Notifying Winners and Requesting Payment (Online Auctions)

Online Auctions, where participants are bidding from different locations, typically choose settings to fully automate the closing process:

  1. At the specified closing time(s), bidding is halted.
  2. Automatic Close-out awards each online item by placing it in the high bidder's Cart/Order (this process can take 5-10 minutes).
  3. Winning Bid notifications are emailed to the winners with a link and instructions to pay and how to pick up/arrange shipment of their items. Bidders will receive a separate email notification for each item won, but the links provided for payment are to their cart where they can review and pay for all items together.
  4. You also have the option of automating the emailing of Daily Payment Reminders until an order has been paid for.

You may not want the entire process automated:

If you prefer to review the high bids placed prior to awarding items, you can disable automatic close-out. This will allow bidding to close as scheduled, but items will not be awarded until you turn automatic close-out on.

If you prefer to send a single notification to winners, you can disable the Winning Bid Notifications and send invitations to Self Check-out instead.  

If you have Buy Now options in your online auction and want to allow supporters to pay for all purchases at the end, you'll want to wait to enable Daily Payment Reminders until all items have closed.

The default payment method for online transactions is Credit Card. Since Cash/Check payments cannot be submitted online, use the Custom Payment option to allow buyers to indicate that they will be paying by cash/check, then provide instructions for them to do so. Be aware that Self Check-out and Online Carts (below) can be setup with different payment options, so be sure to specify your desired payment methods in one or both settings pages.

 Note: Once your site is set up with online credit card processing, it will be available for use anywhere on the site. If it has not been set up yet, you can find instructions here.

To Manage Email Notifications:

To access the Online Auction Mobile Bidding email notification settings page, go to Site Settings > Events > Online Auction/Mobile Bidding > Email Notifications.

Setting Up Your Sender Information

  • In the Email From Name field enter the email address you'd like recipients to see as the sender in their inbox.
  • In the  Email Reply Address field any replies from recipients will also be directed to this address.

Customizing the Automated Online Auction/Mobile Bidding Email Templates

You can edit and preview the automated emails sent during online and mobile bidding by clicking any of the following email template buttons:

  • Signup Confirmation – Sent to welcome new users and help them get started.
  • Outbid Notification (Optional) – Lets a bidder know they've been outbid on an item.
  • Winning Bid Notification (Optional) – Congratulates the winner and provides instructions for payment and item pickup.
  • Payment Reminder (Optional) – Sent daily to remind users with unpaid orders to complete their purchase.

Choosing Your Winner Notification Method

There are two ways to notify winners with a link to pay. Choose the option that best fits your event:

  1. Send an automated email notification as each item is awarded – Winners receive a separate notification for each item they win, each containing a link to their cart. This option works best for fully remote online auctions.
  2. Send invitations to Self Check-Out when you're ready – Winners are not notified until you manually send a Self Check-Out email (via Auction Night screen > Self Check-Out). This is the preferred option for gala events with mobile bidding, where a single check-out invitation is sent to all winners at once.

Note: Regardless of which method you choose, you can enable Daily Payment Reminders on the Orders page to follow up with any winners who haven't checked out promptly.
 

Additional Admin Notification Options

Stay informed throughout your auction with these optional notifications:

  • Email Outbid Notifications to Guests – Sends bidders an email whenever a higher bid is placed on an item they're watching.
  • Notify Admin when an item is awarded – Receive an email each time a silent online auction item is awarded to a winner. Notifications are sent to the address entered in the Email Reply Address field.
  • Notify Admin when an item is added to cart – Receive an email each time a fixed-price item is purchased from the Online Auction Catalog.
  • Notify Admin when a cash donation is added to cart – Receive an email each time a cash donation is made through the Auction Catalog.

Tip: Bidders can always check their bidding status and any items they've won by visiting the My Bids tab, and can complete payment by clicking the cart icon.

To Setup Online Auction Payments:

To configure your online auction payment settings, navigate to: Site Settings > Customize Your Site > Payments/Credit Card > Online Payment Options

These settings apply to Online/Mobile Bidding, Voting, and Virtual Event purchases.

Choosing Payment Options: Use the Payment dropdown menu to select how you’d like to handle online auction payments:

  • Don’t Request Credit Card
  • Request Credit Card
  • Require Credit Card

You can choose to request or require supporters to store a credit card before placing bids or votes. If enabled, a secure card form will appear when users sign up or access their invitation to participate.
 

Accepting Non-Credit Card Payments: Since only credit card payments can be processed online, you'll need to provide Custom payment instructions if you'd like to accept other payment methods (not available with Acorn subscriptions).

To set this up, go to Site Settings > Payment/Credit Card > Custom/External Payment (Chair role required), where you can edit your custom payment instructions and payment name.
 

Sending Daily Payment Reminders: To help ensure winners complete their purchases, you can enable Daily Payment Reminders in Online Payment Options.

A few things to keep in mind:

  • Reminders are available only for items awarded or purchased in an online auction.
  • When enabled, reminders are emailed daily until the item is paid for, or for up to 90 days after purchase, whichever comes first.
  • Buyers of sellable and signup items will also receive reminders. To allow winners to pay for all of their items in a single transaction, it's best to wait until your silent items have closed before enabling this feature.

Displaying the Shopping Cart Icon: You can control whether the Cart icon appears in the mobile (phone) view of your Catalog.

  • On mobile devices: The Cart icon visibility is configurable. Most galas with Mobile Bidding choose to hide the icon until they're ready for guests to check out, to prevent early self-checkout before all sales have been recorded.
  • On laptops and desktops: The Cart icon automatically appears in the navigation bar when a logged in user has items awaiting payment. It remains hidden if the user is not logged in or has no pending online purchases.

Customizing the Payment Completion Redirect: After completing a payment, supporters will see a confirmation page with options to print a receipt or return to the Homepage.

If you’d like to redirect users to a different page:

  • Click the Advanced link at the bottom of the Online Payment Options page
  • Enter your desired URL (be sure it includes “http://” or “https://”)

Note: Adding a custom URL will change the button label from “Return to Home” to “Return.”

For more information about individual settings, simply click the embedded Help icon (?). They are there to assist you when needed.