When an item or service is donated to your auction, ReadySetAuction refers to it as a donation. A donation entry in the ReadySetAuction system includes information about the donor; the donation's fair market value (for the donor's receipt); comments about the item/service, including any restrictions that might be associated with it; its delivery status; and if applicable, the text that is needed for a gift certificate.

An auction package is what is advertised in the catalogs and auctioned off at your event. It can be empty, consist of a single donation, or consist of two or more related donations that you combine to create a themed package for sale as a single entity.

Because an auction package is a superset of a donation (or multiple donations), its entry requires additional information: which donations are part of the auction package; its bidding style and bidding parameters; a title, description and image that will appear in the eCatalog and various printed materials; a total package value that will appear in the eCatalog and various printed materials (can be the same as the fair market value of the underlying donations, or customized, such as "Priceless"); and more.