A few days ago I was asked by a fellow auctioneer about the Instant Purchase option during Silent Auctions.

Reply:  

 Use caution with the "Instant Purchase" option:  when run by volunteers, it often causes more problems than expected due to guest misunderstandings, volunteers not explaining, volunteers not removing the sheet once purchased, etc.

    If you're not familiar with the Instant Purchase option during silent auctions, think of it like the "Buy It Now" option on E-bay, which is the set price at which you can halt the bidding process by agreeing to purchase the item for a higher amount, typically 100%-150% of value.  (Note:  Use a phrase like "Instant Purchase" rather than E-bay's "Buy It Now" term.)

   On paper, this seems like a great option:  if bidders don't want to stand around to keep raising their bids, they can buy it outright and be done with it, while the charity gets a good return on that item.  

   The problems arise not with the concept, but with the execution of the idea.  To make it successful requires:

1.  A PROMINENT place on the Bid Sheet for the Instant Purchase option and price (not in small print at the bottom)

2. Audience education, both on the auction catalog and on display.

3.  Trained volunteers by those items which have the Instant Purchase option to verbally educate bidders.

4. Alert volunteers or staff who will instantly remove said bid sheet once it's been taken off the bidding market.

5. Those bid sheets which were pulled off the tables early (before the rest of the table closes) must get delivered to the invoicers.

IN PRACTICE, this is what often happens the night of:

1. No one notices the Instant Purchase option on the bid sheet.

2. If bidders notice it, most won't know what it means, often because there wasn't printed directions or because they won't read!

3. Volunteers are milling around and either not knowledgeable or unavailable to answer questions.

4. The bid sheet remains on the table after an Instant Purchase is made, thus sparking a disagreement between the "last" bidder when the table closes and the "highest" bidder which the last bidder knew nothing about.

5. Instant Purchase sheets which are correctly pulled early get set aside in the mania of the night and don't get invoiced at all. 

If you've got a crowd already familiar with the concept, and you've got an experienced and dedicated set of silent auction helpers who will administer the process correctly, it can work.

The question remains, however:  If a bidder was willing to pay $150 for a $100 item, would she have paid $160?

With Instant Purchase, you'll never get the chance to find out.