Where can you can bid on Enron binoculars, a framed photograph of Tiger Woods, or autographed J.K. Rowling "Harry Potter" books, and know your money is going to a good cause? The answer is MissionFish, an online auction site where the proceeds from all auctions go to charity. http://www.missionfish.com
MissionFish allows businesses and individuals to donate items to a favorite charity and get a tax break at the same time. Shoppers can get deals on things they want, and feel good about where their money is going. Since launching, MissionFish has sold more than 5,300 donated items and raised more than $300,000 for nonprofit organizations.
Bidding on MissionFish will feel familiar to those who have traded on eBay. The biggest differences are that buyers' credit cards are charged immediately following the close of an auction, and buyers are required to pay a 10% buyer's premium, which goes toward the operating expenses of the site.
For "sellers," who are called donors, it's very different from other online auction sites. The major difference is that you don't get any money from your item, it goes to the nonprofit charity of your choice. MissionFish sends a "Tax Acknowledgement Documentation" to enable donors to deduct the item on their tax return.
The charity must be registered with MissionFish. It has 5 days to decide whether to accept the item for auction, reject the item, or accept the item for its own use, in which case the donor ships the item directly to the charity.
I found the instructions for donors to be a bit lacking, unless you register and go through the listing process. My biggest question was about shipping & handling charges. As a donor, would I have to ship the item to the winning bidder at my expense? If I could charge the bidder, how would I get reimbursed, since MissionFish charges the buyer's credit card? As it turns out, one of the best sources of information is right on the description page of every auction. If you go to any auction listing, you'll see "Hints & Tips" and a big red question mark. If you click on it, a window will open up on your screen. Scroll down to "Shipping options" and you'll see the three options for shipping:
1) "Donor will ship and pay for shipping." The donor donates the item, sends the item to the winning bidder and pays for the shipping.
2) "Buyer pays for shipping and the Donor ships using FedEx." The donor prints out a FedEx label that is generated electronically when the auction closes. The donor applies the label to the package and drops it off at any FedEx drop-off location. MissionFish adds the cost of FedEx shipping on to the buyer's tab.
3) "Buyer pays for shipping and the Donor ships using estimated shipping and handling." The donor pays to ship the item and is reimbursed through a MissionFish company check for the estimated shipping and handling fee entered.
The buyer has 72 hours from the time an item is delivered to evaluate the item and confirm that it substantially conforms to the description provided. The buyer may request a refund if the item is not substantially as described by the donor in the description, or if the item is damaged and inoperative.
MissionFish gives 100% of the final bid price, minus bank fees (typically 2-3%) to the benefiting nonprofit. MissionFish adds a 10% "fishing fee" onto the final bid price of every item that sells on the site, charged to the winning bidder.
The fishing fee helps pay for the site's expenses. MissionFish also receives funds for creating and hosting custom-branded nonprofit auction sites, both marketplaces and special events (like www.LunchWithALeader.com). In January, MissionFish helped Coors Brewing Company launch a new Web site to auction items for charity. MissionFish also receives a small amount of support from private foundation grants.
Clam Lorenz, Communications Manager of MissionFish, is pleased with the site's growth, and said that more nonprofits and shoppers join every day.
"Last quarter's Lunch With A Leader auction was our most successful event to date," Lorenz said. "Along with auctions for Lands End, Family Matters (family volunteering program) and Mary Engelbreit, it helped make up one of our most successful quarters since we launched in October of 2000. We've also started conversations with more-established commercial sites about expanding their work for nonprofits."
MissionFish is wholly owned and operated as a service of the Points of Light Foundation. The Foundation is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that promotes volunteerism. They provide a number of services to the nonprofit sector, including a national network of 465 local centers to promote and coordinate volunteering in cities across the country.
MissionFish is open to nonprofits of every kind. They require that the organization be a non-profit in good standing and able to prove their 501(c)(3) status. They are not partial to any religious, political, or social affiliations.
It's nice to see an auction site that makes it so easy to "do good." Next time you hold a yard sale, you might put some special items aside for your favorite charity.
