When auction items start selling, winning bid information will appear on the Winning Bids tab. You can view information about the payment status of the item or offer a second chance bid. A record will also be created on the Item Fulfillment tab, where you can view the winner's shipping information and mark items as completed if they've been shipped (or picked up by the winner).
How do you close out an auction? With Givebutter, it's easy – wrapping up an auction is automatic! There isn't any additional action you need to take in order to complete or close out an auction.
Winning Bids 🏆
After auction items have closed with bids (above your reserve price, as applicable), you'll see records appear on your auction's Winning Bids tab. If a green check mark appears next to the sold price, this means that the reserve price for the item has been met successfully.
Looking for a specific winner? You can use the search bar to find a winning bid using the item or winner's name.
You can take a few different actions from the Winning Bids tab.
To view details about the winning bidder (including name and contact information), click the grey drop-down arrow next to the item name.
The status shown on the right side indicates whether the item has been paid for or not. If an item is paid, but not fulfilled, the status will be Pending Fulfillment. Once an item is paid and marked as fulfilled, the status will show as Complete.
Click the three dots [...] on the right side of the item to:
Resend invoice – Resend an emailed invoice to the winner with a prompt to complete payment.
Mark uncollectable – The item will be removed from the winning bidder's list of won items. You can send a second chance offer to the runner-up, or continue to mark the item as uncollectable, which will change the status to Unsold.
Charge bidder – Automatically charge a saved payment method on the bidder's account. This will incur a 5% fee.
If two bidders input the same max bid amount, the individual who submitted the bid first will always have the highest or winning bid.
Second chance bids 🥈
If you need to mark a winning bid as uncollectable, you'll be prompted to send a second chance offer to the runner-up bidder if you like.
The reserve price (if applicable) does not apply to second-chance bids.
If you choose to send a second chance offer to the runner-up, they will receive an email notification, and they will have 72 hours to complete the purchase.
If you do not want to send a second chance offer for the item, you can continue to mark it as uncollectable.
Item Fulfillment 📮
The Item Fulfillment tab allows you to keep track of which items have been paid for and which still need shipping. You can also view the winner's names and information, payment date, and transaction in your dashboard.
Shipping information 📦
If you've sold an item that needs to be shipped, you'll need the winner's address to get it sent out! To locate the shipping address entered by the winner:
On the Auction tab in your campaign manager, click Item Fulfillment in the sub-menu on the left side of the page.
Click the dropdown arrow (V) on the left side of the relevant item, and a panel will open displaying the details of this auction item sale. Shipping information is shown in the lower right of this panel.
Fulfilling an item ✅
You can mark an item as fulfilled once it has been delivered, shipped, or picked up by the winner. Click the dropdown arrow on the right side of the item, and change the status to Fulfilled.
Offline payments 💵
We don't yet support offline payments for auction items – please see the feature request for offline auction payments and add a vote!
To prevent payment request emails from being sent for an item that was paid for in person, you can mark the item as uncollectable. The item will be removed from the winning bidder's list of won items, and the status of the item will change to Unsold.
On your Auction tab, click Winning Bids in the sub-menu.
On the right side of the relevant item, click the three dots [...] and select Mark uncollectable.
FAQ 🤔
When do I receive the auction item I won?
Givebutter is the platform that the auction is hosted on, however, Givebutter does not directly manage item fulfillment on behalf of the organization running the auction. You'll need to contact the organization operating the auction for more information about shipping, any items you've purchased, or delivery estimates.
Can I export Item Fulfillment data from this page?
Not yet – we hope to add this feature soon!
Are refunded auction items removed from Winning Bids? Are refunded auction items removed from the public auction page, or marked as refunded?
If an item has been marked as fulfilled in the dashboard, regardless of refund status, it will still show as complete in the Winning Bids tab, and the item will still show as sold on the auction page itself.
How do I get a refund for an auction item?
If you want a refund for an auction item you purchased, you must contact the organization that ran the campaign. The Givebutter team cannot issue refunds for auction purchases – these must be authorized and initiated by the organization to which you submitted the funds.
What happens if a winner's payment fails when Givebutter charges them for their auction item?
If a winning bidder's auction item charge fails, an email is sent to the admin and the bidder. Givebutter will reattempt the charge three times, at 48-hour increments. If the charge is unsuccessful after three attempts, the item will be marked as uncollectible.