How to Set Up Your Live Auction

In this article, we will provide you with a detailed step-by-step guide on how to set up your live auction.

Trellis enables organizations to add live auction items and then be able to use our Check-in Tool or Sales Entry System to process payments on behalf of the winners.

Please Note: We no longer offer online bidding for virtual or hybrid events.

How to Set Up Live Auction Items

• From your Dashboard, click Edit on the fundraiser you want to add live auction items to

• In the Builder Sidebar, select Silent & Live Auctions

• Toggle Enable Auctions to activate the auction features
• Click Auction Items and then Add Item in the top right corner

• Select "Live" as the Offering Type, complete your item's information and hit Save.
  • You can use the Listing ID as your key identifier.
  • In the Tags/Categories field, simply enter the tag or category that you want to use, and then press enter. This will automatically generate and assign the tag to your item. Please note that currently, there is no feature to delete existing tags, but you can easily replace them by retyping or entering a new tag.
  • Attachments via email are commonly utilized for intangible items like electronic gift cards. These attachments are exclusively sent to the winning bidder.
  • Organizations often choose to include additional fees, either fixed or a percentage, to cover shipping fees or taxes. If there are any additional fees, a note will be visible to the donor when they place a bid. However, it is highly recommended that organizations also include this information in the item description to ensure that donors are well-informed.
  • In the "Connected Sponsors" field, you have the option to type in and search for the sponsors you have previously added, and then link them to the item. This allows you to easily connect the sponsors to the items in your silent auction.

• (Optional) Add your items' sponsors by selecting Auctions Sponsors and then click Add Sponsor at the top right area.

• Add your sponsor details and hit Save.

How to Showcase Your Live Auction Items

There are two ways you can display your live auction items on your fundraiser home page: via a Custom Section, or via the Live Auction Preview section.

Option 1: Custom Sections (Recommended)

Custom sections allow full control over how live auction items appear.

• Go to your Fundraiser Builder > Home Page Editor

• Click the blue plus button to add a section

• Select Custom Section and choose Two Columns

• Change one column to an image or gallery

• Upload an image of the live auction item

• Add a custom description in the other column

• Save and publish your fundraiser

Option 2: Live Auction Preview Section

This section pulls items directly from the Auctions Builder.

• Automatically displays up to 6 items

• Shows only a snippet of each item’s description

• Items are not clickable (live auction items don’t have dedicated pages)

• The countdown to auction is based on your Event Date/Time in Event Settings and cannot be edited

How to Process Payments for your Live Auction Using Trellis

Now that you've added your live auction items and sponsors and showcased them on your homepage, you're ready to begin donor engagement.

For the next steps on how to process payments after your live auction, check out our article on using the Sales Entry System.