A quarter auction is a part raffle, part auction, part fundraiser and also a direct sales party. It works a bit like bingo. When you arrive, you will pay $3 for admission which also gives you a numbered paddle. This paddle will have a corresponding numbered ping pong ball that will be put into the drawing basket. A few minutes before the auction begins, the remaining paddles will be available for purchase at the same cost of $2 per paddle. The more paddles you purchase, the more you increase your odds of having your number drawn. 

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The direct sales vendors will have 3 items each up for "auction". These items will be on display for about an hour after the doors open - you can see what will be up for auction and a decide which items you're interested in. A list will be printed up of the items for auction and how many quarters each item is worth. The list will be available to anyone who wants one. (In general, people bring $10-$40 in quarters with them to bid with. How many you go through depends largely on how many paddles with which you choose to bid.)

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Once the auction begins, the announcer or one of the helpers will hold up the item that's up for bid and will announce whether the item is a "one quarter", "two quarter", "three quarter", or "four quarter" bid. If you're interested in bidding, you'll put one, two, or three quarters (whatever was announced) for EACH paddle you intend to bid with. So if you have two paddles, want to bid with both to double your chances, and the item is a "one quarter" bid, you'll put $.50 in the bucket and raise your paddle(s). If you have two paddles and decide to only bid with one, you only pay $.25 BUT you MUST choose only one numbered paddle to bid with. Someone will be walking from table to table with a bucket to collect bids. The announcer will then draw a number to find a winner. If they draw your number and you had bid on the item, hooray! You just won a great item at a great price! If they draw your number and you did NOT bid on that item, you do not win the item and they'll continue to draw numbers until they find a winner. 

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Each item up for auction will be given a value of $.25 - $1. You will not be bidding more than $1 on any item in the auction. Unlike a silent auction or a standard auction, the price of the item up for bid does not increase or decrease. Your chances of getting the item are purely based on whether your number is called when you put your quarters in for your paddle (hence the similarity to bingo).

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There will be various raffles and cash and carry items available through the evening - the announcer and workers will help explain how those work. There will also be food & drinks for sale as well as opportunities for door prize drawings. Be sure to bring quarters, but if you forget or run out, there will be quarters available for purchase at the event. 

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If it all sounds complicated, relax. Everything will be explained again once you get to the auction, and you'll catch on in no time and you'll love it!