How does a Bidder make a bid on an auction item?
After a bidder has created an account and is logged in, a Bidder can make a bid on an Auction item by clicking on the green “Place Bid” button underneath that specific item.
The Bidder will then be directed to a page with additional details on the item, including the value of the item, the “minimum bid increment”, and how much time is left to bid on that particular item.
Bidders can then enter an amount that they’d like to bid on the item, as well as a “Maximum Bid.” The Maximum Bid is an amount that you can set to allow the system to automatically bid for you - up to that specified amount. (That way, you can continue to automatically bid on an item without worrying about bidding over your limits!)
Once a Bidder has entered their bid and a Maximum Bid, then they can press the green “Place Bid” button – and voila! They’ve submitted a bid!
The bidder should receive a notice at the top of the screen confirming that the bid was successful, and that they are now the highest bidder.
Bidders can then return to the main Auctions page by clicking on the “All Items” link below that confirmation message.
How can a Bidder see the items that they’ve made bids on?
Bidders can see the items that they’ve made bids on right from the main Auction page!
There is a section under the auction’s description and image where a Bidder can toggle between three different views.
To see all of the items that they’ve bid on (regardless of if they have the highest bid or not!), they can click on the option to view “My Bids.”
Can a Bidder make a list of the items they’re most interested in?
Yes! Bidders can make a list of their “favorite items” by clicking on the small “heart” icon next to the name of the item.
They can then access that list by selecting the “My Favorites” view from the main Auctions page.
What happens if a Bidder makes an “accidental” bid on an item?
If a Bidder makes an “accidental” bid on an item, they should contact the nonprofit directly to see if they are willing to delete that bid. However, removing bids is ultimately up to the discretion of the nonprofit.
If a nonprofit agrees to remove the erroneous bid, they can do so by selecting the item the bid was made on from the ‘Items” section of their Auction Dashboard. (If the item is not listed, they can press “View All” to open an expanded list of items.
Once the item has been located, the nonprofit will want to click on the name of the item – this should open up a list of all of the bids made on that item.
To delete a bid, the nonprofit should click on the button with the red “trashcan” icon next to the bid. They should receive a pop-up prompt confirming that the bid should be deleted and click “OK” to confirm.
How Can a Bidder Bid via Text?
If a bidder has selected mobile as their communication preference, they will get notices once they have been outbid. They can then reply to that message with a specific new bid request and the system will place that bid for them and they do not need to log on to the site to place their next bid.
This is only a function for bidders who are getting alerts through text messages. Bidders who only choose email as their communication preference will not be able to bid via email, they will always have to go to the auction site and place their next bid.
What do automated messages look like and how does a bidder take action when they get an automated message?
If you choose to leave the automated messages turned on, bidders will get a simple text-based message sent as a text message or plain text email letting them know the auction is opening, the auction is closing in 20 minutes, and the auction has closed, please checkout. You can turn these off if you wish, but we highly recommend leaving them on as it takes those communications tasks off your plate.
When the automated messages are sent, we will always have a link for the bidder to visit the auction page to bid, bid again or check out. Keep in mind if your bidders are using a different device, have purposely logged out of the auction site or haven't logged in in several days, they will have to log in again in order to bid or check out.
Here's an example of the bidder's experience after receiving a text message about the auction closing soon: