The auction items you choose have more bearing on the final total than almost anything else about your event. A strong lot list can rescue a slow room. A weak one will drag even the most enthusiastic crowd to a flat finish.
This is a guide to what actually performs well in the room, how to source it, and what to avoid.
– Experiential lots outperform physical items consistently. A weekend at a supporter’s property raises more than a hamper.
– Live auction lots need fewer but higher-value items. Silent auction lots can be wider and more varied.
– Source lots by asking directly. Most businesses and individuals say yes when given context about your cause and your audience.
– Never bring in a consignment company to supply lots. They keep a significant share of every bid, reducing what goes to your charity.
– A lot list of eight to twelve items is almost always better than a list of twenty.
Why lot selection matters as much as the room
The lots you put in front of a room tell the audience how seriously to take the auction. A lot list that looks like it was assembled last week, with generic items from the internet and a few bottles of wine, signals exactly that level of effort. The room reads it, and the bids reflect it.
Conversely, a list built around genuinely desirable, hard-to-access experiences gets a room excited before the first bid is called. People plan their strategy during dinner. They talk to the person next to them. That kind of engagement translates directly into competitive bidding, which translates into a higher final total.
The other reason lot selection matters: it determines whether your whole event budget goes to your cause, or whether a portion disappears to a third party. More on that below.
The difference between live auction items and silent auction items
Live and silent auctions require different types of lots.
Live auction items are the headline pieces. They go under the hammer with a professional auctioneer driving the room, and they need to be able to withstand three to five minutes of sustained attention. This means they need high perceived value, broad appeal, and ideally some scarcity: the feeling that this cannot be bought at a shop or booked online.
The best live auction items tend to be:
– Unique experiences tied to your network (dinner with a well-known figure, a hosted trip, access to an exclusive event)
– Hospitality packages: sporting events, theatre, culinary experiences with genuine names behind them
– Luxury stays: a supporter’s holiday property, a country house weekend, a vineyard break
Silent auction items work best when they appeal to a wider range of budgets and interests. They run during the drinks reception or dinner, giving guests time to browse and place bids on paper or through an app. Volume matters more here: fifteen to twenty items across different categories will serve a mixed room better than eight premium pieces.
Silent auction lots that work well:
– Restaurant vouchers and local dining experiences
– Spa and wellness packages
– Activity days: golf, flying lessons, cookery classes
– Family-friendly items: tickets to attractions, children’s workshops
– Art and craft pieces from local or well-known artists
The key distinction is effort versus reward. A live lot needs to justify a public bidding war. A silent lot needs to be appealing enough that someone walking past stops, picks up the pen, and puts their name down. Different criteria, different sourcing strategy.
For guidance on how the live segment runs and how to structure the bidding, see the live auction page.
Experience-based lots outperform physical items
This is the most consistent finding across the charity auction events I have run over the past twenty years.
Physical items, however nice, carry a market reference price. A guest can check on their phone whether they are getting a good deal. The moment bidding approaches or exceeds retail value, many bidders drop out. There is a ceiling, and it is a visible one.
Experiences do not have that ceiling. There is no comparison to be made online. The value is inherent to the experience itself: where it happens, who it is with, what it means to be in that room or on that trip. When an experience is tied to your network, the ceiling is whatever the room is willing to pay, because there is simply no other way to get it.
A case in point: a donated weekend at a supporter’s lakehouse in the Scottish Highlands will regularly outperform a luxury hamper that retails at twice the guide value. The hamper has a price. The weekend does not.
This does not mean physical items have no place. They work well in the silent auction, as mid-tier lots, or when they are genuinely rare: signed memorabilia from a supporter with real name recognition, for example. But if you have to choose between an experience and an item for your live auction, choose the experience.
How to source charity auction items without paying for them
The goal is a lot list where every item cost your charity nothing, so that every pound bid belongs to your cause.
The good news is that this is achievable. Most lots can be sourced through direct asks: supporters, local businesses, national brands with community programmes, and individuals within your network who have something of genuine value to offer.
How to ask for lots effectively
Be specific. Vague requests produce generic responses. A direct brief works better: tell the donor who will be in the room, what the approximate bidding range might be, and what happens to the money. A business that knows they are donating to a room of 150 guests with significant disposable income will approach the ask very differently from one given no context at all.
Make it low friction. If a restaurant wants to donate a dinner for two, they should not need to fill in a three-page form. A simple email confirmation is enough. You can formalise the acknowledgement afterwards.
Categories worth approaching directly
- Hotels and short-stay accommodation (many have community budgets for exactly this)
- Restaurants, particularly independent or well-regarded local ones
- Sports clubs and hospitality providers
- Artists, photographers, and makers within your network
- Experiences you or your board can personally provide
One of the most effective lots I have seen donated was a private cookery lesson at a supporter’s home. It cost the donor two evenings of their time. It raised £2,400. The perceived value was entirely personal.
The consignment trap: why you should not use auction companies to supply your lots
Some auction companies offer to supply your lots under a consignment arrangement. They bring auction prizes for charity events, and your charity keeps the money bid above a pre-set reserve price. The company keeps everything up to the reserve.
This sounds convenient. In practice, it is one of the most expensive decisions a charity can make.
The reserves on consignment items are set to benefit the supplier, not your charity. They are inflated, opaque, and non-negotiable. A lot that bids to £1,200 might carry a reserve of £900. Your charity receives £300. The supplier receives £900. The room spent the same energy, the same attention, the same emotion, and sent most of the result to a for-profit business.
Multiply that across fifteen consignment lots in a single evening, and the real financial cost becomes clear.
The alternative, sourcing lots yourself, requires more effort in the planning stages. But it is not that much more effort, and the return is dramatically better. Every pound bid by the room stays with your cause. That is the model worth building towards.
A note on lot count and lot order
Eight to twelve lots is the right number for most live auctions. Beyond twelve, room energy tends to drop before you reach the strongest items on the list.
Starting with your best lot is counterintuitive, but it sets the tone. A room that opens with a genuine bidding war carries that energy through the rest of the list. Saving your strongest piece for last only works if the room is still engaged by the time you get there, which is not guaranteed.
Reverse logic applies to the silent auction: more lots tend to work in your favour, up to a point. Around fifteen to twenty is a reasonable range. Beyond twenty-five, bidding thins out at the lower end of the list.
If you are running both formats at the same event, consider how the two complement each other: the silent auction handles the wider lot list during dinner, freeing the live auction to focus on the highest-value pieces at the end of the evening.
Getting the lot list right before the evening
The lot list is one of the few things you can control completely before the event begins. The room, the weather, the AV setup: those carry risk. The lots do not.
Start sourcing at least eight weeks out. Give yourself time to follow up, and to add or remove items as commitments come in. Keep a running document with confirmed donations, any agreed minimum values, and a one-sentence description for each item that an auctioneer can use on the night.
If you are thinking about working with a professional auctioneer who can also advise on lot selection before the event, get in touch.