Fluff Factory thread for 2/24/05

[Trishy]

Please discuss all of your friendly FF chat here.

[ChristinaB]

Can I make a request.. can you lock the thread when it is actually a new day? It's still 9:30pm here :LOL thanks!

[MissSugarKane]

Originally Posted by ChristinaB

Can I make a request.. can you lock the thread when it is actually a new day? It's still 9:30pm here :LOL thanks!

I agree.Half the time I don't even get on the computer until 10pm.

[Boobiemama]

LOL Its not a new day here either!

[Trishy]

I can't stay up until 3 am my time to lock a thread and Megan is not up until midnight her time either. When I discussed this with Cynthia and made arrangements for the daily threads it was agreed that I would lock the old thread and start the new thread at midnight in my time zone. I realize it is not midnight for everyone but I guess that is part of the drawbacks of having different time zones,

[ChristinaB]

so maybe close it before you go to bed?

[Trishy]

I am going to bed, right now. I usually go to bed at midnight.

[LittleIslandMom]

On the heels of yesterday's (hmm... just minutes ago LOL) , let me throw out another possibly controversial question for discussion ...

We'd all love to bid on a lot more items than we can afford, I'm sure, and the thought of the money I'd ultimately spend on fluff going to charity is fabulous... that's the whole premise of these auctions in any case...

So, would you bid high and early, thus driving the bids up and making more for charity but probably eventually losing out on the item you covet because it goes beyond your price range?

Or, would you wait (as someone else had mentioned a couple of days back) till near the end of the auction and then decide if you can afford to bid on the item or not? Okay, at this point if you can't afford it there are other options to benefit the orphans by either bidding on less coveted items or donating directly, but then you didn't directly participate in driving up the prices on the hotter items?

In this instance, it appears regular auction strategy doesn't really apply, or most of us wouldn't necessarily apply it? Just for the heck of it, I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on this

[radish]

great question! i am bidding on what i really want - and how much i am willing to pay. i dont bid high or early

[averymybaby]

Night Trishy! Squeeze Joe's cheeks for me

[mehndi mama]

I usually bid right away. But then, I can't afford to bid much more than retail on anything, so I usually end up bidding, knowing full well that I will be outbid....probably in minutes! Besides, if I see something I like, I place the bid then, when I can find it easily. I tend to forget locations & end times for auctions if I don't.

ETA: Quit pickin' on Trish, you guys! She's just doing her job! :LOL

[Boadicea]

Originally Posted by radish

great question! i am bidding on what i really want - and how much i am willing to pay. i dont bid high or early

Yep. I do bid early, but I still am bidding on what I really want. And I have a set budget, although it is cumulative, so I can raise my high bids on individual pieces as long as the total falls within that budget.

[tuffykenwell]

From the other thread from Jennyriver

oh and i meant to add that i have a feeling some of these WAHMs had NO idea their auctions would go so high - so saying 10% for something you expected to sell for lower meant you were getting a smaller profit too

Yeah that I think most of the 10% auctions that don't explicitly state that the extra will go to charity just don't figure their auctions are likely to go above retail (like mine LOL!) It wouldn't even occur to me to state something like that in the auction because I honestly think I would fall down if I actually needed to make a decision like that (not being hyena bait :LOL ) I do know that I always round up when I am sending the money to AFO anyhow...and I like to have at least one 100% auction at the end.

Actually I believe I end up in the hole at the end of every auction because there is so much tempting stuff there that I might make $30 and spend $100 :LOL But its all for the kids right (just practicing my speach for DH

Steph

[ChristinaB]

i agree Steph!

As for the new question.. I find myself bidding as high as I can or want no matter when it ends. If I win, I win. if not, I bumped it up to get it higher and someone who CAN pay the higher price will and it goes to the kids!

[scrappinmomof3]

After reading all of the responses in the other thread (and let Trish close it when she does ... ), and thinking it over, it is up to each individual to make their giving choices, no matter what the charity or event. Let me give you a little of my background.

I worked for the Better Business Bureau in Kentucky. One of the branches of the BBB was charitable giving... giving out information to callers about different charities. Many callers wanted to know if they were "legit" ... of course, we could only give the information that had been given to us, or information that we had compiled about the organization.

Along with giving general information about the actual organization, we told givers that they should also ask "how much of my $ 1 goes toward the actual charity, and how much goes toward administrative costs?" Ours was an 80/20 split... if more than 20 percent went to the administrative costs (mostly to the people who were hired to make the calling), then we would tell callers that they did not meet our standards, but did not discourage them from making their donations. Why? Because....

Each giver has an opinion. Each giver has a CHOICE to make. Do they want to give to an organization who only sees x percentage of the money I give them?

It is the same thing here. Everyone has a choice. If you don't want to donate to a 10 percent donation auction, then look for something that is higher. As of last night, there were 67 100 percent donated auctions. Don't lose sight of that aspect. if every one of those auctions went off at an average of $ 50 a piece (and that is a LOW estimate), that is over half of the amount that we are needing! Over $ 3300!!! And that doesn't include the 100 percent auctions that have already closed. PLUS some of those auctions have free shipping, so the WAHM who has one of those items in their possession (I would be one of those) pays for the item/s to be shipped. Is that sour grapes? ABsolutely not.

So, with all of this being said, what I *wanted* to say is this: you, as a giver, have a choice. If you want to know how much of a 10 percent or 25 percent auction that is going for higher than retail is being donated to AFO, ask the WAHM involved. Although she won't know what her auction will end at, she will probably tell you what she is thinking.

I think the question asked was a good one ... everyone needs to understand where their money is going when it comes to charitable giving, both the person giving the money, and the person providing the wares.

[spatulagirl]

Meredith and also Jenny from the last thread.

I will admit I thought about what you wondered Lindsay. I totally get what you were saying. And I hope that everyone who is auctioning things up there do so with the best intentions. I am quite positive they all are though

I made the choice to bid on WAHMs I really know, like and trust. There are several I have had wonderful transactions with, exchanged nice e-mails with and who I think deserve a little extra money AND the benefit of the doubt. I have one auction I am bidding on that is below retail and I plan on at least paying retail for it, if it doesn't go higher. I also want to bid on at least ONE 100% auction... I am just trying to decide which one.

[ddandme]

I originally bid on a few items, and then got outbid within minutes. Then I decided I would ACTUALLY pay more for these goods...so I raised my bid. I have already been out bid on a couple of them. But that is ok, if I get them, then great, if I don't, then great to the people who do and GREAT for the kiddos!

I am only bidding really outrageously high on the 100% auctions though. I refuse to go over retail when only 10% will go to the kiddos...but that is me : ) To each their own, right - isn't that what the cow said to the goat? or was it a sheep? I didn't think sheep were entirely appropriate in an analogy where we are bidding on things made from their hair while they freeze in the cold weather : )

[jessicaSAR]

I feel pretty torn on some of these auctions too, especially the 100% ones. I want them to go as high as possible , but usually that is out of my price range. : I didn't bid until the last 15 minutes on the Knittybitty/Tykie monkey auction yesterday (because I really wanted it), but I went ahead and bid everything I had (because I thought it should get as much as possible). It is hard to be excited about the money going up and up, but bummed at the same time because you can't even get your bid in before you are out of the running.

Btw, Morwenna's new organic coffee shorts are amazing! And they are 100% too! Wow! I will just have to watch that one, but I bet it will be exciting.

Now, who can make me a hand-painted monkey t-shirt to go with my new dipes and soaker?

[LittleIslandMom]

Yep I REALLY want to be able to snag a Mosaic Moon but they're going very high - I really wouldn't mind paying high for one of them if I KNEW I was going to get it... argh I don't think I'm being clear about what I'm saying, or I don't really know what I'm trying to say, :LOL it's late here here I am and I should be in bed soon so pardon the babbling.

[mamaroni]

:

my head hurts too badly to give this discussion the proper thought!

But, I am bidding on what I really want, and I bid high and early, if nothing else then to drive up the price on the items. Of course, my total current winning bids total almost $250. I didn't expect to stay the leader on at least a few of them. Perhaps some others will pop in at the last second.

What's new today, ladies? I am on day 6 *stuck* at home with sick kids and a pounding head/sinus/earache and hot flashes myself. The fluff factory auctions have helped keep me sane this week!