Auction By SMS

What a great idea.

From 160 Characters.org GSM launches SMS charity auction for UNICEF.

The first ever world wide charity auction by SMS has been launched by the GSM Association in aid of UNICEF. The auction runs until the GSM event in Cannes and includes a collection of items from the worlds of sport, the arts and entertainment

Donated by members and partners of the Association, the majority of the lots will be sold in a unique global text message auction - believed to be the first of its kind in the world. Contributors include: Fortune; KTF; Motorola; Nokia; NTTDoCoMo Inc.; O2; Orange Group; Orascom; Siemens; Telefonica Moviles; T-Mobile International; TIM; Turkcell; UNICEF; Virgin Mobile; Vodafone Group; CNBC Europe, Turisme De Barcelona and the GSMA’s auction messaging partner Netsize.

Among the highlights are weekend VIP packages at the Cannes Film Festival, the Tour de France and the British Grand Prix, along with signed football, rugby, golf, tennis, cricket, motorcycling, sailing, American football, television and music memorabilia from global stars, across the world.

While The GSM Association would have liked to have used premium rate SMS for the bids, the logistics of managing premium rate short codes for so many countries proved impossible.

Bids for the auction are sent to a standard UK based mobile number. For example to bid for the British Grand Prix VIP hospitality tickets, text: BID GRANDPRIX followed by your bid amount in Euros and send to +44 7786 201000 having first sent a registration message text by sending the word “register” followed by your “name” and “company name”.