With Givebutter's enhanced auction features, you can manually declare winners for auction items and record offline payments directly from your dashboard. These tools are especially useful for hybrid events, accommodating offline bids, and handling special circumstances.
You can manually declare an auction item's winner from the Items page. You may need to designate a winning bidder manually if bids are placed offline, bidders can't complete a transaction themselves, or other special arrangements have been made. The winning bidder must be registered for the auction before being manually declared the winner.
You can manually declare winners (on desktop) for:
✅ Live items (with or without a Buy Now price set)
✅ Private/Hidden items (with or without a Buy Now price set)
✅ Paused items (with or without a Buy Now price set)
✅ Unsold items (with or without a Buy Now price set)
Fixed Price / Buy Now items that remain unsold cannot have a winner manually declared because these items are not set up for bidding. The “Declare Winner” option only applies to items that are biddable or that have both bidding and Buy Now options.
✅ Items with all existing bids canceled
You cannot declare a winner (on desktop) for:
⚠️ Sold items (with or without a Buy Now price set) – you must reset a sold item to declare a winner
⚠️ Items with existing bids (cannot manually select a winner) – you must remove existing bids to declare a winner
❌ Canceled items (with or without a Buy Now price set)
Manually declare a winner 🏆
To manually declare a winner for an auction item:
Navigate to your campaign's Auction tab.
Click on Items and locate the item you wish to assign a winner to.
If there are existing bids on the item, declaring a winner will default to the highest bid. To manually declare a winner on an item that already has bids, you must cancel the existing bids before you can manually declare a winner.
Click the three dots [...] on the right-hand side of the item, and click Declare Winner.
Choose a registered bidder from the list.
Enter the final bid amount/price of the item. (If applicable, the Buy Now price will be displayed if a lower number is entered. Reserve prices won't be flagged.)
Select one of the following payment options:
Charge saved payment method – Bidder will be charged immediately.
Send payment request – Bidder will be sent a payment request/invoice via email.
Record offline payment – Mark this payment as received outside of Givebutter.
Confirm the amount on the next screen, and click Charge/Request.
Charge bidder 💳
If you select to charge a bidder's saved payment method, you'll see the payment method the bidder saved when registering for your auction. Fees are noted here before charging the bidder. Fees charged include a 3% platform fee, plus a 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee.
Payment request 📫
If you choose to send a payment request to a winning bidder, you’ll see a summary of the charge along with a note confirming that an emailed payment request (invoice) will be sent. This summary also indicates any fees the winner will incur when making the payment.
Fees depend on whether tipping is available at checkout:
If the supporter has the option to leave an optional tip:
No platform fee is charged. Only the standard payment processing fee applies (2.9% + $0.30).
If tipping is not available:
A 3% platform fee will be charged, in addition to the standard payment processing fee (2.9% + $0.30).
If a supporter has the option to leave an optional tip, we won’t charge platform fees. If tipping isn’t available, a platform fee applies. This applies to everything from donations to auction payments.
Offline payments 📝
If you mark an auction item as paid offline, you must select an offline payment method. Options include:
Cash
Check – Enter a check number and deposit date, as applicable.
In-kind
Stock
Property
Other
No fees are charged for logging offline payments, because no online processing by Givebutter takes place. Please note that offline payments collected outside of Givebutter won't be included in your Givebutter payouts.
Using the mobile app📱
For in-person events, the Givebutter mobile app allows you to manage auction items seamlessly:
Declare winners: Assign winners for items directly from your device.
Collect payments: Process payments using saved payment methods or via Tap to Pay.
Track item status: Monitor which items are pending, completed, or need attention.
Learn more about using the mobile app for auction management in our dedicated guide. Please note that you cannot extend auction items from the mobile app.
Declaring winners for sold items 🔄
This workflow is commonly used when payments are collected outside of Givebutter after an event.
If an item has existing bids, the bids must be canceled before you can declare a winner.
If an item is marked as Sold, you must mark the item as uncollectible before you can declare a winner.
Auction items that are already marked as sold or awaiting fulfillment cannot have a winner manually declared or an offline payment recorded until they are reset. To update a sold item so you can declare a winner and record payment:
Navigate to your campaign’s Auction tab. Click on Winning bids in the sub-menu.
Locate the item you want to update, and mark the item as uncollectable.
Cancel any existing bids on the item.
Click the three dots [...] and select Declare Winner, then choose the correct bidder and enter the final amount.
Select Record offline payment and complete the flow.
FAQ 🤔
I can't manually declare a winner for an auction item.
You won't be able to manually declare a winner or log offline payments for auction items that have been cancelled or paused.
I declared a winner, but it defaulted the highest bidder, instead of letting me select one!
If bids already exist on an item, declaring a winner will default to the highest bid. You must first cancel the existing bids on the item in order to declare a different winner.