We have a HUGE stock of black frames that we use year after year. At any rate the actual gift certificate gets put in an envelope and held back for when the person checks out. (All items filed by numbers) For the actual table do a write up frame it and display it either standing or laying down. That helps it from getting lost in the table plus it helps add to the atmosphere.
I like to frame the gift certificates and make them look nice of if I have a movie sort of gift certificate i will try to display it with fun movie things like popcorn buckets, popcorn, and movie candy.
How would you like to have an auctioneer take charge and auction "live" the items instead of doing them silently. We do not charge to come and work with you.
We will bring an affordable collection of art that we will set up around the room. You will earn a percentage of whatever we sell in addition to the money earned from your items. We will even print your invites,posters and flyers.
More money is raised when you have a professional auctioneer at the front of the room. All you have to do is get us the info of each item ahead of time and he will do the rest.
Give me a all and we can talk more.
Our school uses the same basic method as above, we make an 8.5 x11 poster of the item and place them in frames we invested in last year from the dollar store. They are propped up on tables along with actual itmes.. it makes a nice display. We utilize boxes and dishracks from the cafeteria covered with cloth and tablecloths to give depth and height to the displays. Sometimes the items alone can be used to display.. ie: furniture pieces.
We also combine items into baskets to make items more eye catching.. ie.. mani-pedi gift card, with coffee certificates. We also combine restaurant certificates and title them "dine arounds" 3 25.00 gift certificates. We display these on a large board using paper plates to write the restaurant names.
We have our auction in the cafeteria and use the long tables placed in a "u" shape to encourage traffic flow.
We don't like to display the actual certificates, we keep them stashed safely away until the auction is over. This past year, the older students (gr 6-8 I believe) made "certificates" in computer class to put out for display. Using word art and sometimes clip art, they would include all the information, business, amount, etc, and print them on regular paper. We would then put those into acrylic holders that sit upright on the table and put the bid sheets in front of that. They looked really good and we are going to do that again this year.
For larger items or baskets, we have found that using shrink wrap (you can get this at Michael's) adds a really professional look and keeps multiple items in place. We use long tables with tablecloths and display items in a continuous loop. It seems to work well and allows for good traffic flow. We also print out bid sheets on different colors of paper to add a little variety to the table.
One of my favorite ways to display gift certificates is to purchase seasonal potted flowers - like from Michaels - be sure to shop when on sale - use the plastic thing that you would typically see in a fresh flower arangement, the thing that has the envelope in it - and put the certificate in that plastic thing.
We also use various things that match the item - Soccer registration from local soccer club goes on a soccer ball - same with baseball...fitness club can have a water bottle or sports bag with it.....
If you get a signed football, or baseball, invest in the display case - also at Michaels - they display much nicer and typically sell for more money.
