bourbonv wrote: I was curious because I was just baffled that the tasting did not sell for more than it did and was wondering if maybe my expectations were a little high. I still think that it should have went in the $400.00 range. I am debating as to whether I should do this again next year or not.
It strikes me that there are three possibilities for why the max bid didn't meet your expectations:
1) The bidders didn't really appreciate what was offered either in terms of the bourbon and/or in terms of the wisdom and guidance to accompany the tasting;
2) The bidders perceived that the auction was an opportunity to get a bargain AND contribute to a good cause. EG, if I "donate" a bottle of OFBB to an auction, I have effectively donated $35. If the distillery donates it, the donation is really a fraction of that. If all the proceeds go to charity - IE, the bidders know that the goods were donated and the charity gets all funds - the bidders may not feel the need to bid based on retail value; (NOTE: I'm not saying that's right or wrong, just that it may be the case.)
3) The bidders were underwhelmed with the bourbon selection and required something more exotic or collectible to whip them into a bourbon bidding frenzy.
Or, of course, a combination of the above. You are in the best position to determine which factors may have played into this.
Like Tim, we would have had difficulty gathering eight people outside the gazebo who would have truly appreciated the event, but, heck - if we get to keep all the leftovers, who cares?
Just out of curiosity, can you tell us more about the charity and the auction participants? How was the bidding done? How many total bids were there?