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How to Wrap Up Your Silent Auction and Confirm Winners

This article walks you through confirming successful payments, following up with unpaid bidders, and final reporting.

What Happens When the Auction Closes

All silent auctions on Trellis end automatically at the date and time you set in your builder. Once the auction closes, credit cards are automatically charged, and your auction report is sent to all users with permission for that fundraiser, including Organization Managers, Organization Contributors, and Fundraiser Managers.

Learn more in How Payments Are Processed for Silent Auctions (Auction Autopay).

Please Note: Auto-pay processing may take 5–15 minutes, depending on how many auction items are being processed. Please wait before manually adjusting donor carts.

How to Wrap Up Your Silent Auction 

1. Confirm Winning Bids Were Paid

  1. Navigate to your Dashboard and select Results.
  2. Click Bids under the Auctions tab and select your fundraiser.
  3. Select Only Show Winners from the filter.

2. Follow Up on Unpaid Bids

If a winner's credit card fails, the item is added to their cart and they are automatically emailed and texted a link to complete their purchase. You can also take one of the following actions:

  • Award to Next Bidder – Makes the next highest bidder the winner and sends them a new payment request
  • Mark as Paid – Use this if you have received an offline payment
  • Message Bidder – Send a custom message requesting payment

 

Pro Tip: If the winner is attending the event, you can send them a payment link through ESM > Check-In Tool > Attendee Cart. This link is emailed and texted to the attendee, and clicking it automatically signs them in and directs them to complete checkout.

3. Mark Items as Received

  1. Once a winner picks up their item, click the checkbox under the Received column in the table. This checkbox updates in real time, so multiple volunteers can facilitate auction pickup at once.
  2. Use the filter to view auction items by received or not received status.

4. Review Donated Auction Bids

If a bid marked Outbid and Unpaid shows the donated bid icon , the donor chose to donate all or part of their bid. These bids appear as donations in your fundraiser reports, and you do not need to follow up on them since they are not counted as unpaid winning bids.

Once all winning bids are paid, export your checkout report to see your full breakdown of sales, payment types, and processing fees.


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Need Help?

Did this answer your question? If not, please reach out to our Product Engagement Team via the blue chat icon or email support@trellis.org.