What is a Paddle Party/Quarter Auction?

What is a Paddle Party/Quarter Auction?

Each of the Direct sellers bring 8 different items from their company, for a total of 64 auction items, plus 1 donated raffle item each. Most items have a .25 cent bid. See the pictures below (in the post: items up for auction at April 3rd Paddle Party) from The Ladies of Columbus Paddle Party Fundraiser held on April 3, 2009 to get an idea of the items up for auction. Our team runs the auction.

The organization is responsible to secure the location, sell the tickets, have 2 people at the check-in table and run a concession stand (optional).

The hosting organization sells tickets for $5 each. This includes paddles and chips for bidding, plus raffle tickets for the 8 free raffles (donated by the team). Party Partners Team will email tickets to the organization for them to print. The attendance goal is 100 adults. When 100 adults attend, the organization keeps all the profits from ticket sales. If less then 100 adults attend, then the admission fee from the first 100 tickets is split between the organization and the team. If over 100 people attend and vendors receive bids in excess of retail value, we make an additional donation to the organization.

Most Paddle Parties are held on a Friday evening although we do an occasional Sunday Afternoon as well. Doors open at 6pm on Friday evening and 1pm on Sunday afternoon. This is for guests to preview the auction items and get their door prize slips filled out and into the corresponding Direct Sellers bag located at their display table. The Auction starts promptly at 7pm on Friday evening and 2pm on Sunday afternoon.

Bidding:

Guests may bid on an item using 1, 2, 3, 4 or more paddles. Each paddle is a .25 cent bid. Quarters are placed in a cup on each table, and paddles are raised to indicate they've placed a bid using that paddle. Numbers are drawn from a "master bucket". There is a matching chip for each paddle. Numbers continue to be drawn until we have a winner.

Guests should each bring 2-3 rolls of quarters. They will have the opportunity to speak with each of the vendors and place orders, book parties or learn about earning opportunities if intestered.