When I co-chaired the Willows School auction, the night of the event, bidding went very well, exceeding our expectations. Wine was flowing and parents were having fun. As the night went on, a dad at our table had a bit too much to drink and spilled a bottle of champagne all over the table without even noticing. Lucikly, I didn’t get wet. My husband sweetly bought me a pair of diamond earrings I really “needed.” There was proxy bidding, but nothing got out of control. Bidding for popular items was spirited and the competition was friendly.
At school auctions, parents who purchased a big-ticket item occasionally get buyer’s remorse and try to avoid picking up the item. The event co-chairs discreetly encourage the buyer to pick up the item or they find another buyer. Sometimes the project involved is a kid’s class art project and the buyer decided that $5K is too much for little Lulu and her classmates’ self-portraits. I can’t imagine bidding for a class project going so wrong it ends up in a lawsuit! But, then again, $50K for a kindergarten art project is on the high side…
This is a must-read story about an expensive NYC private elementary school auction involving a proxy bidder who spent $50K of a wealthy family’s money on an over-priced kindergarten art project. The parents are suing the school and removed their kid.
Click on link below for story:
