First PROVISIONAL Results of #2020RABirthdayAuctions

/ August 20, 2020

How do you do it, people? These birthday auction fundraisers get better and bigger and better and bigger every year! I am stunned and currently not properly able to put everything into smooth words. But perhaps you are not waiting for a rhetorical fireworks, anyway, just stfu Sonja and give us the low-down. I will. But with the caveat that this is the first, provisional result, not a final number.

Caveats:

  • I have not received *all* eBay payments yet (gentle reminder to check your inboxes for the invoices in case you haven’t yet paid or possibly paid only for *one* instead of *all* items you won). However I am basing the accounts on the money *supposedly* generated.
  • I know the eBay fees and will deduct them, but do not know the final Paypal fees yet (because they are automatically deducted from the incoming eBay payments, see above).
  • There may yet be further voluntary donations, so the final donations sum could change.
  • We have a postage fund of 370 Euro and it is possible that there may be some money left-over – which will go into the final donation, too.
  • Also – you may need to cut me some slack with my calculations. I am giddy with excitement, my brain is running on overload, and I hope I am not getting muddled in my enthusiasm.

So, cautiously calculated and final sums pending this is the low-down:

The auctions on eBay generated the stunning sum of

2,835.47 Euro

For our RA sisters in the US and UK – that is 2543.88 Pounds and 3360.75 US-Dollar.

Yes, indeed. As I said. Bigger and better than ever. An amazing amount. So much so that I actually nearly broke into sweats when I realised that the auction proceeds were coming dangerously close to the selling limit of 3,000 Euro (per month) on eBay. *phew* Disaster averted… in the best possible way.

So pat yourselves on the back, you wonderful, generous, kind and enthusiastic people! You have pushed the envelope once again. You are amazing and thanks go to all auction winners who coughed up, all bidders who contributed to pushing prices, all tweeters and social media commentators who raked up interest, and all donors and supporters. An amazing result.

Here comes the big but.

Hehe, gotcha

No, seriously. The big but is that fees will be deducted from that sum. I can already disclose that our eBay fees come up to 303.40 Euro. Paypal will be roundabout the 120 Euro mark. That leaves us with approximately 2,412.07 Euro from the auctions. 

But – then there are the voluntary donations. A massive thank you to all wonderful donors and those who missed out on winning an auction and donated their budget instead. You are marvellous! I am going to keep you hanging with the final donation sum cause I am mean that way, but I’ll leave you this hint: It more than makes up for the losses incurred due to fees. I can assure you that the final proceeds of the fundraiser (auctions and donations combined) will be wayyyyyyyy bigger than last year’s result.

Right, that’s it for now. I need a break. Celebrate yourselves! You’ve done a great thing!

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62 thoughts on “First PROVISIONAL Results of #2020RABirthdayAuctions”

  2. 😱😱😱 That is utterly amazing. I’m teary eyed. 😭😭😭

    Congratulations on pulling off this massively huge endeavor. 😘 And thank you for the near heart attacks throughout. Totally worth it.

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    • I have to say I could hardly believe what was going on during the last minutes of the auctions. I mean, silly of me. That’s the way eBay operates. But wow, there were some last minute jumps that had me gasp in astonishment.
      And yes, this is worth all the hectic and panic and work!

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  13. That’s fantastic Sonja. In no small part down to YOU.(Yes, I’m not above using Sanditon lines from Andrew Davies generated by creativity from Jane Austen!) If my darling husband of 46 years 7months and 12 days were still here like last year I would be adding to that donation total. But I lost him unexpectedly in June and computering has never been my ability even when I HAD all my faculties….congratulations!

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    • Oh, I am so sorry to hear this. My heartfelt condolences to you – it sounds like a horrible shock, and there are no words that would ever give any adequate consolation. Don’t worry about donations – I am sure you do have so many other things to think about at the moment. Sending you lots of love xx

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    • Hehe, me and eBay… It’s pretty straightforward, just requires time and a little bit of organisation. And the rest is down to all those generous supporters who have donated items and money, as well as bid on the auctions.

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  15. BRAVO! I’d be screaming if I didn’t currently have a cold. I’m SO PROUD of this fandom. Thank you for organizing this charity event so marvelously, Sonja! Richard will be chuffed and so will LOROS. I love you, Armitage Army! xo

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    • I can’t tell you how delighted I am that we have generated such a fantastic amount of money for LOROS. I think that our final donation sum will really make a big difference for a small, local charity. Yep, I hope that Richard will be chuffed, too 😉

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    • If Richard ever should think that it is mad that there are fans and fandoms, I hope his second thought will be that fans and fandoms are communities – which have the power to do something extraordinary such as our fundraiser. He may think us silly – but at least we have heart 🙂

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      • We are all quite mad here–but in a good way. I’m sure he is very proud and touched. After all, if there were no Richard, there would be no devoted supporters to help create this.

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    • Congrats – I am so pleased that you are pleased :-). The package is already on the way. It probably takes a couple of weeks to get to you, anyway, though… Many thanks for your bids, Sue xxx

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  19. Woo hoo! Fabulous result! ($4672.30 in Australian dollars!) Congratulations and thank you to the successful bidders, and once again, a huge thankyou to you, Guylty, for all the work you have put in to organize the auction.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • That is such a wonderful sum in AUD currency. Looks even better 😉
      I am deeply indebted to anyone who has supported the fundraiser – in any shape or form. We all did it together *woohoo*!

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  20. Absolutely awesome result! And the end of this year’s auction was so thrilling to watch! Thank you so much Sonha for organizing tge auction. You are a star ⭐

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    • I couldn’t watch all of the auctions (because I was frantically trying to keep abreast of all the messages/requests for invoice/billing notifications coming in all at once), but I saw a few of them. There were some last minute developments that really made me gasp out loud. Awesome in every way. It’s been great fun, and I am very proud of all of us! Also – big thank you to you for your contributions! xx

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    • It is lovely to see, isn’t it, that there is also community spirit possible, despite the occasional skirmish within a fandom. In the end, what counts is that we have generated a fantastic amount of money for a good cause. Congratulations to all – and a big thank you to you for your bids! xx

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    • I usually don’t like buts, especially big buts, but this one… *chefskiss*
      And all credit back to you, all donors, contributors, bidders. I think we really have done something marvellous.

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  24. Wow! A staggering amount raised in just a few days. Thanks so much for organising all this Guylty. Must be so much work, like having a full time admin job really!

    Well done and thank you Guylty. Thanks to the other people who donated items and to the bidders. Just marvellous what we have achieved for a charity close to RA’s heart. I think he’ll be quite touched.

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    • I had never thought about it but you are right – amazing what we have been able to raise in just a few days. It’s all down to this very generous fandom which immediately has stepped up to the plate. That’s worth all of the time I (willingly) put into the fundraiser. If Richard feels a little bit proud that his fans have come together to achieve this, then that would be the icing on the cake!

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