What is Mobile Bidding?

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What is Mobile Bidding?
Get Familiar with the Mobile Bidding Experience
Mobile Bidding and the Close Out Process

Mobile Bidding is a great way to enhance the live in-person event experience for attendees, your organization, and event staff. With mobile bidding, you can simplify the check-out process all the while helping you achieve your fundraising goal.

With mobile bidding, your attendees can bid directly from their smartphones - giving them the freedom to eat, drink, and socialize without guarding a bid sheet or waiting in long check-out lines at the end of the auction.

Important Information!

Mobile Bidding capability is already automatically enabled for all online auctions. Anyone who goes to an online auction on their smartphone will be taken to the mobile-optimized version.

Get Familiar with the Mobile Bidding Experience

It is best practice to familiarize yourself with the supporter's experience in case questions arise during your auction. We have great resources available for bidders. Please be sure to share the Bidder FAQ with your potential bidders and auction supporters.

Registering for a Bidders Account

Step 1: From the mobile homepage bidders will select Register to begin registering for a bidder account.

Step 2: They will be prompted to:

Enter their email address
Create a password
Enter their first and last name
Enter their mobile number
Agree to the Terms of Use

After providing all of the required information they will select Register to finish creating their bidder's account.

Important Note! Those who register on a mobile device will be prompted to put credit card information on file when they try to donate, bid on an item, or purchase tickets.

Purchasing Tickets

Step 1: From the mobile homepage, your supporters will select Order Tickets.

Step 2: They will then be directed to the Live Event information page where they can view your live event details. From here they will select Order Tickets.

Step 3: They will then be presented with your ticket types. To proceed, they will need to select a ticket type.

Helpful Information! If a supporter has selected Order Tickets and they are not logged in or have not yet registered for a bidders account, they will need to either login or register for a bidders account in order to proceed.

Step 4: Supporters will then select the number of tickets they would like to purchase, select the credit card they have on file or add a new card, leave a comment (optional), and select Buy Tickets to complete their purchase.

Step 5: Next, they will be prompted to provide guest information (if applicable).

Step 6: They will then be directed back to the mobile homepage where they can proceed to browse the auction items, make a donation (if applicable), or purchase more tickets.

Browsing for Items

Step 1: From the mobile homepage, bidders will select Browse Items.

Step 2: They will be directed to the auction catalog, where they can filter the auction items by category. Once a category is chosen, the auction items associated with that category will display with a corresponding image.

Please note that when using a mobile device bidders can only filter by one category at a time.

Bidding on an Item

Step 1: After a bidder has navigated to an item that they wish to bid on they will:

Enter their bid amount
Select the drop-down menu next to Type to determine if they want to Bid up to the amount they entered above or if they want to bid exactly that amount
Select the credit card they want to use or add a new card
Select Place Bid

Helpful Information! If a bidder is not logged in or hasn’t registered for a bidders account, they will need to either login or register for a bidders account in order to proceed with placing their bid.

Step 2: After successfully placing their bid they will be directed to the following screen:

Making an Online Cash Donation

Step 1: From the mobile homepage, your supporters will select Donate Now.

Step 2: They will then be prompted to select their donation amount or choose other and enter their own amount, update their donor display name, select their credit card or add a new card, enter a comment (optional) and select Donate Now to complete their transaction.

Step 3: They will then be directed back to the mobile homepage where they can proceed to browse the auction items, make another donation, or purchase tickets.

Mobile Bidding and the Close Out Process

Mobile bidding simplifies the close out process:

No more sales pads!

When bidders register online, they provide a credit card, which is then stored for nonprofit admins to charge the cards immediately after the auction closes.

No shuffling bid sheets!

Winning Bidder reports are generated for the nonprofit admin within just a few minutes after the auction closes with a complete list of all the items won by each bidder.

Nonprofit admins can sort by Bidder's Last Name, Lot Number, and a variety of other factors.

No printing receipts!

In addition to the ‘You Won’ email bidders receive nonprofit admins can also easily send a Purchase Confirmation email to bidders for each of their items.

Analyze and Improve Year-to-Year!

Our digital reports capture everything. What were the hottest items? Who were the top bidders? You'll know what items are most successful, which bidders you should encourage to return when bidding peaked during your event, and much more!

Be sure to check out the Mobile Bidding Resources for a look at what you will need.

PLEASE NOTE: There are some steps in order for your organization to be approved for mobile, including doing a connectivity assessment of your venue. We offer night-of-event support that can be extremely valuable in running a successful event and the support must be booked at least 30 days in advance. If support is not provided by Frontstream's BiddingforGood team for your live event your organization is liable for any issues that may arise.

Get Started with our Premium services!

Our Frontstream team provides Premium Services to help your organization feel confident and ready. Start planning your event and schedule a Custom training with our team. If you are looking for more expertise in Event Building, use our team to create your upcoming event!

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