Charity Now A Regular On eBay
14 August 2006 at 1:08 pm
The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children is believed to be the first Australian charity to add eBay to its regular fundraising activities – with the added benefit of driving more traffic to its own website.
RIDBC is now using eBay to auction everyday items which would normally be sold via its opportunity shop or book fair.
RIDBC’s Webmaster, Richard Wassell, says until now charities have used eBay to auction high-ticket one-off items such as a day with a celebrity, using traditional media to publicise the auction.
RIDBC, in contrast, says it is running multiple auctions each day, listing a variety of goods, and appealing to a wider audience.
The auctions are run by the webmaster with the assistance of volunteer Jean-Paul Venevongsos, and to date have raised close to $2000. Items auctioned range from a set of Biggles books to t-shirts and Dr Who memorabilia, and have all been donated.
Wassell says the Biggles books would have sold for $20 at our book fair, but as a set on eBay they sold for over $150.
In addition, the auctions have generated valuable publicity.
He says RIDBC estimates that over the last six months between 6000 and 8000 people have viewed items listed for auction and this may account for a proportion of increased visitors to their website in that time.
He says the organisation believes that it is the first charity in Australia to use eBay in this way, and he is sure that many charities will follow our lead.
Would your organisation consider the eBay as part of its regular fundraising? Let us know your thoughts. Send us an email to probono@probonoaustralia.com.au.
