42244 0 3 econsultancy_xml <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>Where did the idea come from?</strong> </p> <p>Emma did a charity ball back in 2006, and the auction raised £300,000. We had organised for people to bid online before the ball so that the lots already had some bids when the auction started. </p> <p>We also noticed that lots worth £140,000 from the auction were never used by the people who had bought them. This included items like a £20,000 skiing holiday and a weekend in Cornwall. </p> <p>Sometimes people buy these lots but are unable to make the dates, so it seemed to us like a huge waste of resources. </p> <p>We then teamed up with a number of charities to see if they would put these items on the site. </p> <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>How does the auction process work?</strong> </p> <p>It works in a similar way to other auction sites: after registering first, visitors can choose the item they want to bid for. People can chose to enter a maximum amount, so their bids will increase in increments, as with eBay. We also plan to introduce a 'buy it now' option for some auctions. </p> <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>Did you or Emma come from a web background?</strong> </p> <p>No, neither of us did. My background is in marketing. I used to work for Saatchi and Saatchi before setting up my own agency. Emma’s background is in fine arts and antiques, so she has a lot of experience with auctions. </p> <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>Do you make more with online auctions compared to charity events?</strong> </p> <p>This depends on the items on offer. With charity balls, there are some items which we can’t find much interest for, whereas online we can reach a larger audience and find a buyer for most items. </p> <p>On the other hand, online buyers are often more interested in finding a bargain on items like flights and holidays. </p> <p>We still find though, that many people are prepared to pay good prices online, because it is for charity. </p> <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>What kinds of items have you sold?</strong> </p> <p>We sold the big red chair from Big Brother for £6,600, while last week we sold a pair of tickets to the Champions League final in Moscow for £4,750. </p> <p>We have other items coming up in the summer, such as a Fender Stratocaster signed by the members of Pink Floyd, and decorated by Gerald Scarfe.</p> <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>How are you marketing the site?</strong> </p> <p>We have a lot of support from charities, and have gained a lot of reciprocal links from these sites, as well as philanthropic organisations like the Big Give. </p> <p>We also intend to spend money on AdWords to promote some of our items, and are also in the process of hiring an SEO agency. </p> <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>What kind of traffic are you getting? Where from?</strong> </p> <p>We launched in April, and traffic has been increasing. We have had 7000 unique visitors over the last three weeks. </p> <p>About 30% of our traffic comes via referrals from other sites, about 20% from search engines, and 50% direct. The proportion of traffic from search and referrals has been increasing. </p> <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>How much have you raised so far?</strong> </p> <p>Since launching on 17th April, we have raised a total of £35,000, but we hope to reach a total of £2m by the end of the year. </p> <p>---------------------</p> <p> <strong>Related research:</strong> <br /> <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/charity-website-benchmarks-2007">2007 Charity Website Benchmarks Report</a> </p> <p> <strong>Related stories:</strong> <br /> <a href="/blog/1491-charities-failing-to-make-the-most-of-the-web">Charities failing to make the most of the web</a> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Where did the idea come from?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Emma did a charity ball back in 2006, and the auction raised £300,000. We had organised for people to bid online before the ball so that the lots already had some bids when the auction started. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We also noticed that lots worth £140,000 from the auction were never used by the people who had bought them. This included items like a £20,000 skiing holiday and a weekend in Cornwall. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Sometimes people buy these lots but are unable to make the dates, so it seemed to us like a huge waste of resources. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We then teamed up with a number of charities to see if they would put these items on the site. </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>How does the auction process work?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>It works in a similar way to other auction sites: after registering first, visitors can choose the item they want to bid for. People can chose to enter a maximum amount, so their bids will increase in increments, as with eBay. We also plan to introduce a 'buy it now' option for some auctions. </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Did you or Emma come from a web background?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>No, neither of us did. My background is in marketing. I used to work for Saatchi and Saatchi before setting up my own agency. Emma’s background is in fine arts and antiques, so she has a lot of experience with auctions. </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Do you make more with online auctions compared to charity events?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>This depends on the items on offer. With charity balls, there are some items which we can’t find much interest for, whereas online we can reach a larger audience and find a buyer for most items. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>On the other hand, online buyers are often more interested in finding a bargain on items like flights and holidays. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We still find though, that many people are prepared to pay good prices online, because it is for charity. </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>What kinds of items have you sold?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We sold the big red chair from Big Brother for £6,600, while last week we sold a pair of tickets to the Champions League final in Moscow for £4,750. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We have other items coming up in the summer, such as a Fender Stratocaster signed by the members of Pink Floyd, and decorated by Gerald Scarfe.</Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>How are you marketing the site?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We have a lot of support from charities, and have gained a lot of reciprocal links from these sites, as well as philanthropic organisations like the Big Give. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We also intend to spend money on AdWords to promote some of our items, and are also in the process of hiring an SEO agency. </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>What kind of traffic are you getting? Where from?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We launched in April, and traffic has been increasing. We have had 7000 unique visitors over the last three weeks. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>About 30% of our traffic comes via referrals from other sites, about 20% from search engines, and 50% direct. The proportion of traffic from search and referrals has been increasing. </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>How much have you raised so far?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Since launching on 17th April, we have raised a total of £35,000, but we hope to reach a total of £2m by the end of the year. </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center">---------------------</Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Left"> <Emphasis>Related research:</Emphasis> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="http://econsultancy.com/reports/charity-website-benchmarks-2007" Window="Self">2007 Charity Website Benchmarks Report</Link> </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Left"> <Emphasis>Related stories:</Emphasis> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="/blog/1491-charities-failing-to-make-the-most-of-the-web" Window="Self">Charities failing to make the most of the web</Link> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2008-05-21T15:38:00+01:00 0 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>Buy Once Give Twice is a charity auction site which sells items that have been left uncollected from charity balls and other functions.</strong> </p> <p>After noticing that many items from charity auctions went unredeemed, Mia Woodford and Emma Leschallas launched <a href="http://www.buyoncegivetwice.co.uk/b1g2">Buy Once Give Twice</a> in April this year. </p> <p> <em>We talked to co-founder Mia Woodford about the website...</em> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Buy Once Give Twice is a charity auction site which sells items that have been left uncollected from charity balls and other functions.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>After noticing that many items from charity auctions went unredeemed, Mia Woodford and Emma Leschallas launched <Link URL="http://www.buyoncegivetwice.co.uk/b1g2" Window="Self">Buy Once Give Twice</Link> in April this year. </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Quote>We talked to co-founder Mia Woodford about the website...</Quote> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 2462 365670 Q&A: Mia Woodford of charity auction site Buy Once Give Twice false 2008-06-02T13:36:00+01:00 q-a-mia-woodford-of-charity-auction-site-buy-once-give-twice 2009-04-29T15:56:35+01:00 2009-04-29T15:56:35+01:00 620