We know parents have many questions about the auction! Before bidding begins, review the questions & answers below. If you still have questions, feel free to e-mail the Auction Committee at auctions@neweaglepto.org.
What Do I Need To Know Before the Auction Begins?
The auction will be held completely online from February 6-10. All items – including New Eagle Experiences for children and adults and classroom art projects – must be bid on during the online auction.
Registration for the auction is the same as last year. If you are signed up as a PTO volunteer, you’re already registered to bid at the auction. You will not have to provide your credit card information to register (but you may add your credit card information & other profile information to speed up checkout after the auction ends, if you like). To register ahead of the event or for more information, visit the how to register page.
The auction will be accessible via the PTO website. The link will be published on the main auction page once the auction goes live on February 6.
How much of the money goes to New Eagle?
ALL OF IT. All proceeds from the auction go directly to the PTO’s Cultural Arts Committee with the goal of providing engaging and inspiring arts opportunities for our children. This is the only fundraiser for Cultural Arts programming.
How do I register for the auction?
If you’re signed up as a PTO volunteer, you’re already registered to participate in the auction. If you’re not, visit the how to register page for more information. Do this now so you will be ready when the auction opens on February 6!
What is available for bid during the auction?
The auction features items such as gift cards from local businesses (restaurants, salons, fitness), sports tickets and memorabilia, NEES Experiences, home design services, health and wellness packages, entertainment tickets and opportunities, gift baskets, and birthday party packages. Go to the auction now to see all of the items up for bid!
How do I bid and pay for auction items? What is “Proxy Bidding?”
To bid for items, you must be registered and logged into the website (see above question for instructions). Once logged in, you will browse the list of auction items. If you see an item that you are interested in, click it to view the details. We offer two types of auctions: Buy it Now, and Auction Bidding. Buy it Now items are limited-quantity items for New Eagle Experiences; these have a fixed price, and are first-come, first served. When you click “Buy it Now” you will immediately be redirected to pay for your item.
Most of the items in the auction are up for bidding. The New Eagle Auction operates under proxy bidding. In an auction without proxy bidding, bidders bid an amount that is higher than the current bid, and then wait for someone to outbid them. At that time, they must bid again to become the highest bidder. This type of auction would mean bidders have to keep watching their bid items to know when they’ve been outbid and to bid again.
With Proxy Bidding, however, you can enter the maximum bid in the Bid Value field (see screenshot below) that you are willing to pay for an item, then let the system do the back and forth bidding for you. In the example below, the current bid is $15. With Proxy Bidding, if the top amount you’re willing to pay for the item is $50.00, you can enter $50 as your bid in the Bid Value field, but the actual bid will only increase to the next bid increment (i.e., $20). If the current bidder did not set a proxy bid higher than $20, you will now be the top bidder, with a bid of $20 showing publicly. Nobody will know that you have a proxy bid of $50 entered. If someone comes along and bids $40, they will immediately be outbid, because the system will proxy bid for you, to $45. This will continue until someone outbids your maximum bid.
This allows you to set your bid and forget it — rather than having to watch the auction like a hawk to make sure you can remain the top bidder.
Bidders may also add items to their watchlist. You may place items in your watchlist regardless of whether you’ve bid on them or not. This will allow you to easily follow the auctions you are interested in without having to search or browse through all items. You can view your watchlist at any time from the Account Dashboard (see question below about your Dashboard).
What happens if I win an auction item?
At the close of the auction, you will receive an email letting you know that you’ve won an item in the auction. This email will include instructions about how to pay for and pick up your items. If you have bid on and won numerous items, you may prefer to visit your Account Dashboard where you can view your winning bid items in one place, with a link to pay for each OR the option to pay for all items at once. You will be given the option to pay for your items by credit card, or by check. Even if you are paying by check, you must still “check out” ALL of your won auction items and select check payment.
For Buy it Now items, you will be redirected to the checkout screen right away to complete your purchase of the Buy it Now item, so no email will be sent at the close of the auction for Buy it Now items. Also, please note, Buy it Now items do not show under the Auction heading in your Account Dashboard; they appear under Orders in the Dashboard.
What payment methods are accepted for auction items?
All items – Buy it Now and Auction items, may be paid for by credit card online, or by check. You MUST go through the checkout procedure for all won auctions, even if you intend to pay by check; simply select “check payment” as your payment method. All auction items must be paid for before picking up your item(s). Credit card payments must be completed online by Tuesday, February 18. Checks may be brought to the item pickup times/locations (details provided in the e-mail when you win an item).
What is my Account Dashboard?
From the sidebar of any of the auction pages, you may click the button to go to your Account Dashboard. From your Account Dashboard you can manage various details of your personal profile, as well as manage certain auction functions: Your watchlist, and your active/won/lost bids.
From your Dashboard, you can update your name and address on file, as well as your display name, update your password, etc. You can also add a default payment method (credit card) – adding these details (especially name, address, and credit card) ahead of time will speed up checkout at the close of the auction. Please note, your credit card information is NOT stored on the New Eagle PTO website nor is this information obtainable by anyone through this website — it is all stored through our payment processing vendor (Stripe) securely.
By clicking Auctions in the Dashboard, you can view a list of your active, winning, or lost bids, as well as your Watchlist of items. Buy it Now items DO NOT appear in the Auctions page; to view items won through Buy it Now, click the Orders link instead.
What programs are provided by the New Eagle PTO’s Cultural Arts Committee?
The Cultural Arts Committee handles the majority of the assemblies and visiting artists that come to NEES throughout the school year. Parent volunteers help to coordinate events and artists to enrich the current curriculum. Without the CA volunteers and fundraising donations, these assemblies and events would not be possible. Events include the following:
- All-School Events – the Fall assembly this year was “AudioBody” a popular national performance artist group tying music and science together through their own musical inventions, Visiting Author (March), Artist in Residence (4th grade intensive but all school participation) this year will be the Walnut Street Theater (May), Science Explorers assembly, and Art Goes to School (March).
- Kindergarten – Mother Goose, Beekeeper.
- 1st grade – African Drummer, Weather presentation by the Franklin Institute, Japan Day (February) – Kimono, Karate, and Origami artist.
- 2nd grade – Immigration Assembly, Johnson-Matthey Science Presentation, Chinese Festival – Calligraphy, Paper Cutting artist, and Tai Chi, Discovering Dinosaurs via the Academy of Natural Sciences.
- 3rd grade – Beekeeper, Historical Figure (changes yearly), Tipi Building, Johnson-Matthey Science Presentation, Soil Erosion.
- 4th grade – Artist in Residence intensive with the Walnut Street Theater, Immigration/Colonial Showcase, Historical Figure (changes yearly).
If you would like to get involved, or find out more information about any of the events or open volunteer opportunities, please email Amy Terlecki and Maggie Johnson at vpculturalarts@neweaglepto.org
What if I have other questions about the Auction that are not listed here?
No problem! Just e-mail the Auction Committee at auctions@neweaglepto.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.