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@Kevin Peacocke , but you still have to be careful when bidding, depending on how deep your pockets are and what is actually being offered..
There are cases where guys are simply using an auction as a means of giving money to DSC, and dont really care about "winning" anything... For example, a couple of years ago a DSC member bid something like $10K on a buff hunt (reasonably fair price for what was being offered.. but not a "great" deal if someone was shopping for a buff hunt).. he won it.. then immediately "re-donated" the hunt so that it could be sold again.. Saw the same thing happen on an ele hunt that went for close to $40K the same night.. a guy won it, paid for it, then immediately put it back on the table to be sold again for DSC..
At the same time, I've seen outfitters SIGNIFICANTLY over value their hunts that are put up for auction.. They do this for a variety of reasons.. one of the most common is the more "value" they donate to DSC/SCI for auction, the more "credit" they get, which in turn becomes preferential treatment when it comes to obtaining booth space, booth locations, etc (among other things)....
So.. bidders, if they are actually shopping for a specific type of hunt, want a good deal, and would prefer to buy an auction so that the proceeds directly benefit DSC/SCI, etc... need to read the fine print... just because the donor says "this hunt is valued at $10K.." and the hunt sells for $7K.. doesnt mean the bidder actually got a good deal at all (or even a fair one).. It isnt rare that auction hunts are valued at high $$$ rates because accommodation, trophy fees, etc are presented at crazy rates WAY above market..
Many of the donation hunts are also structured so that the winner will almost certainly spend significantly more money once they are on the hunt, than the actual auction hunt cost them.. For example, it will be a 7 day hunt that is auctioned.. but only with enough animals to fill maybe 3-4 days of hunting (the outfitter is counting on the hunter bagging more animals in hopes that the cost of the "donation" gets covered by additional animals or other items once the hunter is on the ground).. Nothing wrong with this at all... but again.. a hunter/bidder needs to pay attention to what they are bidding on and know for certain that what they THINK they are buying is what they are actually buying.. and the good deal that they think they are getting actually is one.. and the amount of money they are going to have to spend to make the hunt happen is actually within their budget..
Argentina is a good example.. If you win a 2x person 3 day dove hunt in Argentina for $1K.. (a pretty great price for most lodges).. but only have $5K in your total budget to spend.. you might have screwed yourself.. flights from the US are going to be $1200 each (youre now at $3400)... and the earlier discussion about the cost of shells is legitimate.... Its not uncommon for a hunter to spend $750 a day on shells in Argentina (youre now at $7900... WAY above your budget).. and the last thing you want to be doing in Argentina when there are a million birds flying.. is counting shells or worrying about whether or not you can afford to hunt anymore)...
The fine print matters A LOT on these hunts (shells not included... etc).. as it can make a HUGE difference in what is bid vs what the actual costs are going to be vs what the actual value of the hunt is..
If youre just looking for a fun way to get money in the hands of DSC.. and have extremely deep pockets.. None of it really matters...
But if what youre trying to do is book a hunt you are legitimately interested in, for a price that you couldnt get otherwise, and help DSC out in the process... its easy to screw yourself pretty hard if youre not paying ample attention...
