Importing auction items helps streamline the process of adding numerous items to your auction campaign when compared to adding each auction item manually, saving valuable time for your organization. Auction items can be uploaded from your campaign manager in CSV upload format, copied and pasted from a spreadsheet, or manually entered in the import data table.

If you plan on utilizing auction item categories, we recommend creating them before beginning your item import. Auction item categories cannot be created during the import process.

Preparing data for import 🧮

First, you'll need to prepare your data for importing auction items. If you're uploading a CSV spreadsheet, the file can contain the following columns in any order:

Item name (required) – Enter a unique name for your item. (Max 255 characters.)
Description – Enter a description for the item.
Category – Optionally add this item to an existing item category. Items can only belong to a single category.
Selling Format (required) – Choose whether this is an Auction Style or Fixed Price listing.
- Auction Style – Set a starting price, bidders up the ante with each increasing bid, and the highest bidder wins.
- Fixed Price – There is no bidding on fixed-price listings, and you can set a total quantity available for purchase. As bidders purchase this item, this quantity will decrease until eventually your item is sold out. Total and remaining quantities are not shown on the auction page. When all quantities are sold, the item will no longer be available for purchase.
Starting Price (required for Auction Style items only) – Sets the lowest amount at which a bid can be placed. This field is required if this is an Auction Style item.
Bid Increment (required for Auction Style items only) – Sets the minimum amount an auction price must be raised during bidding. This field is required if this is an Auction Style item.
Reserve Price – Sets the lowest acceptable winning price for this item. This is not shown to bidders, and is not publicly viewable.
Item Value – Indicates the retail price of the item being listed. This is displayed on the Item page as "Retail Value".
Buy Now Price (required for Fixed Price items only) – Sets a fixed price at which buyers can purchase the item outright and can complete their purchase immediately.
Total quantity (required for Fixed Price items only) – Enter the number of available items.
Visibility – Choose whether this item is Public (viewable to anyone) or Private (only accessible via shareable link).
Publish
- To publish this item: "yes", "true", "on", "1", or leave blank
- To save this item as a Draft to publish later: "no", "false", "off", or "0"
Requires Shipping – Enable required shipping and shipping costs.
- To require shipping: "yes", "true", "on", or "1"
- To ignore: "no", "false", "off", "0", or leave blank
Shipping costs – Enter the cost of shipping this item. This field is required if you've indicated that shipping is required for this item.
Fulfillment details – Add optional information to assist with item fulfillment, such as instructions for collecting the item, or delivery estimates if you're shipping the item. Fulfillment details are only sent to the winner or purchaser of the item via their emailed receipt. They are not posted on the auction item listing.

Want to include images of your items? Because the importer doesn't support image uploads just yet, you'll need to add images manually after the import has been completed.

Importing your items ⬆️

Once your data is ready for import, you can navigate to the importer in your campaign manager. To access the auction item importer:

Navigate to the relevant auction campaign in your dashboard, and click on the Auction tab.

Click on Items in the sub-menu on the left side. Then, click on the Actions menu in the upper right, and select Import items.

This will open the auction item importer page.
Choose Upload file, and select the correct file from your computer. You can also manually enter data by typing it in, but file imports are much faster.

Select the correct file from your computer. Supported file types include .csv, .tsv, .xls, .xlsx, .xml, and .txtfile. After selecting your file, data will automatically be extracted.
Confirm mapping for your data. If Givebutter assigned your Incoming Field data to a Destination Field that isn't a match, click the dropdown arrow to assign your column to a different Givebutter field/attribute.

When you're done matching the data fields, click Continue in the upper right corner, and click Submit to import your transactions. The importer will begin processing.

You'll be notified by email when your import is complete.

If the import failed, follow the directions provided in our email to reconcile any errors. To track the status of your import, navigate to Account in the left-hand menu on your dashboard and click on Imports.

Viewing imports 👀

In your dashboard, go to Settings, then click Imports. You'll see a list of your import history for all import types.
If applicable, failed import rows will be displayed here. You can download just the failed records by clicking the red icon next to the relevant import.
To download the import file in full, click the three dots [...] on the left side, and click Download File.
Click on any import to view details, including the type of import, number of rows, number of failed rows, the date of the import, and specific line items for each failed row.

Deleting imported items ❌

You cannot remove imported auction items by deleting an auction items import from your general Imports page. You must remove imported auction items individually.

Click on the Auction tab on the campaign you're working on, then click on Items in the sub-menu on the left side of the page.
Click the three dots [...] next to the desired item to see the available options.
Select Delete to entirely remove the listing.

Please see our guide to editing auction items for more information about making changes to your items, including those that have been imported!

FAQ 🤔

How do I add images to auction items imported in bulk?

The importer does not yet support image uploads within the import process. To add images to imported auction items, you'll need to manually edit them individually to add images.

I don't want to import a spreadsheet. How do I manually add auction import data?

You can manually enter data following the same steps listed above – instead of selecting a file to import from your computer, click Manually enter data.

I'm importing an Excel file and the data doesn't look correct in the importer.

Excel has many formatting options for text or numbers. Make sure your data isn't formatted in any particular way that will be confusing for the system. General is a good category to default to if you can. Below is an example of a format that could cause issues.

Can new auction item categories be created with the auction item import process?

No. If you plan to use categories in your auction to organize your items, you'll need to create these ahead of your item import. Categories cannot be created as part of the import.

Can I use auction item imports to update existing auction item data, the same way you can export and import contact data?