Running a Silent Auction

Applies to: GC Events with GC Auctions enabled

Roles: Events administrators with the Manage Registrations permission

Location: Events > [Your event] > Auction > Settings (Silent auction card), Bids, and Bidders

Outcome: Your silent auction is scheduled, and you know what bidders will experience and how to troubleshoot bids.

Summary: Set the silent auction's preview, open, and close times, and decide how anti-sniping and maximum bids work. Then get familiar with the bidder experience and the admin tools for reviewing bid history.

This article covers

• Silent auction dates and preview mode
• Anti-sniping
• Maximum bids (automatic bidding)
• Bidder registration and card-on-file requirements
• Outbid notifications
• Reviewing bids and bidder timelines

Step 1: Set your silent auction dates

1. Go to Auction > Settings and find the Silent auction card.
2. Make sure Enabled is checked.
3. Set Opens and Closes (both required). The close time must be after the open time.
4. Optionally, set Preview: the time when bidders can browse items before bidding opens. Preview must start before bidding opens.
5. Select Schedule auction (or Save changes).

The open and preview times lock once bidding opens. You can change the close time until bidding ends.

Preview mode

During preview, bidders can browse the catalog and see item details, starting bids, and when bidding opens ("Opens [day]" or "Opens soon"). They can't bid yet. Preview is a great time to share the catalog link in your pre-event emails so guests arrive knowing what they want.

Step 2: Configure anti-sniping

Anti-sniping extends an item's close time when a bid lands at the buzzer, so other bidders have a chance to respond. It works per item: only the item that received the late bid is extended.

• Anti-sniping window (minutes): If a bid lands within this many minutes of an item's close, that item's close time is extended by the same number of minutes. Default: 2.
• Max Extensions: How many times a single item can extend before its close time locks in. Default: 5.

For example, with the defaults, a bid placed at 8:59 p.m. on an item closing at 9 p.m. pushes that item's close to 9:02 p.m. This can happen up to five times for that item.

To turn off anti-sniping, set Max Extensions to 0.

While anti-sniping is in effect, admins see "Anti-sniping in effect." on the dashboard, and bidders see a message that the close was extended.

Step 3: Decide on maximum bids

Under Max bids, Allow bidders to set a maximum bid is on by default. With it on, a bidder can enter the most they're willing to pay. GC Auctions then bids on their behalf, one increment at a time and only as needed to keep them in the lead, up to their max.

How it works for bidders:

• A bidder chooses their bid, then turns on Auto-defend up to max bid and enters an Auto-bid up to amount.
• If someone outbids them, the system raises their bid by one increment at a time up to the max. They're only notified if someone passes their max.
• If two bidders set the same max, the bidder who set it first keeps the lead.

This setting locks once bidding opens.

Bidder registration and card on file

Bidders must register before they can bid on silent items. When a guest tries to bid for the first time, they're asked to:

1. Enter their email and verify it from a link GiveCampus sends them.
2. Complete bidder registration: first and last name, email, and optional mobile phone. They can also add a display name and choose to Bid anonymously, so others see their paddle number instead of their name.
3. Add a credit card and agree to the GiveCampus Terms of Use.

A card on file is required to bid on silent items. Bidders are told "We'll only charge it if you win." After registering, the bidder is assigned the next available paddle number.

Tip: Live auction and paddle raise work differently. A guest can be checked in and handed a paddle without a card on file.

What bidders see during bidding

• A catalog they can search
• A My items tab showing items they've bid on
• Item pages with the fair market value, a bidding log, and share links
• A countdown when an item is near its close

When a bidder is outbid, they get an email ("You've been outbid on [item]") with a link back to the item. Outbid notifications are sent by email only.

Step 4: Monitor bids and troubleshoot

• Bids tab: Every bid, with the item, auction type, bidder (paddle and name), amount, bid type (Manual, Admin, Proxy, and more), and time. Filter by item or bidder, or check Winning bids only.
• Void a bid: Select Void on a bid. The item's high bid recalculates, and if it was the leading bid, the previous high bidder is restored. This can't be undone, and the bidder isn't notified.
• Add a bid: Select Add bid to record a bid on someone's behalf while the auction is open.
• Timelines: From the Items tab or the Bidders tab, select View timeline to see every bid attempt. This includes rejected bids and the reason each was rejected. It's the fastest way to answer "Why didn't my bid go through?"

Running the silent auction on the night

You can extend, pause, close early, or reopen bidding (only until winners are notified) from the Auction Dashboard. See Closing an Auction and Reviewing Results.

Keywords: silent auction, bidding, preview, anti-sniping, bid extension, max bid, proxy bid, auto-bid, outbid, bidder registration, card on file, bid timeline, void bid