Curious to know how our auction works and what it’s for? Well here’s all the information broken down for you!
What is it for?
The Pawsome Auction for Last Hope Heroes raises vital funds for our internal lifesaving project, the Last Hope fund.
Last Hope was a racing greyhound who raced at all three of the independent tracks that were operating in Wales at the time, and was also known as ‘Rusty’ and ‘Score’. He was found left for dead on a mountainside with a hole in his forehead and both ears cut off to hide his identity. His killer had been paid £10 to dispose of him.
Last Hope was a stark example of the dark and secretive world of the disposal of unwanted racing greyhounds, known as ‘wastage’ within the industry. Just 2 years after Last Hope’s discovery, national press broke the news of David Smith, a builder’s merchant in County Durham who used similar methods to dispose of upwards of 10,000 unwanted greyhounds.
Having witnessed such immense cruelty with their own eyes, those within Greyhound Rescue Wales at the time were determined to bring about some lasting good in memory of Last Hope. The Last Hope Fund was established to pay for the care costs of sick and injured greyhounds and lurchers who may otherwise have to be put to sleep, particularly those who are facing expensive or lifelong care complications.
To date, the fund has paid out well over £100,000 in veterinary and care costs and has given countless dogs a second chance when they had nowhere else to turn. Many of these dogs have gone on to live long and peaceful lives in their forever homes.
Magda, a Greyhound Rescue Wales trustee and owner of a Last Hope dog, set up our annual auction in 2018 to try and help raise vital funds for the project so that we can continue to keep saving dog’s lives. The auction continues to grow, as does the team that plans and runs it. Last year, the auction raised £7,500 and to date has raised a total of £27,246.53.
As a donor of an auction lot, how does it work?
– We ask that all donations are sent via email to fundraising@greyhoundrescuewales.co.uk so that the entire fundraising team can see the donation. I know some people prefer to post their items in this group or DM us on Facebook, but sometimes things move very fast and we’re busy and things can get lost and then it looks like we’re not grateful which we are, so to ensure that your generous donation does get seen, please email it where possible.
– We will ask you for photos, a description, any postage you want covering by the winning bidder (we ask that you are as accurate as possible with this as expensive postage costs can deter bidders and we want to do your donation justice). If you are a business, we will ask if you want a website or social media page sharing to the lot so that bidders who don’t win can buy from you direct if they were committed to this item. This does happen every year.
– Where possible, we love for donors to send donations directly to the winning bidders themselves. It reduces the amount of travel the item has, is less complicated, and it means we can cover your postage costs if you want. If this is not the case, donated items can be dropped in at Hillcrest or one of our charity shops.
– Some people have asked for us to collect donations from their house. This isn’t often possible for us to do so as we are a remote team across Wales (and England) and we’re often really far away from you.
– Everyone asks when the auction is (9th-17th November!) as the deadline to get their donations in, which is most appreciated. We would encourage people to try and send their donations in as soon as possible as we always end up with a last minute rush which leaves several of us sat up at 2am still painstakingly uploading items to the auction to be ready for 10am. In one extreme case, we were still adding items as we were launching the auction.
– That being said, we will continue to add donations through the week so if you do suddenly realise the auction has started, you can still send your donations in to us and we will add them. We just try to get everything out at the beginning when there is the big rush so that we can get the best price for your donation, and for the dogs in need of urgent help.
– The auction runs through the week until the Sunday evening, at which point there will be a mad rush of bidding as everyone tries to win their items. Then there will be chaos as we close the auction at 8pm. Please be patient if you are a donor holding a prize for a winning bidder, as confirming the winners takes a long time.
– We, the fundraising team, will notify the donor of the item when the winning bidder has paid. If they don’t have any postage to pay, we will send their details over to you for dispatch. If they need to pay postage, we will send them to make contact with you so that they can pay the postage directly to you. If you are a winning bidder, please don’t pay postage to GRW unless asked to do so.
– Please do let us know when you have dispatched the prize, and if you are a winning bidder, please let us know if you’ve received it. Then we can update our spreadsheet and see if anything is still outstanding for our other bidders.
– Bidders and donors, please do get in touch with us if you have a problem. But most of all, please do enjoy your winnings and thank you for supporting this fundraiser for Last Hope – lifesaving work that helps greyhounds and lurchers at imminent risk of euthanasia due to ill health or injury.
As a bidder, what are the rules?
Hard and Fast Rules…
– Please bid only in full pound coin increases. No £21.50 increases, no £1.01 increases. This is a fundraising charity auction and the rules are different from Ebay.
– Please be polite and courteous to each other and to all our staff and volunteers running the auction. It’s a FUN event and our supporters have always enjoyed it – let’s keep it cheerful and friendly. We LOVE running this event, it gives us a great opportunity to engage with our supporter base. But we reserve the right to take away a winning bid from a bidder who is rude in extreme cases.
Not rules but Supporter Etiquette…
– People who don’t get involved throughout the entire auction and then only bid at the last second to take lots of wins at the end are not in the spirit of the auction. We all love a bidding war until the last second and we fully encourage this, but when a new name has sat in the shadows and not supported the fundraiser at all and then sneaks in with a low bid last second to take it away, it’s disappointing for all. Please consider your fellow bidders and be kind to them. At the end of the day, we’re all here to support the greyhounds and we want everyone to have a good time.
– The auction will be uploaded in 3 phases over the hour to give the posts a chance to settle and to avoid a Facebook meltdown.
– Be a good sport! If you’ve been in a bidding war with someone and they win, congratulate them and have a laugh. You’re bidding against a fellow dog lover and you’re both supporting a lifesaving cause.
– When you receive your winning bids, please feel free to post photos of them on the page! We love to see it.
– We may continue to upload auction items throughout the week so keep an eye on the page for new goods!
– Have a good time! We’re a lighthearted team and it’s such a pleasure to bring joy to our supporters each year whilst raising funds to help save lives. Somewhere out there is a dog who is going to need this funding in the future, and we’re all preparing to save their life.