Our aim is to help you every step of the way to get the most out of your auctions on Giving Lots. The information below is to help and advise you on the various aspects of auctioning lots online.

What sells best?

Giving Lots has a vast audience, with a variety of interests, meaning that nearly everything can be sold on here as long as it is priced and marketed correctly. The list below shows what has sold particularly well on the site:

-Holidays anywhere from Cornwall to Barbados
-Tickets, especially sports events and film premieres
-Experiences, from piloting a jet to learning to cook
-Signed sports and celebrity memorabilia
-Designer clothes and beauty products

If an item can't be bought on the High Street, then that's even better!

How to procure your auction items

If you haven't already got auction items you wish to sell on the site (or simply want more) then here are some ideas for procuring lots:

-Email your supporters, individual and corporate and kindly ask them to donate sellable items to you.Tell them about the site, and mention in the current climate it is understandable a cheque is not so easily written but this is the new way they can donate. You could also send them our information pdf's CLICK HERE to download them.

-Add a link on your website to our donation page: http://www.givinglots.co.uk/lots/add

-Ask celebrity patrons and supporters to raise funds for you with just a stroke of a pen. By signing memorabilia such as pictures, posters, t-shirts ... and donating them to you to auction they can raise substantial funds for you. CLICK HERE to download our ‘Celeb Pack' your can send out.

-Check your office for items that have been previously donated and left unsold. These items can go on the site straight away and start raising money. CLICK HERE to upload auction items.

Making your auction a success.

- Add a message in your newsletter with a link to the auction page in a prominent place, so it is easy for supporters to see.

-Email the auction page link to your supporters (individual and corporate). Why stop there? Whilst you're doing that add in all your contacts, including co-workers. Encourage them to send the link on to their contacts.

-Ask the donors of each lot to post the link to the auction on their website, this way you know that the right traffic will be diverted to the site. Also ask them to send the link out to their contacts as well.

-Send a press release to all your local publications and radio stations, include the link to the auction with ALL press releases (if you are sending out press releases early we can provide you with a URL). Also send the press release to any other publications that may have interest. We can provide you with a simple pdf about what we do at Giving Lots to send out too. CLICK HERE to download it.

-Social networking is huge and can often bring the most traffic to the auction. Post the auction link on your Twitter, Facebook, My space (etc) pages. Don't just post once, keep reminding people by posting the auction on a regular basis.

We Will....

-Advise on pricing of any lot you wish to place on the site
-Undertake specific marketing on your behalf to ensure that potential bidders arrive at the auction.
-We will also provide you with a detailed marketing plan showing how we will be working together with you.

CLICK HERE for some of our recent case studies of successful lots sold on Giving Lots.

CLICK HERE for printable version.