Understanding Auction Fees as a Bidder

For every online purchase made on Trellis (the silent auction platform), transaction fees apply. The fundraiser organizer picks one of three ways to handle transaction fees:

1. Organization pays the fees: You’re charged only the winning bid.

2. Winning bidder pays the fees: Your card is charged the winning bid plus the transaction fees. A disclaimer will be shown on the auction item page that fees will be added to the winning bid.

3. Winning bidder can choose: You’ll be asked whether you want to help cover fees at bid time, and you can select how much you would like to cover (including 0%). This amount applies to your final auction purchase for all won items.

After the auction ends, you will see an automatic charge on your linked credit card for the items you won. 

Fees range from 2.45% + 0.30 per transaction to 3.5% depending on the fundraiser as well as the type of payment method you use. For example, AMEX fees are higher than Visa, Mastercard or Discover. 

You can see the full amount you were charged in fees on your receipt.

Provincial Sales Tax – British Columbia Only

If the auction is based in British Columbia, Provincial Sales Tax (PST) is applied to taxable auction purchases: 7% for most goods and services and 10% for liquor.

PST must be charged to the purchaser and is calculated automatically based on the fair market value of the item and the winning bid. PST is also separate from transaction fees and handled independently from the selections above.