Hosting an Auction

The Auction Campaign Type can be used for both Silent and Live Auctions

The following information is available on this page:

Creating an Auction Campaign

To create a brand new auction campaign, Navigate to Campaigns > New Campaign > Auction.

As you fill in the settings, a few things to pay attention to:

Under Auction Settings, set the type to Silent or Live depending on which auction campaign you are creating.
You can add auction items one by one or Use Bulk Import to upload multiple items together
Under General Settings, we highly recommend you ask donors for their phone numbers, in addition to the email they receive when they are outbid bidders will receive a text with a link to increase their bid and with a payment link for their item(s) once you end the auction.
For a Silent Auction, the campaign Start Date is NOT the same as the day the auction will go live and enable bidding. The Start Date you set underneath the description will be the 'Active' date of the campaign so that you can preview what the donors will see + in Auction Settings you'll enable bidding automatically by selecting start dates and times. The Stop Date and Time are when the bidding is paused automatically. You will still need to close the Auction from Manage> Auctions.

To duplicate an existing auction campaign, click on the ... of the auction campaign and select Copy and then select Copy All to New Auction Campaign or Copy Some to New Auction Campaign.

Auction Settings

A Silent Auction has additional settings compared to a Live Auction. Below you can find the explanation for each setting:

Enable Automatic Action Start/Stop: When this setting is toggled on PayBee automatically starts and pauses bidding based on the start date and time and end date and time. In addition, PayBee creates a banner at the top of the auction campaign which shares with your bidders a countdown to when the silent auction is starting and when the silent auction is ending.

If this setting is turned on and Automatic Auction Close is not turned on you are responsible for closing the auction manually using Manage> Auctions as winners will not receive their winning notification and the items won't be in the winners' carts until you do.

Enable Automatic Auction Close: When this setting is toggled on PayBee will automatically close the auction and send out winner notifications to auction winners at the date and time you add when you turn this setting on.
Hide Top Bidder to be shown to other bidders: When this setting is toggled on the top bidder's name will be hidden when a bidder places a bid on an item.
Show full bid history to the bidders: When this setting is toggled on a leaderboard is displayed with the bidders name and bid amount for each item when a bidder places a bid on an item.
Disable Auto Bid: When this setting is toggled on PayBee's AutoBid feature is disabled.
Show Best Value Items: When this setting is toggled on all items with no bids placed on them will have a dollar icon next to it
Show Trending Items: When this setting is toggled on the top five items with the most number of bids will have a fire icon next to it.
Show Item Value: When this setting is toggled on, the value of the item is displayed to bidders if set for the auction item.
Donors must login to place bids: When a donor tries to place a bid and this setting is toggled on, the donor will be asked to login using a one-time code sent to their email. This is helpful if you'd like to verify donors' emails.
Donors must save payment info to place bids: When a donor tries to place a bid and this setting is toggled on, they will be asked to login using a one-time code sent to their email and then save their payment information. Once the auction closes, the winners can then be charged by admins. The previous setting will be toggled on by default when this setting is toggled on.

Adding/ Editing Auction Items

You can add Auction Items one by one or through bulk import.

To add Auction Items you want to click on the Auctions Items tab and then select Add Item or Bulk Import buttons depending on how you are adding your auction items.

If you are adding auctions item one by one and have a question about a setting you can find the description of each setting here.

To edit Auction Items you want to click on the Auctions Items tab and then click on the pencil icon next to the item you want to edit. Once you are done updating an item make sure to click on Save Item and once you have finished editing items make sure to click on Save Campaign.

To edit the order of your Auction Items you can:

Use the drag-and-drop feature by hovering over the icon with the three horizontal lines and dragging it to its new position.
Use the New Position feature by clicking on the number and updating it to its new position number and then clicking on Move.

To copy Auction Items from one campaign to another you want to click on the ... of the original campaign that has the items you want to duplicate and then select Copy and ten Copy Some to Existing Auction Campaign. Select which items you want to copy and the campaign you want to copy them to.

Amount of Auction Items

There is no limit to the amount of Auction Items you can have as part of an auction.

It is important to note than any Items that have a Total Item Count more than one will allow for either be purchased through Buy It Now if enabled or be won through bidding by this same amount of bidder/donors.

Each of these bidders/ donors will only be allowed to purchase/ win one of these auction items at a time.

If you want to sell multiple of the same auction item we recommend using a party sign up or merchandise campaign depending on the auction item you are selling. You can promote these items as part of the Silent Auction by using the Promote Another Campaign setting from the General Settings of your Auction Campaign.

Placing Bids on the Silent Auction

Bidders don't need an account to participate in an online silent auction. They just need to select an item to bid on, select if it's a one-time or auto bid, and confirm their bid amount to place their bid.

If you are having a silent auction using traditional bid sheets in person. Donors just need to write their name and paddle number on the PayBee Bid Sheet.

We recommend collecting phone numbers from bidders for the silent auction for them to receive a text message when they're outbid. This helps your in-person and virtual bidders compete with each other throughout your event and maximizes their chances of winning and your total funds raised.

If you close the silent auction during your event, then the winnings will go into the donors' carts for easy checkout.

Bidding for auction items with multiple counts:

If auction item has n counts, top n bidders (not top n bids) will be declared winers.
Outbid notification only gets sent when a bidder gets below the count of the items.
Once outbid, a bidder has to come on the top to be back in consideration.
If someone buys an item using buy it now it reduces the count for the eventual winners.
If item is sold out before auction closes no one wins the items and bidders get notified if that happens.

There are 3 ways to sell items in a silent auction.

Standard bidding where the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.
The Buy It Now button gives your donors the option to buy the item without bidding. If no one buys the item, the highest bidder at the end of the auction wins the item.
Buy it now only allows you to sell an item without any bidding. This is commonly used for merchandise or experiences like dinners where you're selling seats. Donors are able to purchase one item/spot at a time.

If you are selling Experiences or Sign Up Parties and want your donors/ bidders to be able to purchase more than one item/ spot at a time we recommend you add these items to a party sign up or merchandise campaign.

Auto Bidding in Silent Auctions

An auto bid is an automatic bid placed on a silent auction item on behalf of a donor once bidding is enabled for the item. PayBee allows donors to set up auto-bidding on silent auction items if the organization has enabled this option for the auction. Donors either have the option to place a bid on the item immediately or set up auto bidding up to a specific maximum bid amount. To understand how donors can set up auto bids, click here.

Auto bidding is disabled for all your existing silent auctions by default and any auction campaign which is copied and enabled while setting up a new silent auction by default. To enable it for your existing silent auction, Edit your campaign > scroll down to Auction Settings > turn OFF Disable Auto Bid.

Payment Method Collection for Silent Auctions

Organizations can now enable a setting that requires bidders to log in and save a payment method before placing bids in a silent auction. Once a payment method is saved and the bid is placed, the bidder receives a confirmation email indicating that their bid and payment method have been saved successfully and may be charged by the organization if they win when the auction closes.

To make the login process simpler and more secure, bidders are prompted to authenticate using a one-time code when placing a bid. After verifying their email, they can select an existing saved payment method or add a new one using Apple Pay, Google Pay, a credit/debit card, or a bank account. Once the payment method is saved, the bid is accepted.

Charging Auction Winners On Their Saved Payment Methods

At the close of the auction, organization admins can securely charge all winning bidders - streamlining payment collection and reducing administrative overhead. To do this, go to Manage > Auctions > select your auction > go to the Pending tab > tap on the Bulk Checkout button.

Every campaign has a unique link that can be shared with potential bidders. Go to Campaigns, and hit Share to get the URL (to share on social media and in email campaigns) and QR code (for print collateral).

Go to Manage > Auctions to:

See current bids, live bid activity, and the current list of bidders
Pause/resume bidding for Silent Auction
Notify your bidders that the auction will be ending soon
Print your bid sheets
Delete bids if necessary.
End the auction to select winning bids and notify winners
See all pending and paid transactions associated with the auction
Charge bidders who have saved payment methods when placing bids

Closing an Auction

For more information about closing a live auction, you can find it here.

For more information about closing a silent auction, you can find it here.

Adding Shipping Costs

Adding Forms For Pick Up/Delivery

To help coordinate pick up and shipping, consider adding forms that your donors could fill out. You can add these to the Email Settings Header and Footer section under Email Setting or add these under Additional Instructions for Auction Winners under Auction Settings.

Here's an example of forms you can create and add:

To schedule pick up, please complete this form.
To schedule delivery, please complete this form.

Donors who win an auction item will see this message in the confirmation and payment request email.

Donors who buy the item, will see it in the payment confirmation email.

Auction Payments and Reports

To see all auction payments you want to visit the All Donations Report

To see all those who haven't paid yet for their auction items and send them payment reminders you want to visit the All Pending Report.

To download a comprehensive Report about your auction please go to Manage> Auctions and Download the Bidders and Items Excel Report.

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Last updated 1 month ago

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