Technically, in MA you need a licensed auctioneer for a live auction. In a small venue like Camelot this might not be a real issue, but at a major event like Arisia, it isn't something that can be ignored. And your auctioneer generally costs $$, cutting into proceeds.
Online auctions don't need the auctioneer, but they'd lose pretty much all the visibility we're trying to use the con for!
Also, having a major item or two in the raffle is a *big* selling point. Taking such items out for auction robs the raffle of ticket sales. You have to be pretty darned sure that you have the audience for the auction to bring in more than the raffle ticket sales before you try that.
To be honest, Arisia seems *loaded* with folks who can drop $5 to $20 for a charity raffle. It is not loaded with folks who can and will drop multiple hundreds of dollars on charity auction items.
no subject
Online auctions don't need the auctioneer, but they'd lose pretty much all the visibility we're trying to use the con for!
Also, having a major item or two in the raffle is a *big* selling point. Taking such items out for auction robs the raffle of ticket sales. You have to be pretty darned sure that you have the audience for the auction to bring in more than the raffle ticket sales before you try that.
To be honest, Arisia seems *loaded* with folks who can drop $5 to $20 for a charity raffle. It is not loaded with folks who can and will drop multiple hundreds of dollars on charity auction items.