Last week, I blogged about the benefits of selling unique items at auction.  However, things like Till Krautkraemer’s meat water is not what we had in mind.  His business created a fake new beverage called meat water.  It is said to come in every meat flavor you can name, hamburger, steak, fish anything!  Yuck!  Would you buy this?  Probably not!  Neither would anyone else.  That’s why it was created to be a publicity stunt not a real product.

            Selling a rare item like this at auction might produce a lot of interest, but are people actually going to bid on it?  Would you?  While it is beneficial to sell unique items that bring excitement to your auction, having items that aren’t appealing (like meat water) are probably worth avoiding.  Although meat water sounds like an interesting item to sell, would meat water appeal to anyone in your crowd?  Imagine someone offering to donate an expensive piece of abstract art, that 90 percent of your crowd doesn’t find attractive.  Selling art at a benefit auction is a gamble because everyone has different tastes in art.  Personal tastes are too hard to estimate and rely on.  It would be safer to auction off a free dental cleaning that is donated by one of your board members who happens to be a dentist!  At least it can be safely assumed that the majority of your bidders have teeth.