Close Out Steps - For Online & Mobile Bidding Auctions

Step by step instructions and videos for closing your Online & Mobile bidding auction.

1.) Confirm your Payment Processing Method and Billing Information:

Go to Close Out > Get Ready > Confirm Payment Processor: 
In this section you'll need to confirm your billing information and your Payment Processing method. Once you complete this step, you'll be able to proceed with the rest of Close Out below. You might need to check the box that says: I acknowledge that my payment processor selection for this auction cannot be changed once I click the Save button. Then at the bottom of the page click confirm Payment Processor settings. 

See this help article for more information on Payment Processors and signing up if you have not done so already.   

*Note: While you can open your auction without a Payment Processor, you will need to sign up and have one confirmed in order to access the Close Out Tab to finalize the Auction. It is a good idea to sign up as soon as possible to make sure the Processor account is ready to make Payments by the time the Auction closes.

2.) Edit the Winning Bidder Email:

Go to Close Out > Get Ready > Winning Bidder Email: 
In this section you can set up the winning bidder email/purchase confirmation that goes out automatically when you award your items. Use the text boxes to customize the email. Be sure to save your work by clicking on the Save button at the bottom. The winning bidder email is sent out once the award button is clicked. For more information on standard system emails, see How are Bidders Alerted When They Win?

3.) CC Failed Email Options:

Go to Close out > Get Ready > CC Failed Email.

By default, we inform bidders if their credit card has failed and provide a link for them to update their card. In this area, the option to automatically send an email to bidders when their credit card fails is checked by default but you can choose not to send an email by unchecking the box. You can also add verbiage to customize the email which is sent to the customer should their card fail. For more information on how to handle failed cards, please see this help article.

4.) Award Your Items:

Go to Close Out > Close Your Auction > Award Items: 
Here you'll see all of your items listed with their respective winners. You can award each item individually by clicking Award or you can award them all at once by clicking Award All Ready Items. 

The credit card for each person will be automatically applied from their BFG Bidder account. The card can be viewed under payment and email details below the persons name for the item. You can also change the payment type and winner here as well. (Example: cash or check.) If they wish to add a new card, please see this help article.  

Note: All Not Sold items will also be listed as Ready to award. These must be closed by clicking the Award button and then close next to them.

When clicking the Award All Ready Items button, it will take a few moments to award everything. Please refresh the browser screen in Close Out > Close Your Auction > Award Items after a moment to make sure all has been moved to the process payments section. 

5.) Process Your Payments:

Go to Close Out > Close Your Auction > Process Payments: 
All of the purchases will be bundled by winner (so if someone won 3 items, they'll be listed once with their total purchase). You can confirm the purchases individually by clicking Process next to each of them or you can process all at once by clicking Process All Purchases.

Note: When clicking the process all purchases button, it will take a few moments to process everything. Please refresh the browser screen in process payments after a few minutes to make sure all has processed. 

Adding Shipping or Tax:

Shipping:
To calculate shipping for an online winner, use the Reports > Awarded Items Report. Find the person you wish to award the item to. There you will see all of their contact information. You can use this information to calculate the shipping cost for your items. Many sites such as Fedex and UPS can calculate a shipping cost on their website. Once you have the shipping cost, add the shipping cost in the shipping column before processing.

Tax:
Tax amount can be entered into the tax column. 

To verify a purchase:

Run the credit card transactions report under Reports > Credit Card Transaction report.

You'll be notified via email if any purchases failed.

You can also see if a card has failed by going to Close Out > Close Your Auction > Process Payments after a few minutes of processing. Any failed cards will be displayed. 

6.) Confirm Everything is Closed Out:

To confirm the auction is completely closed out, we suggest going under Close out > Close Your Auction and checking everything beneath it to make sure nothing was missed. For example, we suggest going into Ticket Orders, Donations, Award Items, etc. to make sure nothing is waiting to be confirmed or processed. Once all categories show nothing contained within, the auction is officially closed out.  

FAQ:

 Q: What do I do if a card fails? 

A:  Please see our Failed Card Help Article.

Q: How do I mark an item as not sold?

Please see this Help Article.

Q: When I click Award/Confirm, nothing happens?

A: Make sure there is an amount in the amount field. If there is and you still cannot award, try switching the payment type to cash and then back to the Credit Card. Then try clicking award again. 

Q: I accidently awarded an item to the wrong person, how do I reopen it?

A: Please see this help article on how to reopen an awarded item.

Q: Someone who won an item no longer wants the item, how do I award to a second place bidder or mark it as not sold?

A: Please see this help article on awarding to a second place bidder, and see the question above on how to mark an item as not sold. 

Q: How do I change the payment method to cash or check?

A: If the bidder is under Process Payments and not processed yet, you can reopen the purchase. You can then change the payment type by following this Help Article. If the payment has gone through already, please see the Refund question below.

Q: How do I refund someone?

To perform a refund, see this Help Article.

Q: How do I contact the Bidder?

A: To contact the Bidder, Please see the Reports > Registered Users Report OR Close out > Manage Bidders. This will list their contact information for you to reach out to them.

Q: How soon will the funds be deposited in my account?

Please contact your Payment Processor directly for this question. The contact information for them can be found here.