As solicited auction items begin to arrive (or even before, during the solicitation planning), think about common themes that around with donated items center. Auction categories create some structure for an auction – and structure sells. An auction with categories will look more organized and professional, and items of interest will be easier for bidders to find and to track. As a result auction categories will increase both overall participation and competitive bidding.
Standard Silent Auction Categories
There are several auction categories that will easily accommodate most Types of Silent Auction Items:
- Hotel and Travel – Hotel stays, vacation rentals, transportation (train rides, car rentals), airline vouchers, luggage, travel accessories and other vacation-related products and services belong here. Destination-specific attractions can also belong in this category if paired with accommodations.
- Restaurant and Dining – Restaurant certificates, gourmet food items, culinary products or cooking supplies or accessories, restaurant merchandise (logo products, etc.), wine, meals with local celebrities and more can be placed in this category.
- Sports and Entertainment – Sports tickets, theater, ballet or symphony tickets, sports or celebrity memorabilia, signed photos, television or movie scripts, movies or video games excursions (deep sea fishing, whale watching), attractions (mini-golf, go-karting, national park passes), gym memberships, museum passes and more fit in this section.
- Fashion, Body and Health – Clothing, jewelry, fashion accessories, shoes, spa passes, massages, haircuts, dental services, body products and body treatments are categorized here.
- Potpourri (Miscellaneous): Art, housewares, personal items, plants and gardening items, décor, furniture, books, automotive products or services (could also possibly fit the travel category), office supplies or technology products or anything else that doesn't fit basic categories can fit here.
Themed Silent Auction Categories
In addition to categories for standard items, themed categories may be appropriate depending on the specific characteristics of the event or charitable organization. Schools might include baskets organized by classroom, grade or curricular topic. Art items can constitute their own category if there are enough of them. Outings with local celebrities, teachers or organization leaders can be grouped together. High value items can be collected together in a "featured" category, or instead offered in a limited live auction format during the event. There are endless possibilities of categories that can be created through creatively soliciting auction items or developing unique, event or organization specific offerings.
Whatever categories are developed, limit the total number to around five or six. More than that will seem overwhelming to attendees and create complexity instead of simplicity and organization. If several special themes are necessary, standard categories can be rethought to maintain a reasonable category limit.
Once categories are developed, it's a good idea to create a binder or folder system and file donor letters that accompany donations (or fill out a tracking sheet if there is no associated paperwork). This will make it easy to create packages and bid sheets as the auction approaches. See the articles Creating Silent Auction Packages and Pricing Silent Auction Items.
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