Can bidders bid by a bid sheet and phone at the gala when using
A!Mobile?
Any silent items offered for sale on the mobile bidding platform can
only be offered on the mobile platform. You cannot have bid sheets
for the same items. This is because anyone that uses a bid sheet
will not know what the actual current leading bid is on the mobile
platform. On the other hand, the mobile bidders will receive a
text message when they have been outbid on the platform, and have the opportunity to
raise their bid amount. When the bidding closes, the mobile bidder
will receive a message that they have "won" the item. A person
bidding using a bid sheet for that same items may think they are
the leading bidder, but only the leading mobile bidder receives the
message that they have won. If you have guests that are reluctant to use
their phones for bidding, you can offer to help them bid by having a
tablet or computer connected to the internet.
Can both silent and live items be offered in mobile bidding?
Yes, but we don't recommend having all your items in the mobile
platform. The best items handled in a mobile bidding environment
are the silent items that can have only one winning bidder. If
winning bidder wants to "share" the item with another bidder, after the
mobile bids have been imported back into the Auction! project, using
Auction! you can split the item into shares and edit the winning bids.
We do not recommend live auction item bidding using the mobile
platform, because they never do as well as using a phone to bid as
they would with people raising a paddle. With mobile bidding in the
live, the auctioneer cannot get a bidding war going since he or she
cannot tell who is doing the bidding.
Can we use EventPay! for Quick Checkout with A! Mobile
Not only can you, we highly recommend it! Upon arrival at the event,
securely capture their encrypted credit card information in the
EventPay! app and then give the guest a code to text
to the mobile bidding platform. On the platform they will confirm
that they are the correct bidder and start bidding. They DO NOT
also register their credit card in the platform because you already have the
encrypted card on file in the EventPay! app.
Your organization must have a Merchant ID (MID) with our processor,
CardConnect, to use EventPay! We will
help you with the process to obtain an MID.
When mobile bidding is complete, import the mobile bidding results
into Auction!, and also enter the live and
retail item winning bids and bids for any other items not handled using
the mobile platform. Invoices generated from Auction!
at the end of the event will include all items purchased and the correct
balance due. When a guest is marked as quick checkout, their credit
card on file using EventPay! will be batch
processed through Auction! later.
Is credit card processing included with A!Online?
Since online bidders will be registerng themselves, they must register their credit card to be charged when they are notified that they have "won" the item. In order to take
credit cards in the online platform, you must have a Merchant ID (MID) with our processor, CardConnect. We will help you with the process to obtain the MID.
With an online auction, how do the guests get the items they have won?
You are responsible for letting your guests know how to obtain each item. This information must be included in the full description of the item. Be sure to specify with each item, whether the guest will be responsible for picking up the item at your organization (ideal for tangible items) or you will
mail it to them (ideal for gift certificates).