Going Once... Going Twice...
I've always been curious about auctions, but never figured I'd go to one. For one thing, up to this point in my life, I've never felt I had the money to go to a legitimate auction, and second, as a deaf person, I wouldn't be able to know what the auctioneer was saying. The bid could be starting at $10, or I could find myself in hock for $10,000, and for something I didn't really want in the first place.
Well, tonight I got a chance to go to an auction. My lovely wife is on the PILF (Public Interest Law Fund) Board this year, and PILF has an annual auction. The first part was a silent auction, which is perfect for deaf people (or for anyone, really). Items or descriptions of items were placed on tables all around the room, with sheets underneath where you placed your paddle number, your name, and your bid. There was quite a range of material, from restaurant gift certificates to a night or two in a swanky hotel to signed scripts of TV shows and movies. I got into the spirit of things, and bid on quite a few items. But anyone can come back and re-bid, thereby upping the total bid price, and by the end of the silent auction portion of the evening, I had lost on all the items I bid on. Oh, well.
The second half was the live auction, where volunteer auctioneers from the law school population got up and gave their spiel about each item. Bidding went fairly quickly on the hottest items. Here, the lots up for bid consisted largely of big-ticket items, from golf outings with lawyers and judges, luxury box seats at Lakers games, a week in Vail, and the like. We had interpreters scheduled for this portion, so a group of us watched the auction and bid when we were interested. I bid on a few things, such as a week's hotel stay in Cabo San Lucas, a helicopter ride over Los Angeles, and a tour of the Playboy Mansion (this is donated annually, and is a perennial favorite). I was quickly outbid, as the bidding escalated into hundreds of dollars in most cases. It was funny though, as the majority of bidders for the Playboy Mansion tour were women, and the last two or three bidders were women.
While I doubt I'll be going to Christie's or Butterfield's anytime soon, at least I've had a taste of the auction experience. I also see it primarily as a fun thing for people who have the money to burn. Most of the items in the silent auction went for close to or almost at the cash value of the item, and in one case, actually exceeded the value (it was a restaurant coupon for $20; the closing bid was $22). Still, the money earned goes towards PILF, which provides cash stipends for summer interns in public interest, which is for the most part an unpaid internship. The monies doled out thus help keep students from starving over the summer. Unlike a regular auction, this one was for a good cause. If we're still around next year, I might go again. Who knows? I might win the Playboy Mansion tour, and I can take four people with me. *grin* Want to come?
Well, tonight I got a chance to go to an auction. My lovely wife is on the PILF (Public Interest Law Fund) Board this year, and PILF has an annual auction. The first part was a silent auction, which is perfect for deaf people (or for anyone, really). Items or descriptions of items were placed on tables all around the room, with sheets underneath where you placed your paddle number, your name, and your bid. There was quite a range of material, from restaurant gift certificates to a night or two in a swanky hotel to signed scripts of TV shows and movies. I got into the spirit of things, and bid on quite a few items. But anyone can come back and re-bid, thereby upping the total bid price, and by the end of the silent auction portion of the evening, I had lost on all the items I bid on. Oh, well.
The second half was the live auction, where volunteer auctioneers from the law school population got up and gave their spiel about each item. Bidding went fairly quickly on the hottest items. Here, the lots up for bid consisted largely of big-ticket items, from golf outings with lawyers and judges, luxury box seats at Lakers games, a week in Vail, and the like. We had interpreters scheduled for this portion, so a group of us watched the auction and bid when we were interested. I bid on a few things, such as a week's hotel stay in Cabo San Lucas, a helicopter ride over Los Angeles, and a tour of the Playboy Mansion (this is donated annually, and is a perennial favorite). I was quickly outbid, as the bidding escalated into hundreds of dollars in most cases. It was funny though, as the majority of bidders for the Playboy Mansion tour were women, and the last two or three bidders were women.
While I doubt I'll be going to Christie's or Butterfield's anytime soon, at least I've had a taste of the auction experience. I also see it primarily as a fun thing for people who have the money to burn. Most of the items in the silent auction went for close to or almost at the cash value of the item, and in one case, actually exceeded the value (it was a restaurant coupon for $20; the closing bid was $22). Still, the money earned goes towards PILF, which provides cash stipends for summer interns in public interest, which is for the most part an unpaid internship. The monies doled out thus help keep students from starving over the summer. Unlike a regular auction, this one was for a good cause. If we're still around next year, I might go again. Who knows? I might win the Playboy Mansion tour, and I can take four people with me. *grin* Want to come?
posted by Mr. Sandman | 11:37 PM
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