Eine stille Auktion durchführen

Overview

The silent auction tool lets you create a live bidding page for your event — no paper bid sheets, no clipboards. Attendees (and anyone with the link) can browse items and place bids from their phone. When you close the auction, winning bidders automatically receive a Stripe payment link by email.

Silent auctions are available on Starter and Pro plans. The platform fee on auction proceeds matches your plan’s ticket rate (1% on Starter, 0.5% on Pro).

Setting Up the Auction

1. Open your event dashboard and go to Fundraising → Auction.
2. Add items using the Add Item form. Each item has:
   • Name and description — displayed on the public bidding page
   • Photo (optional) — upload an image directly from your computer, or paste an external URL; displayed on the public bidding page
   • Starting bid — the minimum first bid accepted
   • Minimum increment — how much each subsequent bid must exceed the current one (default: $10)
   • Reserve price (optional) — if the final bid doesn’t reach this amount, no payment link is sent
3. Optionally set an auto-close time. Bids placed after this time are rejected automatically. Leave blank to close manually.
4. Toggle Auction open for bidding to make the public page live, then share the link with attendees.

How Bidding Works

The public bidding page at /{orgSlug}/{eventSlug}/auction shows all open items with their current bid and bid count. Clicking Bid from $X opens a modal where the bidder enters their name, email, and bid amount.

• Bids must be at least the current bid plus the minimum increment.
• When a bidder is outbid, they receive an automatic email notification so they can return and bid again.
• The page updates in real time via live subscription — no manual refresh needed.
• If an auto-close time is set, a live countdown is shown at the top of the page.

Closing the Auction

When you’re ready to end bidding, go to Fundraising → Auction and click Close auction & notify winners. This:

1. Immediately stops accepting new bids on all open items.
2. For each item with a winning bid at or above the reserve price, creates a Stripe Checkout session and emails the winner a payment link.
3. Items with no bids, or where the reserve wasn’t met, are marked closed with no payment request.

Winners have 24 hours to complete payment via their personal Stripe Checkout link. Once paid, the item status updates to Paid in your dashboard.

Stripe Requirements

Your organization must have a connected and fully onboarded Stripe account to collect auction payments. Connect Stripe in Organization Settings → Payments. Without Stripe, you can still manage items and view bids, but payment links cannot be sent.

Tips for a Successful Auction

• Display the link prominently — put it in your event program, on a signage screen, and in any pre-event emails.
• Set a realistic starting bid — typically 30–50% of the item’s fair market value.
• Use small increments for lower-value items ($5–$10) and larger increments for higher-value items ($25–$50) to drive competitive bidding.
• Announce the close time — a few minutes before auto-close, make an announcement so bidders have a last chance to bid.