On Sunday, April 20, 2008, SJAA will hold its 28th annual astronomical
auction and swap meet at Houge Park in San Jose. The SJAA Auction is a
great opportunity for beginners to purchase their first telescope at a
great price! Experienced observers often find equipment they need for
their next observing project, from O–III filters to finders to star
charts. All kinds of interesting items are found in the auction. You do not have to be an SJAA member to
attend.
Doors open at 11:30 am to register material for the auction.
Registration will end by 12:30 PM. We must limit the number of items to
100 so the auction does not last too long. Please limit yourself to
about four items maximum for the auction.
We strongly suggest you pre–register your items so that people know
what you are bringing. The club reserves the right to accept only
appropriate material for the auction. SJAA offers free advertising if
you pre–register your items for the auction. Please email the auction
team at auction@sjaa.net with a description of the item and a picture
if possible. All items submitted by 6 pm on Friday, April 18th will be
added to the auction website. This allows the bidders to find out how
much that APO scope is really worth, so you will be more likely to sell
it.
Sellers may specify a minimum bid, which, if not met, will return the
item back to the seller with no donation requested. We strongly
recommend you set a minimum price if you have any expectations on how
much you will net from your sale. You are not permitted to bid on your
own items.
The auction is a fundraiser for the SJAA. We use this money to cover
our annual costs and to make improvements in our programs (e.g.
improvements in our loaner program). We ask that everyone selling
items contribute at least 10% of the sale price to SJAA. By
default on expensive items we will limit your contribution to $50 on
each item sold. If you want to help SJAA more you can donate
more! SJAA receives almost 80% its donations from people that
elect to donate the full price of the item to SJAA. You can also
elect to split the proceeds with SJAA to any degree you feel
comfortable doing. Just ask us. All donations from the auction and the
swap are tax–deductible, as SJAA is a 501(c)(3) educational
organization.
The auction will begin at 1 pm, and will run as long as needed
(typically ending about 3 PM).
After the auction, buyers and sellers settle up using one check to (or
from) SJAA and claim their items. We do not handle charge cards. There
is no fee for bidder cards, nor for entrance to the hall.
Swap Meet
After the auction, material for the swap meet will be allowed into the
hall. The swap also allows people some additional haggling time for
those items that did not sell during the auction. Sellers are
encouraged to bring items that would interest the astronomical audience
such as astronomical, science, computer, or tech items. Vendors
typically attend the swap as well selling their own merchandise. At the
swap, each buyer pays the seller. We ask Sellers are to keep track of
their sales, and ask they make a donation (10% is suggested) as during
the auction. There are no table fees.
Part of running a successful auction is to make sure that there are
people who are new to astronomy in attendance. We can use your help to
make this so! Go to the auction website linked off the main page,
download, and print a auction poster to display. Post them at the
bulletin boards at work, at church, at your local library, or where you
think people might be interested. Hand it out to a friend who has
expressed interest in getting a telescope. You get the idea! Thanks for
your assistance!