Is My Online Auction Ready to Open?
It's getting closer to your auction's open date. You've been dutifully entering items in your catalog, securing some last minute donations, and planning some email blasts. This auction is going to be AWESOME!
But wait...is there something else you need to do to ensure the auction is "ready" to open? Is there a switch that needs to be flipped? A button to push? What's going to happen!?
Rest assured because I'm here to help! Recently, my BiddingForGood co-workers at in Client Services and I put together a list of "to-do's" for our clients that goes over what needs to get done in the Auction Manager platform for your auction to begin on time.
Confirm the open and close dates under Set Up > Your Auction
Bidding will turn on and off based on these dates. Remember, the times must be set in Eastern Time. But, you can have the times displayed in the time zone of your choice by using the Auction Time Zone pull down menu. For example, if you’re in California and want your auction to close at 8pm, you’ll need to set the close time as 11 pm and choose Pacific Time from the Auction Time Zone pull down menu.
Confirm your payment processor under Set Up > Your Auction > Payment Processing
We recommend that you have this selection made before your auction is scheduled to open for bidding. However, you only need it when you’re ready to close out and award your items in the Close tab.
Create and activate your homepage at least 30 days before your auction starts
This doesn’t happen automatically. We recommend that you create and activate your homepage at least 30 days before your auction is scheduled to open for bidding. This is a great way to promote your auction to your community and create buzz! You can also use the site to solicit donations to potential donors and show the marketing benefits are for them by donating.
To activate your page, go to Build > Home page, scroll down to the Current Home pages tab, and click on the round button next to the page you wish to activate.
Publish your items
This doesn’t happen automatically. By publishing your items, you’re making them viewable on your auction site. No one will be able to bid on them until your auction is scheduled to open for bidding (which is entered under Set Up > Your Auction). This is also a great way to get the word out about your auction because you can have your community preview the items they’ll be able to bid on soon. We recommend you start publishing items when you activate your page. Don’t worry – you can still edit published items, if necessary!
To publish your items, go to Build > Auction Items, use the Limit Results to pull down menu to select Draft, and click Update. When you’re viewing your Draft items, select the ones you wish to publish (or choose the option to Select All Items) and then click Move Selected to Published.
If you've done these few things, then you can be assured that your auction will open on time!
-Valeria