Why Us?

Lindsay & Vander Kolk Certified Fundraising Auctioneers is the only benefit and charity auction service in the country that has the professional experience and background to provide authentic autographed sports memorabilia for your live or silent auction event.

For over two decades, Lindsay & Vander Kolk Certified Fundraising Auctioneers parent company, TCM is one of the longest standing vintage sports memorabilia and autographed memorabilia firms in the State of Michigan. From convention promotions, show exhibitions along with private and public autograph sessions with top athletes, no benefit auction company in the world can match our expertise in providing truly authentic autographed memorabilia for your live and silent auction event.

Our credentials are unsurpassed and proven time and time again.

Partner, Ken Lindsay has assisted authorities in forgery operation stings, used as an expert witness and has single handedly discovered and exposed multiple forgery operations. In addition, Lindsay is a former sports promoter and National Convention exhibitor whose written numerous articles and studies in the field of autographs and was the founder and editor of 'Autograph Discoveries' investigative newsletter.

We endorse the statement released by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), that states; "70% of Autographs Sold On-Line Are Fake."

Why is this important to your organization? Because integrity is everything.

Consignment Merchandise- The 10% Rule

The ultimate goal of your fundraising event is to ideally retain 100% of the total dollars bid at the auction. The more consignment merchandise you carry, the less profit your organization will realize. In other words, your auction committee should be procuring 90-95% of your donations that will realize 100% profit for your organization.

The purpose of our consignment service is to put the finishing touches on your live and/or silent auction to give it a nice polished look and feel with premium sports memorabilia that is sure to be a big hit with your attendees.

*However, consigned merchandise should NEVER exceed 5% to 10% of your total auction selection.

*Exception: See 'Instant Silent Auction' section.

The Brick Wall Rule

Under no circumstances should any item in your live or silent auction break the 'Brick Wall Rule'.

What is the Brick Wall Rule?
Reserve prices on live auction items. If the item must receive a certain amount before it can be sold, then it should have no place in your live auction.

Why?

Like running into a brick wall. It's a momentum killer.

What you will find with the vast majority of auction consignment vendors is they generally have astronomical 'Brick Wall' (reserve prices) prices on the merchandise that they consign to your event. In many cases, the items will not sell and in the cases where these items do sell, the vendor is walking away with hundreds or thousands of dollars and the charity receives a paltry amount.

What about those situations where one of your supporters offers to donate their vacation home or timeshare etc. package to your benefit auction event? But there's a catch. The item must obtain a certain amount during the live auction or the deal is off.

Before you scrap that timeshare package that Mrs. Jones donated to your event, get in touch with us as we have the ideal solution for such circumstances that will make your donor and your committee jumping for joy!

Instant Silent Auction

Are you having an event but don't have the time to produce a silent auction?

If this is your situation then something is better than nothing. Lindsay & Vander Kolk Certified Fundraising Auctioneers can produce a state-of-the-art professional silent auction on a moments notice!

THE DANGERS OF ACCEPTING GOODS AND SERVICES ON CONSIGNMENT

Most likely your organization has been contacted by by an abundance of auction merchandise providers that will stock your event full of great auction packages. As appealing and tempting as their services may present, you must proceed with extreme caution when giving such entities the green light.

Here are some of the real world problems that will negatively affect your fundraising efforts and/or the reputation of your organization.

BEWARE OF THE WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Is he lurking around in your charity event?

The wolves are lurking and most likely you have been contacted by them on multiple occasions - or worse.

What we are referring to are the endless amount of benefit auction 'consignment' services that are popping up faster than Beanie Baby dealers in the early 2000's.

These consignment services use the hook to lure unsuspecting clients with an abundance of product for your live and silent auctions with an 'Absolutely No Risk' proposition.

THE BIG, BAD WOLF - What Your Organization Must Know

First of all, there is a significant risk when dealing with these outside entities which can be detrimental to your bottom line and your reputation.

For instance, these auction consignment providers use the common pitch that your charity will receive a percentage of the proceeds. In most instances, they will retain all funds up to a certain amount. Once that amount is reached, then they will give your charity a portion of those proceeds. Such items include elaborate vacation packages, celebrity and sports memorabilia and unique experiences.

On too many occasions, we have witnessed charitable organizations such as yours offer an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii, a ski vacation to Vail, Colorado or a cruise to an island in the tropics.

Last year, we conducted a fundraising auction for a well known school and the auction committee went against our advise and decided to give two elaborate vacation packages "a try" for their live auction event. Keep in mind that neither package would be sold to the highest bidder unless they reached a certain amount. In this case, the Florida Keys vacation had to reach $2,500.00 and the trip to Paris, France had to reach $6,500.00. Neither package sold which not only hurts the momentum of the auction but it looks tacky to the charity.

Here is the other 'problem' with such packages. Your supporters!

One surefire way to make your loyal supporters irate with your organization is when they realize only a small percentage out of the hundreds or thousands of dollars they bid went to benefit the charity.

The other problem is, consignment merchandise literally removes hundreds and thousands of dollars from the room. In other words, the consignors are that ones that are benefiting rather than your organization. This is another reason why you should consult with the Lindsay & Vander Kolk Certified Fundraising Auctioneers team as we have the experience and expertise to rid yourself of this very common problem.

MORE UGLY THAN THE WOLF - The Inside Scoop On Autographed Merchandise

It always amazes us how so many highly esteemed charitable organizations are unknowingly playing the game of Russian Roulette with their autographed consignment merchandise.

Did you know that the FBI warns consumers that 70% of the autographs sold on the marketplace are forgeries? That's 7 out of every 10 items that are accurately deemed as fakes! Take a few minutes and visit the FBI website and read more about the reality of this $100 million dollar a year forgery market.

Now that you know about these staggering statistics, are you willing to gamble the integrity of your reputable organization by dealing with the a ticking time bomb? Better yet - can you afford it? After all, all it takes is for one of your supporters to take an item that they purchased from your live or silent auction to a professional autograph authenticator. If the item is deemed as a forgery, you can be assured that a lot of finger pointing will be going around.

THE INFAMOUS 'CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY' The Blindfold To The Customer

The 'Certificate of Authenticity' is one of the greatest salesman tools ever invented. Time and time again, these elegant pieces of paper that are created on a home computer deceive thousands of trusting buyers year after year. The fact is, in most cases, the Certificate of Authenticity is nothing more than a blindfold to the customer.

Click here and get the REAL scoop on the Certificate of Authenticity.

THE LINDSAY & VANDER KOLK CURE

Sports memorabilia is a ONE BILLION dollar industry in the United States of America alone and it's always been a high revenue producer for charitable organizations. With this being said, your organization must proceed with extreme caution anytime you are considering autographed memorabilia to your live and/or silent auctions.

Consult with the Lindsay & Vander Kolk Certified Fundraising Auctioneers team any time autographed memorabilia will have a role in your event. Auctioneer, Ken Lindsay is an industry recognized expert in the field of autographs and he has personally authored many studies and articles on this very subject.

Over the years, Lindsay has uncovered major forgery rings and was instrumental in busting up the largest autograph forgery scam to ever hit the metro Detroit area in history. Lindsay was also the authenticator who uncovered the shocking reality that the so-called 'autographed' books that former First Lady and now Senator, Hillary Clinton was distributing during a national book signing tour were actually not signed by the First Lady.

The Lindsay & Vander Kolk team will remove all risk to your organization and put in you touch with positively pure sources for autographed merchandise in the United States and Canada. Please note that we are giving you our unbiased recommendations and do not receive compensation in any way, shape or form from those we recommend.

Add a silent and live auction event to your next golf outing

"...Prominent dealers and collectors have applauded Lindsay's efforts and called him a hero. The hobby needs more honest dealers like Lindsay who have the guts to go after the scam artist who are threatening the whole segment of the hobby."

-Bob Wimmer, National Columnist

Lindsay and Vander Kolk Certified Fundraising Auctioneers are benefit auction specialists helping charity organizations maximize their live and silent auctions potential throughout the State of Michigan including Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Detroit and the United States. Specializing in all fundraising event venues including golf tournaments, outings, large gala events to small organizations.