Author: Jake Addams

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Benefit Auctioneer Reviews from Jake Addams’ Clients

Fundraising Benefit Auction

Read the reviews from Proceed with Auction’s events of 2025

Jake and his team were absolutely incredible at our ADL Fur Ball event. The energy they brought to the room was unmatched! They kept the audience engaged, excited, and ready to give. Working with them was seamless from start to finish, and their professionalism truly elevated the entire night. We’re so grateful for their contribution and can’t wait to work with Jake again for future events. Highly recommend!

  • Lily O. – Animal Defense League of San Antonio

We retained Jake for our first Henry’s Hope Gala benefiting the Houston Chapter of the Star Legacy Foundation. He was a key contributor to our success—both financially and in connecting effectively with guests. Before the event, Jake spent meaningful time reviewing our goals, run-of-show, paddle-raise strategy, and auction items, offering guidance while honoring our team’s direction. At the Gala, he maximized paddle-raise support, drove live-auction bidding, and smoothly handled an item that fell short of its minimum. We highly recommend Jake Addams.

  • Doug M. – Henry’s Hope Gala

He and his team kept the crowd alive for an hour and helped us raise more during our live auction than ever before! He was an absolute delight from the moment I reached out, on top of check ins with all of the tips and tricks to help us along the way. I couldn’t recommend Jake and his team more for any fundraising event you might have in your future – they’re the BEST!

  • Jessie D. – Lee Live! Event Chair

We had the pleasure of working with Jake for our very first auction at Treasure Trove Auctions, and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience. From start to finish, he brought an incredible energy, professionalism, and command of the room that made the entire event unforgettable.

  • Ethan M. – Treasure Trove Auctions

Jake did such an amazing job at our fundraising event. He is one heck of an auctioneer and had the audience on their toes with big bids in the end! Thanks Jake for helping us exceed our goals!!!

  • Laura C. – Executive Director, 5p Minus Society

Jake, you did such an incredible job! We got endless comments from our guests about how wonderful you were.you spoke to our mission so well. THANK YOU for going the extra mile to really learn what we do and how important it is for the community. We blew our paddles up goal out of the water!

  • Erika E. – Director of Development, Treefolks

We hired Jake to be the auctioneer at our fantasy football draft and he was outstanding. He was on time, prepared, and perfectly fit the bill of what we were hoping for in a certified auctioneer. We will be definitely be asking him back next year!

  • Scott K.

THE perfect touch to our National Event hosted by Texas for the Saleen Club of America. Jake was EXACTLY what I was looking for, with all the BIG Texas Charm and personality I wanted. Our event was a HUGE success and many thanks to Jake and his team for helping make that happen. I hope I get to have him join us again and if you’re looking for THAT perfect finishing touch, please give him a call.

  • Pam P. – Saleen Club of America

We were thrilled to have Jake on our team for our school’s annual Spring Party! From the start, he was eager to collaborate, meeting with us multiple times throughout the planning process to fine-tune event details, share expert auction strategies, and ensure our live program would be engaging and successful.

On the day of the event, Jake arrived early and managed his team flawlessly. His auctioneers were professional, skilled, and knew exactly how to maximize bids. Thanks to Jake’s expertise, we estimate that our live auction raised 25-30% more than it would have on our own.

Thank you, Jake—we truly appreciate your hard work and hope to partner with you again next year!

  • Melissa P. – Doss Elementary PTA
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How much does an auctioneer cost?

If you are reading this hoping for a hard number, as if all auctioneers are the same, I am sorry to disappoint you. However, if you want to know how a benefit auctioneer will calculate the price of his or her services, then you are in the right place. There are many factors that go into pricing when it comes to an auctioneer, and I am happy to decode some of that mystery, so you know what you are getting into.

These are some of the most common factors that affect the price of an auctioneer. Audience size, day of the week, experience/skill of the auctioneer, travel considerations, and the pay plan. Let’s look at each of these factors separately.

How does the size of the audience affect auctioneer pricing?

The auctioneer can only collect money from bids and donations they can see. Large crowds need more staff and ringmen to effectively relay bids to the auctioneer and field questions from the audience. Most auctioneers will bring on a ringman for each 100 people (10 tables) in your event. Consider each 100 guests as an additional ringman for the evening.

You might be thinking, “they only work for 30 minutes for the live auction though? Why do they affect the overall cost so much?” Professional ringmen are dedicated to their craft and work on their skills relentlessly. They assist the auctioneer before the live program, help to plan the execution of the auction and appeal, scout out the biggest donors, greet and talk with guests, and do other tasks behind the scenes before the auction begins. During the auction, each ringman is capable of bringing in thousands of dollars in additional donations and sales by relaying the bids to the auctioneer, keeping the bidders engaged, and encouraging guests to bid again and again. They also sell packages after the auction to bidders who did not win to increase the night’s take.

If your event is expecting 300-400 people, the price for your auctioneer will include the costs of hiring 3-4 additional ringmen. The cost of each ringman will vary depending on their experience and skill level. The nightly rate will range from $0 (for beginners learning the trade) to $500 or more for the best in the business. 1 great ringman in the crew can easily add $1000’s to the live auction revenue.

Which day of the week is cheaper to hire an auctioneer?

Fridays and Saturdays are in high demand and will cost more than an event held on a Wednesday. Depending on the auctioneer, a weekday event can get a 20% – 50% discount compared to their Friday / Saturday night rates. If you book an auctioneer on a weekday within a few weeks of the event, sometimes you can get a great rate because they just want to fill their calendar. Other auctioneers will charge a premium for a last minute booking. That will be case by case with each auctioneer you talk to.

What’s the price difference between a new auctioneer and an experienced professional?

This is a competitive business, where new auctioneers are struggling to book each event. A new auctioneer might do it for free for the experience. Maybe they will ask for dinner or for new head shots from your photographer. These auctioneers are not confident enough to guarantee results. They do not have the experience and intuition while working the crowd. They don’t know when to raise the bids faster or slower. They probably don’t have much talent working the crowd and building rapport on stage. And almost certainly, they lack the skills to deliver an emotionally compelling paddles up appeal to your donors that brings in biggest money of the night. If your goal for the night is to raise less than $20,000, it may make sense to work with a new auctioneer. You don’t have as much at stake compared to the organizations with a goal of $250,000 for the night.

An experienced benefit auctioneer knows how to develop your live program from beginning to end. They have experience working with the speakers in the live program. An experienced auctioneer will help you optimize the on site activations, fundraising games, raffles and silent auctions. They know how to connect with the audience to get the most money for you auction items. More importantly, they can bring in many times the auction revenue in pure giving during the paddles fundraising appeal. Investing in a professional benefit auctioneer will yield many times their cost when you tally the numbers at the end of the night. It’s one of the best ROI investments for most organizations for the entire year. An experienced auctioneer, who includes fundraising consulting services before the event will charge between $1500 to $15,000 or even more depending on the size of the event, scope of the services involved and size of the crew required to execute a exceptional live program.


We can help you find the right fit for your event and budget with our network of auctioneers.

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