How to host a successful online auction and mobile bidding experience

Adapting fundraising events to the tastes of today’s attendees and reevaluating day-of-event giving strategies is a must for modern nonprofits.

Whether hosting a live auction, silent auction, or online auction, selling fixed-priced items, running a direct appeal, or offering paddle raises, your organization needs robust nonprofit auction software. The right technology makes it easy and enjoyable for attendees to participate from any device while supporting causes that matter to them.

Mobile bidding during silent auctions is an especially effective way to engage event attendees. It allows guests to place bids from their smartphones, ensuring a seamless bidding experience for attendees and operations for your team on the back end.

Learn how to use mobile bidding technology to host a stellar live or silent auction—whether virtual, in person, or hybrid—and streamline bids, payment collection, receipts, and reports.

Selecting an online auction type based on your goal

When planning an online auction, it’s crucial to select the right type for your goals. Each type offers unique benefits and requires specific auction platform features to create an exceptional experience.

Live hybrid, in-person, or virtual auction

In a live auction, an auctioneer leads the bidding, announcing each item and its current bid. Attendees then raise their paddles or call their amounts to place a bid. Swift and lively, this type of auction requires your team to have a quick and easy way to record winners and help them check out.

With GoFundMe Pro’s Live Events, admins can quickly find winners, match them to the items they win, and log the winning amounts. Then, each winner automatically receives an email receipt to pay for their item through self-checkout.

Silent hybrid, in-person, or virtual auction

In a silent auction, guests place item bids using paper bid sheets or mobile bidding apps. Items have limited bidding windows, and when the clock runs out, the highest bid wins.

With the right attendee engagement and event management features, you can run a successful silent auction event for live, virtual, or hybrid audiences. Live Events allows guests to watch and bid on items easily, and admins can send automated activity push notifications and detailed email receipts for self-checkout.

Admins can also automate closing times for auction items, starting bids, and increments on Live Events. Plus, reporting is a breeze, as your staff can quickly pull performance insights to assess the success of your auction.

Get more details below on the specific mobile bidding features that Live Events offers.

Mobile bidding made easy for a live or virtual auction

Paddle raise

During a paddle raise, the auctioneer asks for different donation amounts from the crowd. Attendees raise their paddles or bid numbers to commit to a gift of that size. This is a great way to encourage attendees to fund a specific initiative.

Again, your auction fundraising software should be able to support this fast-paced activity. Live Events allows you to set up preset donation amounts or offer guests the option to enter a custom amount. Additionally, the “quick add mode” enables your team to record in-person bidder numbers, and then trigger an automated email to the winners to prompt a seamless checkout.

Fixed-price item sales

Fixed prices are another option when selling an auction catalog of merchandise or other items. With Live Events, you can easily sell these items to your event attendees and even interweave them into your larger live or silent auction as a separate category.

Direct giving

A simple text message is an easy and effective way to rally your live or virtual audience to donate directly through your virtual event’s auction website. With text-to-donate, you can encourage attendees to text a keyword to a provided number, which generates a URL to your donation form. Live Events supports this feature, too.

Max bid

With Live Events, each guest can set a maximum bid on items they’re interested in and let the system automatically bid for them until it reaches that limit. For example, someone can start bidding at $150, but set a maximum bid of $1,000 for the best chance of winning without having to do anything during the auction itself.

Card readers

Attendees can store their credit card information on file to ensure the simplest checkout experience during your event. This keeps guests focused on event content or engaged in networking with other passionate supporters and beneficiaries.

An easy checkout also means less friction when purchasing merchandise, making additional donations, or bidding on items at your auction. Live Events’ mobile app and card reader solution support Stripe’s BBPOS WisePOS E smart reader, so attendees can swipe or tap their credit card upon arrival.

Mobile bidding: 11 pro tips to upgrade your silent auction

As more and more attendees participate in mobile bidding, nonprofits must engage attendees in a way that exceeds their expectations and secures their trust in your digital experience.

1. Promote your online auction ahead of the event

Consider opening and promoting your auction a week before the event to give attendees the chance to check out the items you’ll include in your auction. You can also open your silent auction items early to get bids rolling in before the live event.

Direct registered attendees to your public auction landing page from social media, emails, or your nonprofit newsletter. It’s also smart to embed individual item links in your marketing promotions. Attendees can then sort, filter, watch, and engage with items before the event.

Opening your auction early creates more excitement and engagement. It also encourages attendees to add their payment method on file before the event for a more user-friendly checkout experience.

2. Print bid item sheets for in-person events

Print out custom bid sheets for individual items, each with a unique QR code, if you host an in-person silent auction. When participants find an item they want to bid on, they can scan the QR code to go directly to a unique URL to place their bid.

3. Automate notifications

Send automated notifications on Live Events to keep attendees coming back and motivated to bid more. Attendees will receive notifications when someone outbids them or they win an item, and a receipt after their payment processes.

4. Bulk-edit items

Save time editing items individually on your online auction platform with bulk edits in Live Events, such as setting a closing time for auction items. This is especially helpful if you want to make a change across many items. For example, you can set all items to close at 10 p.m. on the same date, and all the silent auction items will update automatically.

5. Add multiple images

Help people make an informed purchasing decision by providing specific details of the item. The more views or pictures they have of an item, the more information they have, which can increase their likelihood of placing a bid.

You can use related stock photos or logos if you don’t have adequate photos in your library. And if you offer autographed items or higher-priced products and brands, provide clear photos of the autograph or label.

6. Feature items

Use the “featured” tag on auction items in Live Events to highlight any big-ticket or popular items that will grab people’s attention. You can also prioritize a fund or program that you want more people to see.

7. Set a minimum raise

Guide the bidding process with Live Events’ “minimum raise” feature. Your staff can set a minimum raise or minimum increment by which a participant can bid on an item.

For example, if you set a $50 minimum raise and the starting bid is $75, the next bid will be $125 ($75 plus $50). Admins can also add a reserve price, which establishes the minimum starting amount for an auction item. This ensures higher valued items bring in strong fundraising results.

8. Enable a “buy now” option

Offer your silent auction participants a “buy now” option where they can directly purchase your item at a fixed price. When someone selects “buy now,” it immediately removes the bidding ability on that item. However, if someone outbids that “buy now” price, the platform removes the original price and lets others continue bidding higher until someone wins.

9. Incorporate a direct appeal

Consider incorporating a direct appeal into your event apart from your procured auction items. This could be in the form of a paddle raise, where guests commit to specific gift amounts. Then, your team can quickly record these donation amounts in Live Events, easily connect people to their gift amounts, and instantly send them to their carts for self-checkout.

You may also include a fund-a-need item among your auction items in Live Events, where users can enter a donation amount they’d like to give to a specific program.

10. Display fundraising campaign progress

Use Live Events’ real-time visual display of live and virtual fundraising progress to motivate donations. Display it behind you on a screen as you talk about how much you’ve raised and what your fundraising goals are for the night.

For example, a high-quality fundraising thermometer can help people visualize how close you are to your goal, or a total display can show the total amount raised. Your digital display may include all your fundraising efforts or can hone in on one channel, like your text-to-donate progress or a specific item up for auction.

11. Streamline payment processing

Follow this tip most of all when executing an online auction: Your nonprofit needs to offer a seamless checkout process.

Live Events provides an intuitive payment process that makes it easy for participants to initiate and finalize their transactions. For example, each attendee has their individual cart they can check out in a few clicks. Plus, attendees can close out their bids with cash, a check, or digital wallet payment options.

Donor-covered fees also let attendees cover the cost of processing payments for auction items or text-to-donate contributions. This subtle detail maximizes your fundraising potential while offering supporters the chance to amplify their impact and strengthen their connection to your cause.

Offer an exceptional mobile bidding and auction experience

Remember that fundraising events must match, and hopefully exceed, donors’ expectations to be successful. The same goes for online auctions and mobile bidding experiences.

These fundraising platform features can take your auction success to the next level and directly influence your total funds raised. To learn more about how Live Events can upgrade your next auction, chat with an expert today.

Online auction FAQs

How do I run an online auction?

Start by choosing the right format for your goals: live, silent, or a hybrid of both. Then, use mobile bidding tools, like paddle raise, max bid, and card readers, to make it easy for attendees to participate and check out from any device.

What is mobile bidding at a nonprofit auction?

Mobile bidding lets nonprofit auction attendees browse, bid on, and pay for auction items from their smartphones instead of paper bid sheets, which speeds up bidding and simplifies checkout for both attendees and staff.

What is the best online auction platform for nonprofits?

The best nonprofit auction platform depends on your event size and goals, but look for one that supports mobile bidding, paddle raises, and a seamless checkout experience. GoFundMe Pro Live Events brings auctions, mobile bidding, and payment processing together in one platform built for nonprofits.