FREE: Charity Auction! You don't gain anything from this except you feel good about it if you win :)

Hi guys:
Seems dumb to me too, and Listia needs to clarify it in their FAQ. Here's the email I sent them and their reply...


On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 6:43 PM, Craig Norton <sales@macwind.net> wrote:

Hi Listia:
I had a quick question about charity auctions... the Listia FAQ states:

When a seller lists a charity auction we donate a specified percentage of the profits to charity. This percentage is taken from the number of paid credits the winner uses to complete the auction. Promotional credits are exempt from this percentage since they are free.

I was wondering what that percentage was and if that percentage varies if the winner does not use "paid credits" to win the auction but instead uses non-promotional earned credits from selling items.

Best Regards,
Craig

From admin@listia.com

Hey Craig. The percentage doesn't matter. If any user buys credits to win that auction we donate all the money they used to buy those credits to charity. 100% =)

Hey Mysterymom.. jump on in.. the water is fine!!LOL

Come on Craig!! This is Chump change for you!! out bid me!
Its for a good cause..

Come on folks this need to go higher.. Its for Charity.. It will give you that "Warm and Fuzzy feeling" ;-)

The very best approach is to do as I have done on numerous auctions. I have a particular charity (American Red Cross National Disaster Assistance Fund (via San Diego County & Imperial County Chapter(s) Red Cross, which I --as a longter volunteer/member -- request a list of "soft" or "in-kind" items that they need for the various teams to provide service -- or better service -- to the public as "First Responders." I then will use any & all points accrued to bid toward those items for their -- and only their benefit. All out-of-pocket expenses e.g., shipping, handling, etc., are out of my own funds. The bottom-line is that 100%+ of the proceeds from the auctions go to my charitable choice -- not Listias. . . By the way, Listia has now prohibited me from listing my "Charitable Auctions" unless they go through them, something that I have yet to contest yet will. Anyone who wants to contact me for verification from my local chapter for receivables, is welcome to inquire!

LOL.. sugaree I outbid ya over an hour ago! LOL... I am high bidder!! woo hoo!! come on guys its for CHARITY!!!

So I see my double dog dare was taken.lol How's bout a triple dog dare ya.

Thanks Listia!! lets keep this going folks...

^ Awesome, Listia! Love this idea!

Hi all! Sorry we just noticed this thread :-) The unpurchased credits do not go into a black hole, they actually go to the charity's Listia account. You can check our updated FAQ (it was updated about a week or so ago)

http://www.listia.com/about#charity

When a charity has amassed lots of credits, we can use them to bid on items and sell or donate to them directly, or better yet get someone at the charity to control the account. We also need to create some kind of page to show how many credits each charity has just so everyone is clear. Look for this sometime soon... But rest assured, every single credit for charity auctions has been transferred directly to the corresponding charity account at Listia.

On top of all this, we welcome any more suggestions on how to run the charity system.. thanks!

can't wait for Listia to chime in....

They go into some black hole... I guess.

Here's my proposal:
All previous charity transactions should be refunded to the buyer (because the buyer thought they were giving, which they were not; and the seller expected no points). I wouldn't say this if Listia was clear about where Charity credits went, but their FAQ is misleading. Hopefully Listia will step in and make the right choice. (Refund previous charity auctions to buyers and either get rid or charity auctions or be more clear in the FAQ about what happens to credits.)

hmmmmm.. good questioin huh???

well that is a real dissappointment... so what happens to the pts on the charity auctions that are won with non purchased credits? seeing how neither the seller or the charity recieves any compensation...

So it's only purchased credits. Hope this helped.

I wonder about this one.

LIstia.. please help us understand how the charity auctions work...

So If I have never purchased any pts.. then its pointless for me to bid on any charity auctions?? correct? please Clarify.. this doenst sound right. So whats the pt of a charity auction. then??.

@ chromedude: Here's some info about what gets donated to charity:
- No credits are converted to cash if the winning bidder did not PAY for the credits. (e.x. if they get the credits from selling an item on Listia, those credits are not given to charity)

way too cool!! I need to do an auction like this..

How do the points work toward the charities? Do they get converted into cash and sent to a charity?

Ok I double dog dare you to outbid me!!!

lol Nice to meet ya'll.:)

odysseygal2 and sugaree you guys are funny I like yall already and i dont even know yall lol :)

I hope they choose the American Cancer Society..

come on Sugaree... put your bids where your mouth is!! LOL

I'm game... and feeling good already...LOL.. What charity is this going to??

K,come on someone outbid me,and then I will outbid you.lol!!!

For Charity is a great reason to bid.:)

Hey someone out bid me, HMMM, well we will bid HIGHER then eh? LOL Remember it is ALL for fun any how so don't be TOOOO serious about all this right?