Popcorn and cookie sales vs silent auctions

Almost every unit reading this already runs a product sale, and it is usually the unit's largest income line. An auction is not a replacement for it and should not be planned as one.

They are different transactions

• A product sale asks a supporter to buy a thing at a set price, with a portion going to the unit. The supporter's decision is small, quick and familiar, and the unit's share is a fraction of what changes hands
• An auction asks a supporter to compete for something specific, with all of it going to the unit. The decision is larger and slower, and the ceiling on any single item is set by the bidders rather than by a price list

That difference is the reason to run both. A product sale reaches breadth: the neighbour, the co-worker, the person at the store entrance. An auction reaches depth: the family, the alumni parent, the chartered organization's member who would rather give the unit fifty dollars than buy a tin of popcorn.

Keep them apart in the calendar

The households that buy popcorn are largely the households that will bid. Running an auction six weeks after a product sale closes asks the same people a second time, and the second ask carries the result.

Put them at opposite ends of the year. If your product sale is in the autumn, run the auction in late winter or spring, attached to a court of honour, a banquet or the campaign for summer camp. If your sale is in the spring, invert it.

Do not let them compete for volunteers either

The committee running a product sale is usually the committee that would run an auction. Overlapping them costs you the people as well as the households. Assign different leads if you can, and put both on the unit calendar at the start of the year rather than deciding month to month.

What each is good for

• Product sale: reliable base income, broad reach, an activity Scouts participate in directly, and a well-established process
• Auction: a specific goal with a deadline, higher per-supporter amounts, reach into alumni and extended family, and no requirement for Scouts to approach the public

That last point is worth noting for units where the public-facing part of a product sale is a barrier for some families. An online auction is promoted by adults and bid on by supporters; it does not need a Scout at a table outside a store.

Check both against your approval

Money-earning guidance commonly asks whether an activity competes with council or national fundraising. A product sale usually is that fundraising; an auction is generally a separate unit activity. Answer the question honestly on the form and let your council tell you.

See the council approval process. To plan the auction itself: silent auctions for Scout troops and packs.