Pssst! You wanna buy a mezuzah?
Nancy Ackerman knows a little place where you can get a steal on one, and you don’t even have to get dressed to go shopping.
The Mountain View resident hoped to make a few purchases for a good cause at the S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services’ Web auction page. She didn’t expect to land a $220 piece of handmade Judaica for $85.
“It’s a beautiful piece, I was thrilled,” she said with a laugh.
“Admittedly, I was a little bit guilty. It should have gone for more than that. I was hoping for a bit more — ahem — competition.”
Ackerman and other online auction aficionados spoke with a bittersweet feeling in their hearts. On the one hand, publishing their experiences should, in principle, direct more traffic to www.jfcs.org/auction and increase the funds heading to the Jewish social service organization.
On the other hand, it will drive up prices. Well, so be it.
“It’s the best that it could be. I got to shop, I got wonderful things and the money went to a wonderful cause. It made me feel really good about the purchases,” said San Francisco’s Sharon Miller.
“I saw the money was going to JFCS and I knew they’d spend it well.”
Claire Axelrad, the JFCS director of development and marketing who created the “Shop in the Name of Love” Web site, isn’t content to call her creation a “win-win situation.” To her it’s a “win-win-win-win situation.”
Online users enjoy “guilt-free shopping,” the money heads to JFCS programs for clients ranging from infants to seniors, local artists and artisans get exposure, and Web surfers peruse the JFCS site and find out more about the organization.
The site, which was inaugurated on June 1, closes its auctions on the 14th and 30th of every month. At that point, more items such as downtown spa and yoga services, dinners at Bay Area restaurants and works of art crafted by locals are placed online and the bidding is off. Axelrad said the JFCS has been netting between $2,000 and $3,000 a month.
“It’s a good system. You get an e-mail twice a month saying they’ve added new things, so I go in and look,” said San Francisco’s Kris Bondi.
“Originally I had the idea that, ‘Oh, this is great; I can get gifts for other people, and I don’t care if I pay full price; it’s going to a worthy cause.’ I have won two things. One was a massage for myself, so much for getting gifts for other people. But I did get some jewelry for a family member.”
Incidentally, Bondi picked up the $100 massage for $80. Other items have been priced at 30 to 40 percent below market value.
“I almost don’t want this article written, [the deals] were really great,” joked Miller.
“I have told people about it. And I do keep shopping. It’s a little treat during the day.”