1. What items qualify or are appropriate for this auction?
Many kinds of items can qualify for the auction. In addition to physical possessions that you no longer use and are just taking up space in your garage, you might consider other items including collectibles, handmade creations, experiences, and services. Examples include artwork, woodworking, jewelry, quilts, photography, homemade crafts, services, stays at vacation homes or weekend cabins, private dinners, consulting, coaching, lessons, etc.
Experiences often generate surprising bids. Examples include “Weekend at our lake house”, “Dinner with…”, “Private photography session”, “Custom quilt”, etc. Those can become some of the highest-value auction items.
2. What determines if an item is a good candidate for the auction?
Qualifying tangible (physical) items should be easily shippable, in good physical and/or working condition (please specify up front if not), worth shipping over long distances and worth your effort. We haven’t selected an auction site yet but on average, sellers should expect 10-20% commission and buyers 10-15% premium plus shipping costs. Please see the Seller’s Responsibility section below for more information.
Some difficult-to-ship items or services may be relevant for local areas only. We will include the Zip code of the seller so buyers can estimate shipping costs or use it to determine if they can pick an item up or use a service locally. For services that must be delivered locally, proximity to larger urban areas will increase the value of the service.
Intangible items (licenses to music/magazine/software subscriptions, stays at resorts/timeshares/cabins, etc) are often good candidates for the auction, but make sure that they are transferable. Airline miles are often not transferable (check with your airline) but the owner of the airline miles can often arrange travel in someone else’s name.
3. What is the process for determining if the auction occurs and if so, how will the auction be organized & run?
Bridges & Balm will first assess the donor interest level and auction inventory via responses to the questionnaire linked to this webpage. We will make the Go/NoGo decision in late August.
If we decide to move forward with the auction, we will select the online auction site and reach out to the potential donors to confirm participation and get detailed information on the auction items. Bridges & Balm will collaborate with donors to upload the sales information to the auction site in the first half of September. The actual auction will tentatively occur in the 3rd week in September. Once the auction completes, the seller is responsible for shipping the items to the buyer (please see the Seller Responsibilities section for more information).
4. How does the auction proceeds donation process work?
Sellers use the Bridges & Balm’s Community auction to sell items and later donate a portion of the proceeds to Bridges & Balm. From the seller’s perspective, the transaction is treated as two separate events: a standard commercial auction sale followed by a charitable cash contribution.
5. What are my responsibilities as a seller?
Once Bridges & Balm notifies the seller that the auction is moving forward, the seller is responsible for the following activities. Bridges & Balm will do everything possible to optimize the selling experience and minimize the seller effort.
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Make sure the auction items are in good condition, accurately described and that all accessories are available
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Create a login with the auction site that Bridges & Balm selects
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In collaboration with Bridges & Balm, upload the item description(s) & pictures to the auction site in a timely fashion (i.e. during the 1st week in September).
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Review & confirm the information on the auction site
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During the auction, respond to email questions about the sale items
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Once the auction is complete, package and mail physical items in a timely fashion (i.e. 7-10 days).
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Once the payment has been received, donate portion of final sale proceeds to Bridges & Balm
As mentioned above, Bridges & Balm will collaborate with the seller and minimize the seller's effort as much as possible. While we haven’t selected an auction site yet, we will prioritize selecting one that provides bulk-listing tools for batch uploads, automated shipping calculators to manage fulfillment, and integrated payment processing for secure, automated payouts. Specifically, we will select a site that best supports the following:
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Preprinted / prepaid shipping labels (drop off-no waiting in line)
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Shipping cost discounts (with selected shippers )
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Robust Proxy Bidding Settings to minimize monitoring effort
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Escrow accounts
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Dispute resolution process
6. Are there tax considerations for donating proceeds from an auction sale to a 501(c)(3) charity?
For personal tangible item auction sales followed by a donation of the proceeds to a 501(c)(3) charity, it’s typically the same as a standard cash donation to the charity from a tax perspective. For donations of intangible item sale proceeds or commercial item sale proceeds, please contact a tax expert for more information.
When a seller uses a 501(c)(3) charity’s auction to sell an item and later donates the proceeds, the transaction is treated as two separate tax events: a standard commercial sale followed by a charitable cash contribution. Because the seller retains ownership of the item until the auction finishes, the IRS views the transaction as a personal or business sale.
The Sale (Taxable Event)
The seller must calculate their capital gain or ordinary income based on the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the item, not the winning bid amount. [1, 2]
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If the item sold for more than its cost basis: The seller owes capital gains tax (or ordinary income tax if it is business inventory) on the profit up to the item's FMV. [1]
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If the item sold at a loss: If it is a personal item (like personal furniture or jewelry), the loss is not tax-deductible. If it is a business asset, it may be deductible.
The Donation (Tax Deduction)
When the seller turns around and donates the cash proceeds to the 501(c)(3) organization, they qualify for a charitable cash contribution deduction.
Deduction Amount: The seller can deduct the exact dollar amount of the cash they hand over to the charity.
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Tax Limitation: The seller must itemize their deductions to claim this benefit. Cash donations to public charities are generally deductible up to 60% of the donor's Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), with any excess rolling over for up to 5 years.