Fundraising Ideas Using eBay

Have you thought of using the online auction site eBay as your next major fundraiser?

I have, and it was a huge success!

Like many other businesses the fundraising business has seen an incredible change since the internet. Everyday there are new tools, softwares and websites that are making fundraising not only easier but a lot more fun. One of my favorite fundraising sites is eBay.com

There are many different ways you can take advantage of eBay's services and use it as a fundraiser:

? Selling your member's junk - This is something I did to fundraise for my son's preschool. I collected items from member's attics, closets and garages and sold them on eBay. We rose over $3,000 for our little preschool, which was a lot for us. However, even though I got volunteers to help, it was way too much work. At the time, eBay was my business and I knew what I was doing. I cannot imagine someone who does not know anything about the collecting business or selling on eBay to attempt this.

? Selling your member's junk using a professional eBay seller - Since eBay has become a major profession for many people, there are businesses today that specialize in selling for you. Find such a business and have them do all the work. All you have to do is collect the stuff and they will advertise, sell, and ship the items for you and send you a check. You can find a seller on eBay that lives near you through eBay's Trading Assistant program, or use a service like Auction Drop or I-Soldit.

? New items donated by members ? Many times members will donate products rather than money. EBay makes it easy for you to sell these items. Not only will you probably get a better price in a market that has millions of buyers but also this will increase your organization's visibility and potentially attract new members.

? Sell local and national gift certificates - I've done this with the preschool auction. Besides selling member's stuff, we collected local and national gift certificates. Most businesses are very generous and are happy to give you a certificate. If the business that donated the certificate had a website, I put a link to it from the eBay ad. The great thing about listing gift certificates on eBay is that you don't have to take a picture and the description is easy. However, You MUST advertise the gift certificates: Besides sending out emails to all our members with instructions to forward the email to family and friends, I placed a free ad in the local Santa Cruz Market newsgroups advertising the auction and the gift certificates. You can find newsgroups that are specific for your area.

? Sell a calendar or cookbook etc. - eBay has a cool section especially for charity organizations. Go to eBay and check it out by looking for Charity Auctions. I've seen some organizations sell their calendar, cookbook, or whatever on eBay. If you have a supply of these items you can have an ongoing auction selling that item (you would have to re-list it every 7 days).

This has great potential for a nonprofit that helps more universal causes like homelessness, Cancer/AIDS, ecology and so forth. Signing up on eBay as a nonprofit organization gets you listed under a special section. Some people browse these lists and will often buy something from the organization just for the support. EBay also supplies nonprofits with their own web page describing the organization with links back to their major site.

? Encourage members and friends who sell on eBay to sign up for eBay's new Giving Works - EBay's Giving Works program helps sellers to easily donate a portion of their sale to their favorite nonprofit. The seller chooses a nonprofit from a list (or can add a new one) and pledges to a certain percentage of the sale to that nonprofit. The pledged percentage is taken out automatically by eBay after the auction. It could not be any easier.

Frustrated with the usual unorganized school fundraisers Suzanne Wouk turned to the internet in search of a better way. To her amazement and delight, she found so many new and exciting ways to fundraise that she started the site FundraisingMom.com in order to share the information and ideas with others.

---

Bananas - Your Source of eBay Packing Materials!

This is the most boring stage of the process and... Read More

How To Find REAL Wholesale Dropshippers For Almost Any Product

With more and more people getting online, many of them... Read More

Image Hosting For Online Auctions

Use eBay picture service or host your own photos?If you... Read More

How To Increase eBay Profits

Some sell on eBay to clean out their garage or... Read More

Turn Your eBay Experience Into Even More Profit

Everyone's talking about eBay these days. With the frequency of... Read More

Profitable Paper Piecing on eBay -- Part 2

Basic Paper Piecing TipsHere are some tips that will help... Read More

So, Can You Really Sell EBooks On EBay And Make Cold Hard Cash?

Selling eBooks on eBay, and making any worthwhile profit from... Read More

Dropship Your Way to Success

Many people know they would like to start an Internet... Read More

eBay: What Should I Sell?

There is an art to picking profitable products. It's not... Read More

eBay After Sales - as Important as the Listing Itself

Your eBay listing has finished and you have made a... Read More

City Police Auctions of Personal Property and Autos

About City Police Departments AuctionsThe City Police Departments handle and... Read More

eBay Auction Sellers Guide to Finding Hot Money Making Products

You might be one of the thousands of individuals who... Read More

The Effects of eBay on American Merchandising

With one brilliantly simple idea, eBay was born just a... Read More

Mail Order: The Original Internet Still Going Strong

While the world continues to go catatonic over the Internet... Read More

Photos on my eBay Auctions: How Do I Add Them?

On another forum I'm involved with, someone's asked a great... Read More

Is it Antique and is it Worth Anything?

Is it an antique and is it worth anything? Would... Read More

Louis Vuitton -- Avoiding the Ebay Nightmare Fakes

Without a doubt, eBay was one of the cleverest on-line... Read More

Affordable Online Car Auctions

Still hunting for the car of your dreams? Public car... Read More

How To Sell Internationally On eBay Without Risk

Many people just getting started on eBay have reservations when... Read More

How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay

Artists, craftspeople and photographers are successfully selling their wares everyday... Read More

Online Auctions Business

Online auction sites are a great way to find a... Read More

Buying At Auction: 6 Hints to Make You a Successful Bidder

Buying at auction, be it for stamps or coins, antiques... Read More

Everything You Need To Know About Ebay Money Making Opportunities

Ebay money making opportunities are simply the best thing to... Read More

Make BIG MONEY on eBay - Your Unlimited Cash Cow

Let me be brutally honest; until recently, I had never... Read More

eBay - The Basics

I began selling on eBay in 1999 and have found... Read More

Auction Sales - Keeping Customers You Worked So Hard To Get!

If you've studied business concepts you know that finding a... Read More

Six Steps Towards Successful Buying at eBay Auctions

Buying on eBay can be very rewarding, either in terms... Read More

Attract eBay Buyers Like Crazy!

As an ebay(TM) seller it happens very often (too often)... Read More

Mistakes to Avoid in your eBay Auctions

Online auctions continue to grow in popularity as an easy... Read More

How to Sell on eBay Internationally without Risk

eBay allows you the opportunity to sell all over the... Read More

Royal Memorabilia ?Smart Trading and Fake Dodging

This is my second article about trading royal memorabilia on... Read More

Shipping Supplies For Your eBay Auction Business

Auction supplies are clearly an expense and major consideration for... Read More

How to Locate Drop Shippers for Your Success

Like the human heart, drop shippers can keep the blood... Read More