If you're running a silent auction, setting the proper starting bid, bid steps and buy-it-now price will result in higher bids and bigger donations.
Here are some rules of thumb:
For TravelPledge items, use the TravelPledge-provided starting bid, available within the experience details.
For non-TravelPledge donated items, start the bidding at 30%-50% of the fair market value (FMV).
Your bid steps should be about 10% of the retail value of your item. You can view the retail value of TravelPledge items within the experience details.
You should have 10 to 14 bid steps, with the 1st step being the starting bid and the 14th step being the “Buy-it-now price”.
Example: Suppose you are auctioning a vacation with a retail value of $1000 and a starting bid of $600. The following bids should be $600, $700, etc... all the way until your buy-it-now price of $1,900.
Note: WinningBidder.com online auction software automatically sets the bid increments based on the current high bid.