Our mission at Auction Inn is to help nonprofit organizations develop earned income activities to help fund their program. Our job training program, Work-Able, is an integral part of our platform forming a compelling package for nonprofit business development. As part of our strategy of spreading this mission to help nonprofits in other areas, we often get to meet other organizations in the Social Enterprise space.

In July we were proud to host the leaders of Kibble Education and Care Center, a Social Enterprise award winning organization from Scotland, who were very interested in our model. Their focus is on youth services and rehabilitation. We enjoyed a tremendous exchange of information and ideas on our respective initiatives, and noted that despite the vast differences in culture and industry between the two groups, we had much in common.

We will continue to work with them on refining our mutual mission objectives, and who knows, someday we may see an Auction Inn over in Scotland.

Many of you are familiar with the term B2B (Business to Business), which is the sale of goods and services from one business to another. Auction Inn is now promoting a new and different concept we have termed “B2N” (Business to Non-Profit) – the donation of saleable goods to non-profit organizations. Historically, non-profits have relied on soliciting cash donations from socially conscious individuals and businesses in order to fund their operations. However, the pool of funds available to these organizations has not been able to keep pace with the ever increasing number of non-profits vying for them. Organizations are now being forced to find new sources of funding for their programs, and goods produced by businesses are an untapped market. Many businesses nowadays have valuable goods that they are willing to donate, but the challenge for non-profits has been how to efficiently use these goods to benefit their mission. Very few non-profits are able to solicit these goods, which may be used in their operations, or for various forms of relief efforts; however the vast majority do not have the means to accept and use such goods. Through the services that Auction Inn offers, goods such as excess inventory, used equipment, returned merchandise, and vehicles can be turned into cash.

A case in point is The Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster was able to solicit excess inventory from a national manufacturer of burners and boilers. The manufacturer was willing to transport the goods to the Auction Inn facility in order to free up valuable space in their warehouse. These items were then processed and liquidated online with virtually no effort by the Club, producing much needed revenues, in excess of $76,000 for The Boys and Girls Club to use towards their operations. The donation not only benefited the club but portrayed the company as a caring philanthropic member of the community. Our mission here at Auction Inn is to support all such efforts that help non-profit organizations remain viable and prosperous, and we hope to be at the forefront of this new B2N movement.

- John Painter
Operations Director

For the past several weeks the WORK-ABLE Training Class has been fortunate enough to visit several of Auction Inn’s corporate sponsors’ headquarters. On July 9th, the trainees were able to visit Bosch Security Systems. Bosch Securities sells cameras and other security devices that are seen in many commercial buildings. A typical day for a Bosch employee might involve testing camera equipment or assembling camera dome kits.

However, the job that was most applicable to the trainee’s work at Auction Inn was the shipping of the packages. Bosch employs about 35 people whose sole job it is to fulfill and ship orders. The employee is given a pick list for each order. The pick list is then scanned, which tells the employee where to go to find the first item. The employee picks that item up, scans it, and places it on their cart. If the employee scans the wrong item, the system notifies them and does not allow them to continue to the next item until the correct item is scanned. After all of the items have been picked, Bosch’s system recommends a box size to pack the items in. The items are packed and sealed with brown tape with the Bosch logo.

Although Bosch’s system is able to handle many more orders a day, the trainees were impressed with how similar the process is back at Auction Inn. “It was really cool to see such a big warehouse and shipping operation,” said Terrance Tate, one of the WORK-ABLE Trainees. Thanks to Bosch for providing such a great opportunity for our WORK-ABLE trainees and AI employees!

- Kristin Burkhart
WORK-ABLE Job Training Director

Tiani Luciano is our featured WORK-ABLE trainee this month. Tiani, age 18, attends the Lancaster County Academy where she will graduate this December. Tiani has been working hard this summer to get several of her credits out of the way in order to graduate in December. She has also been working hard at Auction Inn! After completing the six week condensed summer training program, Tiani has decided to stay on for further training and experience at Auction Inn. She most enjoys taking photographs of the items to be sold on eBay. Tiani says that the part of training that she didn’t enjoy was Customer Service, because she likes to be more active in her work. In her spare time Tiani like to listen to music and help out at her family’s restaurant, Madre’s. When Tiani graduates from school she hopes to continue her education by learning how to become a mechanic. We are pleased to have Tiani as a new member of our team!

- Kristin Burkhart
WORK-ABLE Job Training Director

Brandon Weese, Director of Marketing at Auction Inn, is a jack of all trades. He has developed several marketing programs, such as our Virtual Estate Service and our Next Generation Fundraising initiative, both which have been very successful within the Auction Inn platform over the past three years. If Brandon is not working with a client or teaching an eBay class, he is writing for Auction Inn’s blog, (click here to view the blog) or out and about spearheading our grass-root marketing efforts. Brandon grew up in Lancaster and is a graduate of Bloomsburg University, where he earned his B.A. in Communication Studies. Brandon is very active in the community as a member of the Lancaster Kiwanis Club, a volunteer at Water Street Rescue Mission, and works with local out-reach programs. When he is not marketing up a storm for AI, he is spending time with his wife Carly, who is expecting their first child in January. Brandon enjoys camping, mountain biking and collecting vintage arcade machines. We would like to thank Brandon for all of his hard work and contributions to the Auction Inn team! Here are some new campaigns that Brandon and the AI team are working on for the near future!

"New Innitiatives!"

Having new ways to drive traffic through our door is always a priority at Auction Inn. Our marketing team lead by Brandon Weese Director of Marketing, constantly have their thinking caps strapped on! They are always creating new exciting marketing techniques in the local community. This helps with our outreach efforts and stirs up plenty of BUZZ and Word of Mouth around town. Currently we have two new campaigns in the works: Yard Signs and Sticky Notes - which is cost effective and eye catching, they both have been proven to be successful just weeks after their launch!

- Brandon Weese
Director of Marketing

Yet another month in Lancaster brings us more unique and interesting items to sell for the community! July brought us items such as guitars, silver coins, and many many antique snuff bottles. Our top seller was an antique Asian snuff bottle which sold for $1575.00! This item was consigned by a local community member, who’s family had been collecting these items for years. We are very happy to have sold this item, as well as the many others that have come across our counter this month, and hope there is much more to come!

Boys & Girls Club August 11th

Friendship Community August 18th

Love Inc. September 15th

If you belong to a local nonprofit group in either the Lancaster or York, PA areas, and would like more information about our fundraising options, please feel free to contact us at 888-TO-THE-INN!

Update from Jeremy Meeks, Store Manager of Auction Inn York

Greetings from Auction Inn York. We’ve had another great month here at the Inn, lots of interesting treasures have been coming in to our doors lately. We’ve had antique political memorabilia, an Italian racing bike, signed John Elway memorabilia and about a million and a half cameras! We’ve seen a great upswing in the amount of commercial products and cars coming in as well! Check out our Mercedes convertible and an old MG, which should still be up for auction if you act FAST! Thanks again for taking an interest in the good things we’re doing here at Auction Inn and GOOD LUCK BIDDING!

As you may see, July in York has been a fruitful one. We were very fortunate this month to have been able to sell an authentic royal relic. This month’s unique item is a Princess Diana replica doll, painstakingly made to represent this historical icon. Paperwork that accompanied this doll states that a piece of the Duke of Windsor’s personal property was hand sewn into the fabric of the doll! The doll sold for $153.50, and will most definitely be a great addition to the new owner’s collection!

- Amity Bitzel
Listing Specialist

Auction Inn’s Commercial division has received a large amount of gifts in the past few weeks, striking up partnerships with numerous York County Businesses. Some of the great commercial products include an Everlase Laser cutting machine, a Jacobson model 16 grinding machine and 3 OBI punch presses. We hope to expand our commercial inventory over the next few months, making Auction Inn the perfect one stop shop for great machines. So all the machine shop owners out there, continue to check out our expanding line of industrial machines and commercial products as well.

- Chris Drinkut
Commercial Sales

On July 19th Auction Inn York held an eBay class for the general public, and over 40 inquisitive eBayers attended and learned all about safety, browsing, searching, and even a little selling. Due to the overwhelming number of respondents, the usual 45 minute class stretched out to over an hour and fifteen minutes! Attendees enjoyed free snacks and a raffle as well as their fill of eBay related information. The next class is scheduled for Thursday August 30th at 5:30 pm located right at Auction Inn York. Please RSVP if you are interested in attending – 717-718-8020. Hope to see you there!

On Tuesday July 26th, Matt Tang, Work-able Trainee had the great honor of throwing the first pitch at a York Revolution Game. This game was the first game in the series of the War of the Roses against the Lancaster Barnstormers. Matt wore his Auction Inn shirt with pride as he threw the pitch at the sold out game. The Auction Inn team stuck around for the game, which Lancaster lost, and the fireworks that followed. This was a great opportunity for Matt and a great night for Auction Inn as well!

- Kristin Burkhart
WORK-ABLE Job Training Director