where did the last one end?
No bids after ten days.
The minimum bid was $25,000. They say that proceeds will go to charity, but then declare that the fair market value of the set will be the winning bid; this means that there's no tax deduction possiblity here. If they were to declare the FMV to be $10,000, for example), then the buyer could probably (and I say probably because I don't know the winner's tax situation. Consult your tax professional for specific advice about your unique tax situation.) deduct the amount in excess of $10,000 from their federal income tax. For most folks in the financial league to be buying $25,000 knife sets, this amounts to getting a rebate of almost 40% (more if you face state tax too) of the amount in excess of $10,000. The charity, of course, still gets the full amount. That would make the purchase a lot more attractive to high-dollar bidders.
A lot of what we call "high net worth individuals" have a charitiable trust through which they make their charitable donations. Such a trust must give away 5% of its earnings every year. If such an individual bought this set, they could pay the $10,000 from their own disposable funds and have their trust pay the remaining $15,000+ dollars. That way, they get the knives to display in their den for $10,000 out of their own checking account and the $15,000+ (which is money they'd have given away anyway) gets counted toward their trust's 5% requirement.
The winner may end up being a business. For example, a knife company may buy this set to display in its own lobby, board room, or the CEO's office. Companies like to brag about how much they give to charities, especially charities like New York Fire Fighters. Buying a $25,000 decorator accent for the board room is the sort of thing that gets CEOs in trouble with shareholders. But giving $15,000 to New York Fire Fighters is the sort of thing that makes shareholders proud to be shareholders. So, again, it's desirable to separate the two components.
It amazes me that this managment company their using, which, if you look at their website, has done some high-dollar charity auctions ($60,000 for two tickets on the last Concorde flight, for example) isn't handling these knives in a more savvy way.
As my sainted father often said, "If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got."
The auction listing on eBay looks the same. I can only hope that they've done some behind-the-scenes stuff differently. Otherwise, I fear that they're only gonna get what they've always got.
