On Saturday, June 1 we had the mad auction skills of the hilariously droll Matt Ingebretson (yeah, we didn't know how to pronounce it either), who produces his own comedy showcase "Art Fuck" and contributes to Funny Or Die and The Onion. He also has a brand new comedy album Holy Fuck.

This month's auction beneficiary was My Friend's Place, which assists and inspires homeless youth to build self-sufficient lives. Through their nonprofit drop-in resource center and programs in Hollywood, they offer a comprehensive continuum of care, health, educational, and therapeutic services to over 1,700 homeless youth and their children each year. They're a really great organization which is close to our hearts here at Amoeba. And of course, as always, we match any bid so the bid is doubled!

We were also accepting donations of new socks for My Friend’s Place – so it was our own "Sock Hop" – and customers donated socks for a $2.00 off coupon.

We started hosting our charity auctions back in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and over the years we've raised a ton of money ($450,000 +) for New Orleans, Green charities, Animal charities, Doctors Without Borders and many local organizations. It is a great place to score all kinds of rarities and signed items, as well as concert tickets and crazy promo items.

Matt was addictively funny, with his dry "I don't understand Bjork, do you?" and..."we're all dying!! Dying every single day!! Go to a show already. Buy some tickets to a show! Do something for the youth of LA...buy these tickets!" He was also deceptively wry. Meaning, you didn't even know how funny he was until about a minute after he said something, and then you started laughing out loud. There was a 60 second delay on Matt's dry, deadpan delivery – but it was bitingly hilarious.

On Saturday, March 2 we had the hilarious Kurt Braunohler all the way from New York host our charity auction at Amoeba Hollywood and he did a fabulous job with a very tough crowd. He drove home our reason for being there ("Hey guys, it's for Doctors Without Borders...C'MON! Doctors who have no sense of their own boundaries! "). The crowd was enjoying the show, but it was tough to get them to bid. Sometimes it's like that. You never know what the temperature of the crowd will be! But Kurt did a great job and we ended up having a very successful auction.

The concert tickets went well, as always, and thanks so much to our neighbors at Trader Joe's and Brew Coffee, as well as Goldenvoice, for getting us such cool prizes.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Brew Coffee gift card with Amoeba mug $25.00
• Tickets to Jim James at the Fonda $30.00
• Tickets to The Black Lips at the El Rey $25.00
• Tickets to Django Django at the Fonda $20.00
• Trader Joe's Gift Card and California Raisins lunchbox $50.00
• Passes to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles $40.00
• Special VIP Amoeba in-store pass $66.00
• Sundance Theater passes 30.00
• Classic rock package featuring Doors documentary, Led Zeppelin and Doors t-shirts & more $70.00
• Limited edition Record Store Day package $60.00
• Tiny Furniture DVD signed by Lena Dunham $35.00
• Super DVD signed by the cast $15.00
• Ozzy and Sharon talking Beanie Babies with lunchbox and Black Sabbath pen $10.00
• Beatles package featuring totes, poster, mug and more $30.00

There was a grand total of bids of $485.00, and then with our matching that meant we raised $970.00 for Doctors Without Borders, an organization which has helped tremendously with Hurricane Sandy (in addition to their work in all corners of the world). This one was great. Thanks all for the help!

On Saturday, November 3 we were all excited to have the inimitable Billy Calhoun step up to the mic and charm the dollars out of the peeps....and....he....DID ! :) Billy did an amazing job of being funny, sincere, and charming while reminding people WHY we do this and what it means---and how each dollar is matched so it feels good. He was also gracious enough to donate several cool, kitschy vintage items from his own collection to spice it up even more. This month's recipient was a new partner for us, Good Neighbors, and they do amazing work around the world. Billy made sure to educate us about the works they do as he was auctioning off Dennis Rodman dolls (with switchable heads, no less! :). So it is even better since we are happy to be involved with what these guys are doing.

 Here are some of the highlights, which are especially impressive since there was a small crowd this time around. Several people overbid and doubled their own bids---which was just the spirit we needed:

 
** Pee Wee Herman Vintage T-shirt and Button Pack  -- $17.00

** Cat Power Concert Tickets and Signed CD -- $30.00

** Patti Smith Signed Horses CD and Poster -- $17.00

** Steve Martin T-shirt -- $5.00

** Monkees Concert Tickets -- $40.00

** Urban Outfitters Gift Card -- $45.00

** Lana Del Rey Signed 45 -- $25.00

** Dolly Parton Doll -- $30.00

** Minus The Bear Concert Tickets -- $25.00

** Gene Simmons Mask -- $25.00

** Amoeba VIP In-Store Pass -- $35.00

** Signed Doctor Who Blu-ray -- $40.00

** Trader Joe's Gift Card with Lunchbox -- $55.00

On Saturday, October 6 we held our monthly charity auction hosted by comedian Ryan Stout who did a fabulous job of inspiring and cajoling the audience into some great bids, all while making people laugh out loud. This month's auction benefited Beagle Freedom Project, an organization that rescues beagles used in animal experimentation in research laboratories. We also held a dog adoption event on Sunday, October 7 with Beagle Freedom Project and some pretty adorable dogs.

But back to the auction. Mr. Stout was quick, clever, personable and hard to resist.

"C'mon...It's for the dogs! Everyone cares about dogs. BEAGLES for chrissakes - AMERICA'S DOG! "

The bids started with a green tag DVD Season 2 of Flight of the Conchords (with poster) at $5.00 and then we were off and running.

Here are the rest of the highlights:

• Herbie Hancock signed vinyl LP - $15.00
• Flying Lotus tickets - $30.00
• The XX tickets - $80.00 (!!)
• Record Store Day grab bag - $115.00 (!!!!)
• Trader Joe's gift card and lunchbox - $60.00
• SBTRKT tickets - $60.00 (!!)
• Darkness tickets - $25.00
• P.I.L. tickets - $30.00
• Bob Mould tickets - $30.00
• Doctor Who Blu-ray - $10.00
• Amoeba VIP in-store pass - $60.00
• Social Distortion tickets - $60.00
• Portlandia DVD signed by Fred Armisen (with Wallflowers tickets) - $45.00

All together Mr. Stout garnered $625.00 in bids which, with our matching, means we raised $1250.00 for the Beagle Freedom Project! It can be very challenging to get folks to bid big money on random things in a 30 minute window. You never know if that Social D fan will be in the house, or if that crazy Doctor Who fan will be nearby, but Ryan was able to get folks to bid and this month's auction was a great success!

On Saturday, September 1, 2012 we had a command performance from our good friend, mister funny Jason Boggs, as our guest auctioneer! Though the store was pretty quiet due to the weather and FYF Fest, Jason came out of the gate with the quips and the patter and started off the bidding with a signed Sarah Silverman DVD box set (from her recent signing) and that went for $20 BUCKS. And we were off...

The rest of the highlights were:

• Coffee cup and Brew Coffee gift certificate - $10.00
• DJ Lance Rock figure and Amoeba VIP in-store pass - $15.00
• FYF Fest passes - $35.00 (such a deal)
• Trader Joe's gift certificate and Star Trek lunchbox - $48.00
• Animal Collective at the Hollywood Bowl tickets - $45.00
• Record Store Day grab bag and Marilyn Monroe cup - $35.00
• Wilco tickets - $45.00
• Smashing Pumpkins signed canvas and Smog messenger bag - $65.00 (!!!)

All together, Jason was able to inspire the people to bid and we raised $320.00 for Doctors Without Borders - which when doubled is $640.00 - going to a very worthy organization which continues to do amazing work. Another successful auction Saturday at Amoeba Hollywood.