eBayers are encouraged to "bling" their bras and donate them to help raise money for breast cancer awareness and research during the second annual Bling My Bra campaign.
Auctions of the one-of-a-kind bras kick off Oct. 1 and last the entire month, which is also known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Proceeds from the auctions will benefit the Susan G. Komen For the Cure organization.
People who want to participate have until Oct. 1 to contact Bling My Bra and mail their decorated garments so volunteers can list the items and auction them off through eBay Giving Works. Participants are encouraged to e-mail the organization with a two-line bio, photos of their creations, the name of their bras and a description of the items to be used in the listings.
"Bras can be crafted out of whatever strikes your fancy, using a plain bra to build upon," Bling My Bra notes on its site. "And you can make more than one."
Last year, participants donated 41 bras, one CD and a pair of SwitchFlops for the campaign, raising $3,000 for cancer awareness and research. This year, the organization hopes to double that number and reach $6,000.
"Last year's response was fantastic," says Betsie Bolger, a spokeswoman for the campaign. "We had a great cadre of volunteer artists and designers, who created a bra or bras for the campaign, plus quite a number of other supporters, who submitted ideas for bras so that we could have one of our volunteers craft them. They also made financial donations and in some cases even autographed various bras. We even had a few celebrity contributors, including Marsha Collier, author of the best-selling eBay For Dummies series and Jim 'Griff' Griffith and Lee Mirabal, hosts of eBay Radio."
John Donahoe even autographed a piece, which garnered lots of attention and several bids, she notes. But for buyers, it was more about helping the cause than getting a blinged-out bra.
"Some of those who won bras even told us to keep the bra so we could auction it off again," she notes. "It's really exciting to feel that your efforts have helped to make a difference in the world."
For more information, visit blingmybra.com, or find the campaign on Facebook.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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