Join the Fun: 1 Year Anniv. Auction Show - Tips from a Chef Success Newbie

[punkie1019]

Anyone have any experience with an auction style show?
I am planning my 1 year anniversary show as an auction type show. I attached a copy of the invite I am planning to mail out to past hosts, past guests, friends, family and co-workers. I am hoping that the invite conveys the message of what it is I am having.
My plan is to still do a typical cooking show. Introduce my self to new faces, thank everyone for coming and supporting me throughout the year. Do a recipe demo, giving out additional tickets for have it/love it responses. Do the booking slide while the recipe is cooking. Also do the Thanks for joining us slip giving out more tickets for those who fill it out completly. I then want to set a timer for an additional 3 minutes as a last chance to earn tickets. I plan to say that this is your last chance to earn tickets and you earn them by asking either about my business or about booking a party. When the timer dings its over I will do my full service checkout. THEN when the guests have paid and the show is totaled I will do the auction. I have a few things already that I have saved up to auction off. Then my thought was I will auction off items with the host benifits. I could auction off the benifits them selves but I thought it might be more fun to bid on actual products. So along with what I have gathered thru the year plus things I pick based on the sales we would start the bidding.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be so helpful. I have not done anything or heard of anything like this before.
thanks in advance
JEN
newbie to chef success.

 

[punkie1019]

Cant seem to post the attachment... at the moment.

 

[Admin Greg]

I have attended an auction style show before and it was a lot of fun! The host had gathered items from previous shows, as well as some additional items from her own personal collection. She also had a few items donated by local businesses, which added some variety to the auction.One suggestion I have is to make sure you have a good mix of lower priced items and higher priced items. This will allow everyone to participate and bid on something, even if they don't have a lot of money to spend.Also, make sure to have a good auctioneer who can keep the energy and excitement going. It can be helpful to have someone who is familiar with your products and can talk about their features and benefits during the auction.Another idea is to have some fun "mystery" items that guests can bid on without knowing what they are. These can be items that you have extras of or that you want to clear out, but guests won't know what they are bidding on until they win it.Overall, I think it's a great idea to incorporate an auction into your show, as it adds an element of excitement and allows guests to get some great deals on products they may not have otherwise purchased. Good luck with your show!