Friday evening at the Paramount Great America Amusement Park. The Paramount Pavilion (renamed PESA Community Pavilion for this event) is packed with eBay community members from around the world. Free BBQ food is at one end, the auction stage for the upcoming live auction at the other. The silent auction already underway is getting quite a lot of attention.

This is the 2nd annual PESA Charity Auction. Last year the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (formally eBay Elite) raised $17,000 for the Disabled Online Users Association (DOUA.org). This year their beneficiary is NetSmartz (www.netsmartz.org), a partnership between the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Boys and Girls Club of America.

NetSmartz is a non-profit organization formed in 2003 and dedicated to educating children, parents and teachers about online safety. The group manages two separate sites, netsmartz.org and netsmartzkids.org, each tailored to the different age ranges. These programs are available in all Boys and Girls Club Tech Centers and also many schools across the country. Many police departments use the site resources for their presentations. The detective from the San Jose Police Department who spoke at the auction said the SJPD uses the NetSmartz program exclusively as it's the best available. The core focus for the site is to promote awareness for online safety at an age-appropriate level. (Some harrowing statistics about children’s online use is available on their website at http://www.netsmartz.org/safety/statistics.htm. NetSmartz is funded through charity events like the PESA auction, donations and sponsorship. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, contact Traci Carrier at tcarrier@ncmec.org.)

When asked about the PESA auction, Joy Messenger of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said, “We’re thrilled that PESA is recognizing the importance of educating parents and children of all ages about online safety. We’re looking forward to a great turnout this evening.”

The live auction was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., half an hour before the silent auction ended. Unfortunately, circumstances seemed to conspire against the auction organizers throughout the event. The Pavilion was over capacity, so eBayers who were at the second BBQ site were not being admitted into the area housing the auction. The word was that some “serious bidders” were stuck in the other BBQ location. This prompted organizers to delay the auction for 45 minutes to allow time for turnover within the area. But the distraction of free food and free rides got the better of many people: the crowd around the podium when the live auction began seemed to be mainly familiar PESA faces, with a few additions.

The first item was a ride of your choice with eBay for Dummies author, Marsha Collier. After a slow start, the bidding went to $700. Next up was lunch with Jay and Marie Senese, who have the highest feedback rating on eBay. They sold for $500. Colin Rule, eBay director of online dispute resolution and prominent eBay “pink,” was next on the block. The word on the street was that Colin had been lobbying to raise more money than Bill Cobb. Alas, this was not to be, as he also sold for $500 (to Jay Senese). Lunch with the entire PESA board of directors was the final item before a break. This sold for $600.

Throughout the event, auctioneer Skip McGrath (skipmcgrath.com) battled with a faulty microphone that kept cutting out mid-word, making it hard to build the excitement and anticipation usually found at a live auction. The arrival of Bill Cobb brought a wave of energy to the crowd, however, and bidding was soon underway.

In true eBay spirit, the auction for a ride of your choice with Bill Cobb started at $1 with no reserve (a gentlemen to my left quipped it was an “as is, no warranty” auction). A frenzy began and the bidding hit $1000 very quickly. In the end, Cobb sold for $4000 to Jack Sheng (eBay username Eforcity), who chose to ride Top Gun (a 50 mile-per-hour floorless, steel track roller coaster) with the eBay North America President. (For an interview with Sheng, see the AudioBlog done by Ina Steiner on the AuctionBytes.com website.)

Although the silent auction total had not been finalized at press time, the Live Auction portion raised $6,300 for NetSmartz, a great achievement considering the technical and logistics challenges faced throughout the event. I talked to David Yaskulka from PESA before the auctions got underway. He was very pleased eBay had donated the venue and food, meaning all proceeds from the auctions would go directly to NetSmartz, a charity he thinks is a very appropriate choice as this year's auction beneficiary. PESA Executive Director Jonathan Garris agreed. “PESA is devoted to promoting the highest levels of professionalism, fairness, honesty, and integrity with respect to online trade. So we are thrilled to help raise money to teach children and teens how to choose reliable web sites and stay safe online.”

At the PESA booth I spoke with Jane (eBay username: zendog04) earlier in the day. When asked what she thought about PESA, she said “Honesty and integrity are all I’ve got. It’s great to see an organization that recognizes and promotes that.” Jane, based in Washington state, recently became a bronze level power seller and is hoping to work her way up the ranks in the next few months. She is seriously looking into PESA membership as well.

Whatever the final total, the auction is a success for PESA and NetSmartz since all funds will go directly to the charity. The publicity and awareness of NetSmartz from this event is also very positive. I spoke with many parents in the eBay community who are going to look into these programs for their children when they return home from the convention. Good job PESA!