How to Manage Auction Bids and Participants

This article discusses how to view auction bids, manage unpaid bids, award items to the next highest bidder, delete bids, and view auction participants.

The Auction Bid Results Table

The Auction Bid Results Table is a list of all bids that are made across all of your auction items. Every time someone makes a bid, it will appear at the top of this table. 

The table includes the following information:

1. ID - The auction listing ID
2. Item Name - The name of the silent auction item
3. Date - The date the bid was placed
4. Bidder Name - The name on the user account that is bidding.
5. Bid Amount - The amount of the bid
   1. Bid amounts with a green icon indicate some or all of that bid is to be donated if they do not win.
6. Item Status - This indicates whether the bid is winning, outbid, or won (after the auction has closed).
7. Payment Status - Indicates whether payment has been received for the auction item.
   1. Note: This does not include if payment has been received for a donated auction bid.

If you only want to view Won Auction Bids, navigate to the filters, and check Only Show Winners.

Note: Losing bids will be listed as Outbid and Unpaid. These are retained in case you need to award the item to the next highest bidder.

Managing Unpaid Auction Items

From your Dashboard, go to Results > Auctions > Bids.

Use the filters to narrow your view to:

• Only Show Winners

• Only Show Unpaid Items

If a bid shows as Winner and Unpaid, it means Trellis attempted to charge the winner’s saved credit card at auction close but the transaction failed—typically due to a declined card. When this happens:

• The item is added to the winner’s cart

• Trellis automatically sends an email and SMS with a link to complete their payment

To learn how donors can complete payment on their unpaid auction items, click here.

Managing Bids From the Options Menu

Click the three-dot menu beside any bid in the table to access additional management tools:

• Delete Bid – Removes the bid from the item and promotes the next highest bidder. The bid will still appear in your table and be marked as Deleted

• Award to Next Bidder – Reassigns the item to the runner-up and sends them a payment request

• Message Bidder – Opens a new email message using your default email client, allowing you to contact the bidder directly

Note: If the original bid has already been paid for and confirmed, you will not be able to delete the bid or reassign it.

Viewing Auction Participants

1. From your Dashboard, go to Results > Auctions > Participants.
2. This section shows a list of all users registered for your auction, along with an indicator of whether each participant has placed any bids.
3. Click the view icon next to a participant’s name to see a detailed list of all the bids they've made.