About auctions 🎁
Raise more for your mission by adding an auction to your campaign! Your supporters can browse categories or search for the perfect items to bid on. Once registered to bid, supporters will also see items they've saved or bid on, as well as a link to edit their settings. Auctions are also optimized for mobile, so your supporters can seamlessly participate at live events or on the go!
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Add an auction ➕
Auctions can be added to both Page and Event campaigns. They cannot be added to a Form campaign.
In your dashboard, click on Campaigns, then select the Page or Event campaign you'd like to add the auction to. Click on the Auction tab located at the top of the campaign manager.
Click the Add Auction button.
After an auction has been added to your campaign, you'll be redirected to a new Settings menu where you can configure the details of your auction.
Configure an auction ⚙️
Date & time 📆
Set a date and time for bidding to open and close. Your auction will be live and viewable as soon as you create it, but items will not be available to bid on until this window begins.
Incorrect timezone displaying? The timezone of your auction will match the timezone setting for your account. You can change this in your Account tab under the About section.
Bidding method 🧮
Standard bidding (default) – Bidders place one bid at a time per item. If they are outbid, they receive a notification and must return to place a higher bid manually.
Ideal for in-person auctions or longer auctions where bidders have time to return and rebid manually.
Automatic bidding – Bidders set a maximum bid amount on an item. If other bids are placed, our system will automatically increase their bid until they are either the highest bidder or their max bid has been exceeded. If they are outbid (max bid exceeded by someone else), they receive a notification and can return to increase their max bid.
Perfect for online-only auctions or high-attendance in-person events.
Blind bidding – Bidders submit a single, confidential "best and final" offer without seeing other bids or pricing. Winners are notified only when they've won and/or when a payment request is sent.
View-only mode 👀
Build suspense and showcase your auction with a view-only version of your auction page! View-only mode can be configured while you set up your auction or after you've published it.
Allow online bidding ON (default) – Bidders can place bids online unless an item is specifically marked as in-person only.
Allow online bidding OFF – Auction is view-only, and no online bidding is allowed, regardless of individual settings. A banner on your auction page will indicate that online bidding is disabled, and bids cannot be placed online on any auction items.
When online bidding is disabled, admins can still add manual bids, declare winners, and handle both online and offline payments, making view-only mode a great option for auctions with in-person components.
Popcorn bidding 🍿
Popcorn bidding is an option that prevents last-second "sniping" (when a bidder swoops in at the last moment to win an item without giving other bidders a chance to respond). This ensures every committed bidder gets a fair shot, and that high-value items reach their true final price before the auction closes. With popcorn bidding enabled:
Bids placed in the final 2 minutes of an auction add 1 minute to the clock (for the specific item, not the entire auction).
The timer can extend up to 5 minutes total, per item.
Popcorn bidding applies to auction-style items only. Fixed price items are not affected.
Registration 📝
Choose whether to require payment information and a shipping address.
Choose whether you'd like to allow or disable anonymous bidding.
Add custom terms and conditions for your auction. Check out our blog for a custom terms and conditions template →
Auction tips or fees 💸
Choose how your auction covers the cost of fundraising and what donors see at checkout. We offer two options:
| Optional donor tips | Platform fees |
Experience | Donors will be asked to leave an optional tip to Givebutter to help keep our fundraising features free. | Donors will not be asked to tip Givebutter, and you can choose how fees will be handled. |
Cost and configuration | We'll absorb any fees not covered by donors. You're not responsible for platform or processing costs when optional donor tips are on.
(The Givebutter Guarantee does not apply to payment methods where donors cannot add a tip, such as DAF, terminal, and mobile app payments.) | Transactions incur a 3% platform fee (5% for accounts on Legacy pricing) + 2.9% + 30¢ payment processing fee (1.9% + 30¢ for ACH) . You choose one of the following options:
|
Payments ⏰
When would you like to collect payments?
When items are won – Winners pay for each item individually. May result in multiple payments per winner.
When auction ends – Winner will pay for all items at once, at the end of the auction.
How would you like to collect payments?
Payment request – Winning bidders receive a payment request (invoice) via email and must complete the payment by clicking the Pay for Items button in the email.
Auto-charge – Winning bids are charged automatically to the bidder's payment method on file. Confirmation is sent in two separate emails: a notification of items won, followed by a transaction receipt. Auto-charge transactions will incur a 3% platform fee in addition to the 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee.
There is a 3% platform fee on all auto-charge transactions. The 3% platform fee is also charged when Tips are disabled on the campaign or when manually triggering a payment via the Winning Bids tab. Accounts on Legacy pricing will have a 5% platform fee instead.
Publish auction 📣
Toggle this option to choose whether or not you'd like to publish your auction.
When enabled, your auction will be publicly viewable from your campaign. Two tabs will appear at the top of your main campaign page – Overview and Auction.
When disabled, your auction will not be displayed on your campaign, and no tabs will be displayed at the top of your main campaign page.
Once you create an auction, it will be immediately visible, and bidders can register to bid and preview your items. They won't be able to submit bids until the start date and time you have set. Auction items will be displayed as Coming Soon in the meantime!
Pricing for auctions 💴
Like all Givebutter features, auctions are free thanks to the optional tips we receive from donors. If you'd prefer to disable tips, enable Auto-Charge, or manually charge winners via the dashboard, a 3% platform fee applies instead. Smooth as butter. 🧈
When a bidder registers for your auction, they have the option to cover transaction and platform fees for you. Bidders who have elected to cover fees when registering for your auction will be charged for the item plus applicable fees. If a bidder does not elect to cover fees, they will only be charged for the item. Auto-charged winners cannot be required to cover fees.
A credit card processing fee of 2.9% + 30 cents is charged on all winning bid transactions, plus a platform fee of either 0% or 3%.
By default, your bidders will receive an invoice upon winning an item. Invoices paid through Givebutter will have a 0% platform fee when tips are enabled, and a 3% platform fee if tips are disabled.
You may opt to charge your bidder's credit cards on file either manually through the dashboard or automatically using our "auto-charge" feature. In both cases, a 3% platform fee will apply.
Accounts on Legacy pricing will be charged a 5% platform fee instead of 3% for all auction transactions.
Requiring fees from auction participants 🤑
To require auction participants to cover fees, keep auto-charge off and turn on "require fees". Even if a donor opts not to cover fees when registering, fees will still be required for them when checking out. It is not currently possible to require fees when auto-charge is on.
FAQ 🤔
Can you embed an auction on an external website using Widgets?
Not at this time. Participants must access the auction via your Givebutter link on desktop or mobile. It is not possible to embed an auction on your own site at this time. Please see the feature request for embeddable auctions!
Is it possible to preview an auction?
Yes! You can enable view-only mode to preview your auction or allow access to prospective bidders before the event. If you wish to hide specific items from the public auction page, you can publish items but make them Private – Private items will not be shown on the public page.
We have concerns about bandwidth/volume requirements for hosting a large auction event. Can Givebutter support many participants and bidders simultaneously?
Yes, Givebutter can support large auction events! Please note that this is primarily limited by your available Wi-Fi speed (or mobile network coverage) at the event. We recommend a minimum Wi-Fi download connectivity speed of 100 Mbps. If you have many attendees using the same Wi-Fi network, this can potentially cause the network to load more slowly for all participants – this is not a bug or loading issue with Givebutter. Givebutter can only load as quickly as your network connection allows.
You may also test your network speed in advance using your preferred speed test website or a free tool such as M-Lab's speed test to help ensure adequate coverage for your event.