Make your next fundraising event a success

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FUNDRAISING SOLUTIONS

Silent Auction Platform

A silent auction is an effective fundraising option for large charities and small individual fundraisers alike. Setting up an interactive auction, using our fundraising platform, is easy. Accessible via any mobile device, it's also fun and user friendly for your supporters. Our silent auction software will help raise more for your cause.

silent auction online

With flexible pricing and market leading technology, GalaBid's fundraising solutions are designed to make your silent auction a success

  • Extend the reach of your silent auction by offering online auction access and pre-event bidding.
  • Online catalogues bring auction items to life.
  • Speedy and secure payment processing means no post auction queues.
  • A silent auction can be run online only or as part of a live event.
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Make your next next fundraising event a success

E.g. dates, number of guests attending, venue, fundraising target
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

How Does a Silent Auction Work?

Auction participants make bids online for prizes. The auction runs for a specified amount of time. At the end of the auction the highest bidder for each prize wins!

5 Ways Your Phone Can Raise Money For Charity

Our Silent Auction Platform is Packed With Good Things

silent auction bidding

Mobile Bidding App

An online silent auction campaign means everyone can participate in your fundraiser. Supporters can bid from any mobile or desktop device, from home, at a fundraising event, or from anywhere in the world. Online access extends the reach of your silent auction fundraising campaign and the time supporters have to bid, a winning combination to help you raise more.

silent auction catalogue of items

Branded Silent Auction Catalogue

Customise your virtual catalogue with your own items or add from a range of items from the GalaBid consignment collection. See your online silent auction come to life with the live preview panel.

mobile alerts silent auction

SMS or email notifications

Real-time mobile alerts make sure silent auction bidders stay in the loop. Automated notifications tell bidders when they’ve been outbid, or when a silent auction is about to start or end.

payment method silent auction

Instant Payments

Participants can easily pay from their own device. The funds go through a payment gateway called Stripe which integrates seamlessly with the GalaBid platform. Please see Payments for more details.

leaderboard displays

Leaderboard Displays

Create a customized scrolling silent auction leaderboard showcasing each prize item and bid activity. The leaderboard shows successful bidders' names and their current bid. The highest current bid will be leading the pack at the top of the board.  Fire-up the excitement with a countdown timer and donation visualizer to track progress towards your silent auction fundraising target.

invoices

Invoices

Mobile invoices are generated the moment the auction closes. Sent via text or email, winning bidders receive immediate confirmation of their silent auction success, plus a payment link.

silent auction payment secure

Secure Payment

Our secure payment gateway, powered by Stripe, offers confidence and peace of mind. It's easy to set-up and easier to give. Supporters make payments with a credit or debit card or via Apple or Google Pay.

customized silent auction online website

Custom Design

Design flexibility means you can customise the online silent auction, including home pages, info pages, videos, images and logos to showcase your prizes, your cause and your sponsors.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Silent Auctions

What is the difference between a Live and Silent auction?

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A live auction requires an auctioneer and is held in person at a venue. Bidders raise their hand or paddle to bid. A silent auction can be run either online or in person. Bidders may enter an amount of their choosing online or using a paper slip.

How many items can I add?

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To keep the fundraising platform loading as quickly as possible, we recommend adding up to 200 items with a maximum of 10 images each, or 500 items without images.

Can I also have raffle and donation items with my auction?

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Yes, you can combine raffle, auction and donation item types within one campaign.

What if the winner doesn't pay for their item?

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All underbidders are tracked and recorded in the platform. We suggest contacting an underbidder to offer them the prize. You can easily add it to the underbidder's invoice by deleting the retracted highest bid. It will then automatically go to the next underbidder for the amount they bid.

Can I re-order my items?

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You can easily drag and drop your items once they are added at any stage of your campaign set-up - including once you are live and are taking bids.

How can I edit my items once my fundraising campaign is live?

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You can edit your items in the Item section at any stage during the set-up, and also once your campaign is live and there are bids on the item.

Can items have multiple winners?

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Yes, you can have up to 10 available units per item. This means that the 10 highest bidders will each win 1 item. A single winner cannot win more than 1 item when using this format.

Can I close bidding at different times on different items?

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This is not a feature yet, however, you are able to lock items individually to stop people bidding on them at anytime and keep the current bidder as the highest bidder for when the auction closes.

Can I add reserves to my items?

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Yes, in the advanced options section. When editing the item, you can enable a reserve and enter the amount you wish. Once a bid is placed on that item it will say 'Below Reserve' until the reserve amount is met. You can edit the reserve amount at any time.

Is there a max-bid or proxy bid feature?

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Not yet! We are adding this feature in the near future so watch this space.

Can I enable overtime or extend bidding on my auction?

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Yes, you can set the overtime to any time you wish. If you set it to 3 minutes then the whole auction will stay open an additional 3 minutes.

Can I set my auction to close at a certain time?

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Yes, you are able to schedule your auction to close.  This will activate a countdown timer on the campaign for your participants to view also. Note, the auction must be opened manually still.

Are participants required to enter their credit card details before bidding?

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This feature is optional, we call it Pre-authorisation and can be turned on in the Payment section once your Stripe account is connected. Participants will be asked to enter their credit card information as part of the registration process, however, they will not be automatically charged at the end of the auction. They will be sent a payment link from the platform which they can select their registered card to pay. Alternatively, admins have the ability to charge participant's registered cards from the admin dashboard if they wish.

How long can I run my auction?

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You have 12 months from the start of your campaign to close it. GalaBid recommends 10 - 14 days for the best auction results.

Do participants need to register to bid?

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Yes, they will be asked to register during the first bid process. You can set the registration fields for your participants, eg. phone number, email, address, company etc. GalaBid requires a minimum of a name and either phone number or email to create a participant account.

Do bidders receive an outbid message?

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Yes, each time the highest current bidder is outbid they are sent an outbid notification with a link back to the item so that they can bid again.

Who ships the prizes to the winners?

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This is the responsibility of the campaign organiser.  If you have an account manager they will be able to discuss the best way to utilise the platform to make dispatching your prizes as easy as possible.

Can I add shipping to my items?

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Not yet, this feature will be added to the GalaBid platform soon. We recommend charging your participants outside of the platform for shipping until then.

Can I display the current highest bidders on screen at my live event?

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Yes, this feature can be located in the dashboard menu under Projector Displays.  You can customise your display and launch it from here. If you’d like to share your display to another screen, you can copy the URL provided. This display has multiple features to choose from, including; Raffle Winners Table, Countdown Timer, and Total Raised.

How do I keep track of who has received their prize?

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This feature can be located in the dashboard menu under Checkout Console. You can mark off items as dispatched from each participant's invoice by selecting the green truck symbol. This information will then be available to download as a spreadsheet under the Reports section.