What can an Entertainment Company auction off?

[DannyT]

Hey, I was asked to take part in a charity event and I'm not exactly sure what I can do for them.
This person has a rare form of cancer and bills are stacking high for him. So I was approached by a friend and was asked if I could raffle something off.

The thing is, I don't know what I can do for them. I want to help, but the only thing I can think of is a magician for free. Has anyone else been put in this position? How did you handle it?

 

[RickEverhart]

I would put together some type of package deal where people get your DJ guy that you work with and yourself doing strolling at an event.
Services would be free for 2 hours.

People like Event planners or people who like to host parties would bid on it. The problem with auctions like this is you need a good crowd that has money to spend and you need a great auctioneer to keep the people bidding or it will go way too low.

I have seen theme baskets raffled off and go for decent prices. Example: an Ohio state basket that has a hat, jersey, Buckeyes CD full of game songs, T-shirt, game tickets, a football, etc all packed into it.

You are in a really weird situation where you aren't really giving them something that is material value but more of a service for free.

 

[Craig Browning]

Entertainers can help in such events simply by doing their shows but there are two ways of doing this; the obvious is to perform at the event, the less obvious is to offer a FREE SHOW package or, if you are part of the Mentalism & Bizarre world, you could offer Free Readings. . . believe it or not such things have a value to many. I'm known for charging $45.00 for 20 minutes so when I offer such a gift it has an established value in people's minds. Same goes with shows.

I know of a few instances in which magicians have actually offered Lessons in Magic either for an adult or young person . . . say five or six 45 minute sessions valued at over $200.00 and all you really need to teach them are some basic slights and a few hard hitting card effects, little other.

If you're in the position to do so you can likewise donate premiums; a Magic Grab Bag if you would, in which you include up to a dozen tricks/gimmicks, a book of 101 Tricks You Can Do, a nice deck of cards, some sponge bunnies or balls. . . something that has actual worth to it but which likewise gets repackaged so as to include your name & contact details . . . this is old school promotions that we've somehow lost in the past decade or so, but it works! Just find a dealer that will work with you in creating a basic "kit" that's affordable and the two of you suck up the cost of the physical items. The booklet I mentioned exists, you need to track it down however. I'd suggest you look into the Looftus Novelty Co.

 

[DannyT]

Thanks guys, those are some really great ideas. I might go there and do magic for free, and also provide a gift basket with cards, some small tricks, and a book on magic. I doubt my local distributor will give me anything, but I'll give it a shot and ask.
Since I do both DJs and magic, I was trying to think of a way to discount our price. Maybe like a 10% off deal or something to that effect to go in the gift basket.
Your thoughts?

 

[Craig Browning]

If you ask around some of the guys with eBooks might be willing to offer some of the more elementary material they've compiled; the sort of stuff that would get someone a start at things. You could also ask. . . eMail Josh Jay for an example, tell him what's up and point blank ask if he'd be willing to donate one of his Magic Course sets. . . trust me, there are some very generous people out there who will donate to a worthy cause.

The other thing you can do is set up a deal with a Radio Station to do some "remote magic" live or even a special "challenge" that's tied in with the area mall or a car lot. There's a ton of things you can do . . . from what I've been told, the original vanishing jet done by Copperfield, didn't even involve a real plane. It was on Glenn Falkenstien's old radio show in L.A. and by way of pure patter, they made the public believe David really vanished the plane . . . this was well before the TV special.

I've gone the other direction too; I've put an escape type contraption on exhibit stating that if the goal of X amount is met by a certain time of day on a specific day, I would allow myself to be chained up and dunked into the water (I usually do this with a rough made shipping crate but have done it with both, the Milk Can and a Water Cell . . . the submerged crate always proved more successful). This sort of thing draws in cash and gets you loads of press.