A live auction is a high-energy part of your event where an auctioneer takes bids in real time—usually from a stage or podium. With ClickBid, you can prepare guests ahead of time, record winners easily, and manage payments efficiently afterward.
🛠️ Setting Up Live Auction Items
Before your event begins, you'll want to get your live auction items ready for display:
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Go to Items > Manage Items in your ClickBid admin.
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Click Add Item and enter your auction details (e.g., title, description, fair market value).
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Set the Item Type to Live.
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Add photos and a description to help guests preview what’s coming. Scroll down the page to the Image Details/Description and Extras sections.
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You can group all live items into a “Live Auction” category to make them easy to find.
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Live items are always preview-only: Guests will not place bids through their phones.
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You can display them in advance so bidders can get excited before bidding starts.
Live auction items help drive big fundraising moments when presented well. Use images and engaging descriptions!
🏷️ Letting Guests Preview Live Auction Items
When guests are registered and logged in, they can:
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View Live Auction items in advance from their mobile device.
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Tap on each item for full descriptions, photos, and value.
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Get excited and ready to bid when the auctioneer steps up.
Use Display Cards, signage including your event's QR code, or emcee announcements to remind attendees to preview items before the live auction begins.
🎙️ Running the Live Auction Onsite
During the live auction portion of your event:
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The auctioneer presents each item one at a time.
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Guests bid by raising their paddles or hands.
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A scribe (someone on your team) notes the winning paddle number and final bid amount.
We recommend having a scribe enter winning bids in real time, and a second person writing them down on paper for cross-referencing at the end of the event.
💻 Entering Winning Bids into ClickBid
Once the live bidding ends for each item:
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Go to Event Central > Butler, or launch the butler directly by going to http://cbo.io/butler
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In the Add a Bid / Multi Sale section, enter:
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The item name or number
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The paddle number of the winning bidder
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The final bid amount
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Click Add Bid to save it.
✅ The item will now appear in that bidder’s cart and can be paid for during checkout.
💰 Payment Options After the Live Auction
Once all winners have been recorded, you have three options for processing payments.
📱 Option 1: Guests Check Themselves Out
Guests can pay from their phones by:
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Logging in to your ClickBid site.
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Going to My Cart to view and pay for items.
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Using a credit card on file, a new card, or Apple/Google Pay.
Guests cannot choose cash or check payment methods on their own. These must be handled by your team (see Option 3).
🔁 Option 2: Batch Process Credit Cards (Admin Only)
To handle all payments in bulk:
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Go to Event Central > Event Payments.
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Use the Batch Checkout feature to charge guests who have a credit card on file.
This is a great option if you want to:
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Confirm accuracy before charging
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Avoid having guests check out manually
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Move quickly at the end of the event
Require a credit card for bidders and encourage guests to enter a credit card during registration or check-in to make batch processing smoother.
To prevent double charges, disable guest checkout just before using batch checkout.
💵 Option 3: Staff-Handled Payments/Check Out Table
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Go to Event Central > Butler.
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Find the guest’s name or paddle number.
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Record the payment using the correct payment method.
📱 Guests cannot log their own cash or check payments. Only your team can do this from the admin side.
🔚 Wrapping It Up
Running a live auction with ClickBid gives your team the tools to keep everything smooth—from bid recording to payments. Be sure to test a few items in advance and train your scribe or admin team before the big night.