#1 Source of Charity Auction Items

Charity Questions: Which is better - Autographed Memorabilia – VS. – Wall Art & Décor www.BWUnlimited.com

This is a common question and honestly it’s something I had to wrap my head around when I first started business.  I wondered why autographed items were so expensive. 

Question #1:  Why are autographed items so expensive?

People truly believe that we stand out in front of a dug out or a stadium with a ton

of people and ask Athletes for their autographs – not true.  They think that Athletes or Celebrities autograph items for free.  I’ve heard this frequently “These people are celebrities and high paid athletes, they should do it for free.”  If you believe or even think that, you’re truly living in a fantasy land. 

Another major reason is and yet another reason that sets us apart from our competition who are documented counterfeiters, authentic autographs are NOT easy to come by.  We run out of them continually.  They are only so many.  Our competitors seem to never run out of the same autographed items, even when people die.

Athletes, through their representatives charge to conduct autograph signings.  In fact, the latest and greatest is – they charge to get a picture with them, its called a Photo Op.  Some Athletes such as Derek Jeter, Tom Brady & Peyton Manning charge ridiculous amounts of money.  Where other athletes don’t charge much at all.

For instance – what is the difference here? 

About a $800.00 difference.  Tom Brady’s autograph is ridiculously expensive!!!

So you have to understand, autographed items have a “Niche” market.  In fact, keeping with my Honesty & Integrity policy, I only offer what is called a Replica Helmet and seldom a Pro-Line “On Field” helmet.  I will only offer a Pro-Line when it’s the only one available.  A Replica Helmet looks exactly like a real helmet, it’s the exact same shell but a Pro-Line has all the real padding and is slightly thicker.  From 3 foot away, you can’t tell the difference.  Pro-Line’s are more for Collectors and are much more expensive.  Charities on the other hand, need to put more profit in their bank accounts.

Question #2:  Why is Décor & Wall Art better than autographed items?

Well, before I answer this, I need to tell you how we came up with the idea of Décor.  Again, reference the above, autographed items are expensive. 

When I first began, I was a part of an autograph signing with the Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Roy Halladay.  During the signing, he forgot to sign one of the photos.  So, I was going to an event in Philadelphia and had this unsigned photo.  I framed it and put it on the silent auction not expecting much with a very low starting bid.  It sold for $550.00!!!  I was shocked!!!  It wasn’t autographed; it was just a fantastic photo.   (Here it is).

The 2^nd time, I had a Philadelphia Phillies Banner.  I thought, I can’t just lay this banner on the table; it’s boring so I had our framing department simply frame it.  It sold for $330.00 (3) times!!!  Again shocked!!! 

So that is where it all started.  The reason people love our Décor & Wall Art is for various reasons – they are extremely nice, they have laser engraved autographs, they are very large and the pictures are awesome. 

We have Collages ranging from Legends to Ticket Collages.  We have Celebrity quotes along with historical events.  They just do awesome.

Plus – now here is the major reason they do great – we can offer them to as many bidders that are interested.  Our charities can double or even triple their profit.  We can also make items that truly cater to the crowd and are always coming up with new items based on current trends or winning seasons.

That’s the answer.  If you would like to see our Catalogs to see what we offer, email me directly at George@bwunlimited.com.

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity leader in a convenient “One Stop Shop” setting.  If you would like to learn more, contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com.

How to get the best advertisement for your next charity event & Don't think for your guests

Missing Spoke Fundraising - www.BWUnlimited.com

When you were a kid, do you remember riding your bike or even jumping ramps?  I can remember when I was a child, looking at the “Spokes” and wondering what they were for.  Then one day, I had the bright idea that I wanted my bike to look “Cooler” then the other kids, so I decided to get my father’s wire cutters and cut a bunch of the spokes off.  Bad move.  As soon as I started to ride, my bike came crashing down with me smacking the pavement hard.  I can still remember it to this day – Bad Idea.  I found out, obviously, that all the spokes held the wheel together.

On a daily basis, I see people hosting endless fundraisers all across North America.  In fact, because I am in the industry on a national level, I can’t seem to get away from seeing it.  I have seen everything…every little way that charities and people attempt to fundraise – it’s amazing what people will do to fundraise $1.00.

What happens more time then not is, people will see charity or group “A” doing a fundraiser.  Or they will attend a fundraising event that charity or group “A” is doing and get ideas from them for their own fundraiser.  They will then go back and begin to plan their fundraising event (which we will call event “B”) based on what they saw at the “A” event.  But what they don’t realize is, that the “A” was not successful.  Plus in turn, when they take ideas from the “A” event, they will miss a few important details and fundraising event “B” will be even more unsuccessful.

For instance, a common fundraising event in and around Baltimore is called a “Bull Roast.”  In Delaware and Pennsylvania, they call them “Beef & Beer” events.  It’s basically an event that is relaxed and they cook beef over fire, commonly referred to as “Pit Beef” – it’s great, believe me.

These events over done over and over and over again.  A very common theme is that they utilize “Old & Tired” unsuccessful raffles.  These raffles are done over and over and over again, they are – 50/50’s, Plants Wheels, Money Wheels, Money Boards etc.

I want you to ask yourself this – if you are trying to fundraise, why then would you give money away as a prize?  I have heard all the excuses “People love it” or “They always give the money back.”  True, everybody loves to win money.  False, 83% of the time people DO NOT give the money back.  These raffle’s are extremely inefficient and are not profitable.  Yes you do make some money, but again, what are you trying to do?  Raise money? 

Plus, another common thing people do is only utilize donated products - Tons of Gift Baskets & Gift Certificates etc.  In fact, they will even look to see what donations were donated by who and they will then approach the same people!  It’s Reality!  They don’t realize that the items there didn’t do well.  Plus they didn’t get all the information on how the raffle works, how you sell it, etc.

The problem is, after the fundraising event, charities never go back to analyze the profitability of what they did!  They just keeping repeating the “Same Old Style” fundraisers year after year after year.

In regard to fundraising raffles, remember the simple fact that people “Like to Win”!  It doesn’t matter what they win, as long as they have a chance to win something.  Smaller is always better, give out a bunch of prizes instead of one (1).  Donated items such as Gift Certificates and Gift Baskets are fantastic as raffle prizes.  Plus instead of bringing 1/2 of their retail value, it will bring 10 times the retail in a raffle. 

Or another thing that drives me nuts is when we consult a charity on raffle's that truly work and are highly successful, then they change it to something else and it's a disaster.  Why?  Because they missed a few spokes!  It happens all the time.

So, like me when I was a child, they are missing a “Bunch of Missing Spokes.”  You have to look at everything on it’s own, ask questions and educate yourself.  You have to ask yourself “Would you give the money back?”  Doubt it. 

Remember this – everything has a shelf life.  In order to be a highly successful fundraiser, you must be different and unique.  But more importantly, you have to be smart.  Think through things, talk it over…but make sure you are not missing a few spokes.

If you would like our help, contact us today at www.BWUnlimited.com.

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity Fundraising leader in a “One Stop Shop” convenient setting.  The fundraising experts at BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising can help guide both you and your staff through the myriad of fundraising pitfalls toward an extremely successful fundraising event.  Contact us today at www.BWUnlimited.com – we look forward to hearing from you.