· When your number is called scream and jump up and down (get the auctioneers attention)

· Keep Your Paddle up until you have received your winnings!

· If your number is called and you do not bid: Say “No Bid” so another number can be picked.


The Bid amount of each item, is based on the actual Retail Value of the item, determined by our companies.

BID AMOUNT RETAIL VALUE

1 Quarter $ 1.00 to $25.00

2 Quarters $26.00 to $50.00

3 Quarters $51.00 to $75.00

4 Quarters $76.00 to $100.00

 

[kcjodih]

Okay Lisa, maybe you can teach me how to 'google' things properly. When I type in quarter auctions I get all these auctions at Richies and farm auctions etc. Page after page. How many pages did you have to go through or is there a special way to type in what you're looking for in the google search engine? I NEVER seem to have any luck!

 

[nicki25]

I started this post am involved in a quarter auction in Ohio. I do these on a monthly basis. I had to pay $30 (yearly) to get involved with this. From what I understand these are contracted out by a lady. I think she came up with the idea and every quarter auction goes through her. There was a lenghthy contract that I had to read and then sign when I payed my money. They are a lot of fun. I normally make up all or most all of the money I spent on buying the products. 2 nights ago I didn't quite make all the money back but I believe that summer will be a lot slower and not as many people will show up. We normally have a little over 100 there. If anyone wants to talk to me more about this let me know. I would be happy to call anyone and explain it more in details. Thanks!!!

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Okay Lisa, maybe you can teach me how to 'google' things properly. When I type in quarter auctions I get all these auctions at Richies and farm auctions etc. Page after page. How many pages did you have to go through or is there a special way to type in what you're looking for in the google search engine? I NEVER seem to have any luck!

Ha, I'm NO expert but first I just typed in the words quarter auction and came up with auctions for state quarters Then I remembered if you want it search for an exact phrase you put it in quotes. So I typed in "quarter auctions" and voila!!

 

[chefjenibel]

Bumping for the Marston thread.....

I would assume this is what he does, also? Please correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[missydivine]

Thanks for bumping this up. It looks interesting.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

So if I understand correctly you pay for the products up front? I take it the items are purchased to go toward sales incentives and commission? Maybe that is how Tom's sales were so high (in addition to his shows)?

 

[Pampered Laura]

Tom did pretty fantastic shows... his average was around $1000 and he did about 8-10 shows a month. But yes his auctions are very successful too.

 

[cmdtrgd]

I still don't see why you would want to give away a $100 item for $1!!!

 

[chefann]

I still don't see why you would want to give away a $100 item for $1!!!

The person who wins it gets it for $1, but if there are 100 people there and they all pay $1 to play, you've just collected $100 for it.

It averages out, assuming that you have enough guests there and actively participating.

 

[cmdtrgd]

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH.....okay...thanks!

 

[chefann]

And what's nice is that they get everyone all excited about the products, so many place orders at the end of the evening for things they didn't win but want.

 

[Pampered Laura]

Tom said that at one point he had like $3000 in quarters at his house. LOL!

 

[chefann]

I was in charge of the quarters after one that my cluster did. It wasn't anywhere near that large, but I was really glad that my bank has a free coin-counting machine. (We also got a couple of Canadian quarters, a slug, and a casino token in our batch.)

 

[Pampered Laura]

A SLUG? LOL !

 

[chefann]

Not a slug like a bug, but a slug like a plain disc of metal - a washer without a hole.

 

[northern_sunshine]

There is nothing like this where I live. I heard about them from an online friend who goes to them (most of her friends are in direct sales) and she's going to start doing them as well.

I'm considering getting something like this started up, they sound fun.

 

[Stampaholic1961]

I just happened on this thread & had a question for someone who has done this before. For states that have "gambling laws"...is this considered gambling?

 

[janetupnorth]

In most states, you need to get a raffle license or license to run an auction.

 

[nicki25]

To participate in the QA that I am in we have to pay to become part of the National Direct Sales Network. I am going to the QA tomorrow night. I normally come home with between $165-200 in quarters.

 

[heat123]

So did anyone find out if this was the same as Tom Marshton's version of quarter auctions? I could 't find Tom's QA thread. I want to get a group of DS ladies together around the holidays for something like this.

And am I understanding that this isn't neccesarily to make any profits (just covers cost of items?) that evening but rather to network and find new customers-leads from this experience??

 

[heat123]

just bumping up... anyone?

 

[Pampered Laura]

Heather, I PM'ed you about Tom's auctions... email me at
[email protected] if you'd like more info. I'm getting it up and running with my team in the Dallas area, but I will not post his outline and step-by-step directions on this board.

 

[heat123]

Thank Laura I will pm you!

 

[mahlon007]

Hi Ladies, I'm Sandy. Here in my community a friend of mine of Facebook that is a Tastefully Simple Consultant asked me if I wanted to start this with others (Mary Kay, Thirty-One ect.). It really helped me reading your all's post, but I'm wondering if any of you all PamChef Consultant's have did this? And if so, do you make any money from the Auctions? And, if you do, do you put PamChef set's together like a Pie Lovers set (Deep Dish Pie Plate, Slice 'n Serve, Over Mitt)? I think it sounds really fun, but afraid of getting back what I put into it. And...when it call's for 4 quarters, how do you know they are putting in 4 quarters? Thanks in advance.

 

[arleen]

Can someone give examples of which items are popular at quarter auctions?

 

[Nanisu]

I do a lot of these. Not money makers by any stretch, but a ton of fun and I usually book at least one show from them.

 

[Jeans Garden]

My AD & team holds two QA each year, one in early March and then in September, so we include some new products as well.
Each consultant invites people to participate (flyer attached)and tells them that the "price of admission" is $100 in orders and a roll of quarters. There were about 30 people at the last one.
When the guests arrive they give their orders to their consultant and select one bag from the 50 bags laid out on a table.
Each bag has 15 poker chips and a paper plate with the same number written on them.
We announce the product up for "auction" and give a description while we walk around with it for everyone to see and announce the price (flyer attached).
The two consultants, each with a basket, walk around the room together and anyone who wants to "bid" on the item puts one of their poker chips in the first basket and their money in the second. We encourage people to bid multiple times on any item that they really want.
Then a poker chip is drawn as the winner of that item.
We usually have a couple of "free" drawings and the last time we had one drawing at the end just for people who had not won anything.
It's a lot of fun.

Each consultant brings a recipe and the first 15 to 20 minutes are for the guests to enjoy the food and to allow late comers to get arrive.
Each consultant does what she chooses with the orders. Some use them as Mystery Host, some keep the host benefits, some do a combination.
Our last auction grossed $800 with $640 in expenses. In the past we have divided up the profit among the consultants but have decided to let it be used for team expenses (wedding gifts, sympathy flowers, etc.)
Products that are auctioned come from unused hostess gifts, company promotions, and some are purchased.