Online Auctions
How do I collect credit cards prior to the auction-event?1. Prior to the auction-event credit cards can be collected, and bidders can be pre-registered for the auction by contacting the event attendees from the Event Attendance grid. 2. The Event Attendance grid includes a column, CC on File, which indicates if the event attendee has…How do I add a credit card to a bidder's record?Credit cards can be entered several ways: 1. Manually typing the card number in via the Event Attendance grid or constituent’s record. 2. By swiping a credit card with the mobile app. 3. By the constituent when they register for the auction or try to bid on an item. To add a car…Are portal accounts for the auction created automatically?No, just because the attendee has a credit card on file and a bidder ID does NOT mean that they have a portal account created, which is required for online or mobile auction bidding. However, if your Event Settings page is linked to the auction and you have enabled Send Portal A…Can bidders sign up before an online auction begins?1. Yes, the URL link to the auction page can be shared via direct email, text, or an email marketing campaign. 2. If you activated the Send Portal Account Info Email on the Event Settings page,then the ticket purchaser and each attendee with an email address that was provided at…How do bidders sign up for the online auction at the event?1. Bidders can access the auction from the URL link or a by scanning the QR code. Many organizations will download the QR code and add it to the event program, create posters, or table stands for guests to scan with their mobile phones. 2. The QR code is found on the Preview and…How are Bidder IDs assigned?1. Bidder IDs can be created two ways: a. As a unique constituent (actual attendee) at an event linked to an auction. b. By registering for the auction from the auction page, if they are creating a new constituent and portal account. 2. Bidder IDs are only assigned to unique con…Do bidders IDs preassign and can I turn that off?1. Yes, the Bidder IDs are preassigned but only if the event is linked to the auction page. 2. For events linked to auctions, this function cannot be shut off, however the Bidder IDs can be edited if that feature was enabled on the Event Settings page. 3. If the event is NOT lin…How do I add or edit a Bidder ID number?1. Within the Event page editor, on the Event Settings tab, the Allow To Edit Bidder # must be set to YES in order to add or edit bidder numbers. 2. Bidder numbers can then be added by clicking on the edit icon from the Event Attendance grid. 3. Bidder numbers can only be added…What happens if a person bidding has a duplicate record and two bidder IDs?There is no immediate problem with a person having duplicate constituent records and/or multiple Bidder IDs. They can still bid on the auction; however, they may need to re-enter their credit card if they used a different email address to purchase their event tickets than the on…Can constituents who share an email address both create a portal account with the same email?No, Every portal account requires a unique email address. Constituents cannot share an email address and have separate donor portal accounts, even if their names are different.Is a credit card required to make an online bid?1. Yes, the bidder must have a credit card on file in their portal account in order to place a bid. 2. Bidders who have a portal account, but do not have a credit card on file will be asked to provide the information if they attempt to place a bid. They can click on Payment Opti…How can I make sure the portal account matches a constituent record already on file?The donor portal login must match the first name, last name, and primary email address for the constituent in order to link to an existing constituent record. If a constituent creates a donor portal account using a different email or name than the one that is already in the data…Is guest check-in required to participate in the online auction?No, guest check-in on the Event Attendance grid is not required or linked to participation the online auction. The only link is the ability to pre-assign Bidder ID numbers and record credit card information for their portal account.Does checking in a guest automatically sign them up for the auction?No, guest check-in does not automatically sign them up for the auction. If they have a bidder ID, email address, and credit card on file, or they have already created a portal account, they can use this information to Sign In to the auction. If a guest (actual attendee) does not…Can multiple guests have the same credit card or Bidder ID number?1. Yes, multiple guests can share the same credit card number. 2. No, multiple constituents cannot share the same Bidder ID number. 1. If you wish spouses to share the same paddle number, they also need to share the same constituent record – for example Brad and Christine Jones…Do bidding links get sent out automatically?No. The URL, QR code, or text code need to be shared with bidders in order to register and bid. You can include this information in the Event Auto reminders or by reaching out to event attendees from the Actions menu on the Event Attendance grid, if desired.Are cell numbers and emails required for bidding?Only email is required for creating an account, however if the bidder would like to opt in or out of cell phone notifications while placing bids for an auction, they can.How do I turn off bidding for an online auction?1. For online bidding, the specific ending bid time is set on the auction page editor. 2. Click on the Auction Settings tab and enter the time and date to end the bidding. 3. Click the green Save button to save the changes.How do I place an online bid for a guest?Occasionally, you may need to place an online bid on a guest's behalf if they don't want to sign up for the online auction or they are having trouble accessing their portal account. 1. Click on the gavel icon from the Auctions grid on the row of the auction item. 2. Search by bi…Is Max Bid an option?1. Yes, but only by the bidder when they are logged into their account. 2. The bidder can choose to include a max bid and the system will continue to bid on their behalf up to that max bid amount. 3. When a new bid comes in that exceeds the max bid, the bidder will receive a tex…Can you hide an auction item from online bidding?Yes. Items can be included in the auction but not shown online. They can also be included and shown but excluded from bidding. 1. From the auction page editor, click on the Auction Setup tab. 2. On the item to hide/unhide, click on the edit icon in the bottom right corner of the…How can I remove or edit an online bid?1. Click on the edit icon next to the item with the bid that needs to be edited or removed. 2. Click the red Remove Bid button to remove the bid and allow the next highest bidder to be shown as the current winning bid. 3. The bidder and/or bid amount can also be edited and saved…Can I add a last minute auction item?Yes. New auction items are added via the auction page editor. 1. On the Auction Settings tab, click on +New, then +New Item. 2. Enter the information for the item and click Next to add pictures if desired. 3. Click Update once the pictures are uploaded or the information is comp…What if a bidder has trouble logging into their auction portal account?If a bidder cannot log in, ask them what message shows when they attempt to log in. Each message has a different approach to resolve the issue. See this article for details.Can people who are not attending the event still participate in an online auction?Yes, you can open the auction to non-attendees by sharing the URL link, text code, or QR code.What if I only want people who are at the event to participate in the online auction?1. You can hide the auction from the Donor Portal by toggling Hide From Donor Portal to YES on the Auction Settings tab. 2. The only way someone would know about the auction is if the auction page link or QR code is shared with them.How does the Ticket Purchase Required toggle work?1. You can add a button to purchase tickets to a linked event by toggling Ticket Purchase Required to YES on the Auction Settings tab and selecting the event the auction is linked to. 2. You cannot select an event the auction is not already paired with. 3. However, a ticket purc…Auction Items: Buy Now Only vs. Add-OnsBoth items can be set up with standard price and quantity available, but are purchased and managed in different ways. Add-on prices can also be edited, where Buy Now only item prices are fixed. Buy Now Only items These items can be listed on the auction webpage and are "for sale…Can bidders preview the online auction items?Yes, bidders can preview the online auction items before bidding starts during the Auction starts on and ends on dates; otherwise, the auction page is not available and the Message to display when online bidding is not active (which is customizable) displays. https://s3.amazonaw…Auction Items: Buy Now OnlyIf you want an item to be bought (not bid on) in an auction, then check off Buy Now Only and set Quantity to the number available for purchase. Multiple bidders can purchase the Buy Now Only item, based on the Quantity available. NOTE: Buy Now Only items cannot be assigned/purch…Can auction items be sold multiple times, and if so, how?1. There is a Buy It Now option available for auction items. 2. Only an item assigned as Buy It Now Onlycan have multiple items for sale. 3. Buy It Now Only items cannot be assigned via the Auctions menu, they can only be purchased from the online auction page by a bidder. If yo…How can I see who is winning an item?1. Current auction winners can be seen on both the Auctions grid and Bid History grid. 2. The entire bid history can be seen on the Bid History grid by checking the Show full bid history box. 3. Clicking on the Auction Item column will sort the column so that the full history of…How do I share my online auction page?From the Preview & Publish tab of any dauction page you will find several ways to share your page including sharing the unique URL for the donation page, the QR code, Text Messaging Code (for those organizations with text messaging activated on their accounts,) and Embedded Code…Do I have to put in a bid increment?Yes, you should put a number in the bid increment so that there will be a default value greater than the previous bid when a bidder attempts to place a bid. If you leave this field blank or $0.00, the bidder will see the same bid amount as the Current bid in the Your Bid field.…