Donors bid from any phone in two taps. No app to install. No account to create. The platform 130,500+ causes have chosen for online bidding since 2008.
"Almost double last year." — Sarah, PTA Pres.
An online bidding platform's job is to convert intent (someone wants to support your cause) into action (a bid placed, a payment processed) with as little friction as possible between those two states. Most platforms in the category add friction in the name of "engagement" — app installs, account creation, profile completion, email verification, sometimes phone number verification — and then wonder why their conversion rates from page-view to bid hover in the single digits. The right design choice is the opposite: remove every step that doesn't actively help the donor bid.
32auctions is engineered around friction reduction. Donors tap your auction link. The page loads in their phone browser in under two seconds. They browse items. They tap "Place Bid." They enter their name, email, and bid amount. The bid lands. That's the entire flow. No app store. No account creation form. No verification email blocking their first bid. The result is consistently higher conversion rates from page-view to bid than app-based competitor platforms.
This page covers the bidding experience itself — what specifically we keep in (auto-bidding, outbid alerts, live leaderboard, Apple Pay support), what we deliberately strip out (apps, accounts, verifications), how the bidding mechanics work for organizers and donors, transparent pricing, and the answers to questions organizers ask about the actual user experience their donors will have.
Every painful step of a silent auction, rebuilt for how organizers actually run them.
Paper bid sheets. Midnight recounts. The runner who lost the form.
Every bid lands on every device in real time. Auto-bidding, outbid alerts, and a live leaderboard drive the final-minute frenzy. Final totals reconcile themselves the second the auction closes.
Praying bidders show up. Praying they brought a checkbook.
Your custom URL is the only thing donors need. No app, no account, no friction. Outbid texts and emails keep them in the auction until the final minute.
Chasing winners for payment for the next three weeks.
When your auction closes, every winner gets their invoice. Most pay by card within an hour through your own Stripe or PayPal account — we never sit in the middle of your money.
Not a kitchen-sink feature list. The capabilities that consistently separate auctions that work from auctions that flop.
The donor's journey from "received the auction link" to "placed a bid" is two taps. Tap the link (auction loads in their phone browser). Tap an item. Tap "Place Bid." Enter name, email, bid amount. Done. No app store visit. No account creation form. No verification email blocking the first bid. The entire bidding flow can complete in under 30 seconds from the moment a donor sees the link to the moment their bid lands. App-based competitor platforms typically take 5-10 minutes for that same flow (counting app install, account creation, verification, and login), which causes measurable drop-off — especially among older donors and people who don't routinely install new apps.
Auto-bidding (also called proxy bidding) lets a donor set a maximum bid once and the platform incrementally outbids competitors on their behalf up to that maximum. Donor doesn't have to check back. They win at the lowest amount needed to win, or they lose at their max and get notified. For multi-day online auctions where donors can't actively monitor the auction, auto-bidding is the single most important engagement-retention feature — it lets committed donors participate without constant attention.
When a donor is outbid, the platform sends them a notification automatically. Email outbid alerts are included in every auction at no charge. Text outbid alerts (via the Text & Email Notifications upgrade, included in the Most Popular package) reach donors who don't check email regularly. Outbid notifications are the single most effective re-engagement mechanism in an online auction — they pull casual bidders back at the exact moment they're most likely to bid again. Auctions using text notifications consistently outperform those relying on email alone.
Every bid updates instantly across every device watching the auction. Donors see the current high bid, the time remaining, and the live leaderboard. For competitive bidders, the leaderboard creates urgency — they can see exactly which items they're winning and losing, and how much time remains to win. Most online auctions earn 30-40% of their total in the final hour because of this leaderboard-driven urgency.
Auction sniping — placing a bid in the final seconds to prevent counter-bids — is a common problem on time-limited auctions. 32auctions handles this with extended bidding: if a bid lands in the final configurable minutes of the auction (typically 2-5), the close window automatically extends so the competitive bidding can continue to its natural conclusion. The auction doesn't close mid-bidding-war; it closes when the bidding war is actually finished. This is one of the highest-impact engagement features for competitive auction items.
When you add the Online Payment Collection upgrade, winners pay through your Stripe or PayPal account. Stripe supports Apple Pay and Google Pay natively — a winner can complete payment in seconds with a fingerprint or Face ID on their phone. This dramatically reduces payment-completion drop-off versus competitor platforms requiring manual credit-card entry. For mobile-heavy donor bases (which most modern fundraising donor bases are), this matters a lot — three of every four 32auctions bids come from phones.
The end-to-end workflow most organizers follow on 32auctions, in the order they follow it.
Create your account. No credit card. Three minutes.
Name it. Pick start and end dates. Choose privacy settings.
Upload photos, write descriptions, set starting bids and bid increments. Import from a spreadsheet if you have one from last year.
Free base supports 20 items with house ads. The Most Popular package (about $170) removes ads, adds branding, expands items and images, unlocks text notifications.
Link your Stripe or PayPal account for automatic winner invoicing, or use self-managed payments at no 32auctions transaction fee.
Share your custom URL via email, text, social media, and printed materials. Auction goes live at your scheduled time.
Real-time insights, live leaderboard, automatic outbid notifications — the platform handles engagement automatically.
When the auction ends, winners are invoiced. Funds deposit. Export your treasurer reports. Send thank-yous.
The full pricing model, plainly stated. Use this to compare against any competitor — we publish ours; most of them require you to talk to sales to find theirs.
Free base auction (free forever): Up to 20 items, 1 image per item, custom auction URL, real-time mobile bidding, outbid email notifications, real-time auction insights, proxy/Buy Now bidding, basic donor and sponsor promotion, unlimited bidders, email support. Funded by house ads displayed on the auction page.
Optional upgrades, à la carte or as packages:
The Most Popular package — about $170 per event: The pre-built combination most organizers pick. Removes house ads, adds your branding, expands items and images, unlocks text notifications.
The Works package: All upgrades bundled, for organizers who want everything.
Transaction fees on payment collection: When you use the Online Payment Collection upgrade, 32auctions adds 2.9% + $0.40 per online payment, on top of whatever Stripe or PayPal charges. Or use self-managed payments (cash, check, your own processor) and pay no 32auctions transaction fee.
What we never charge: No annual contract. No commission on what you raise. No platform fee on donations. No minimums.
Honest, sourced comparison. Pricing changes — verify with each vendor before purchase.
| 32auctions | Handbid | OneCause | GiveSmart | Bloomerang Fundraising | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free (base auction) | From $1,396/yr | From $200 + 5% on funds raised | Custom (no public pricing) | Bundled with CRM (~$3K+/yr) |
| Pricing model | Pay per event (~$170 package) | Annual subscription | Subscription OR pay-as-you-go | Annual subscription | Annual subscription |
| Free tier? | Yes — base auction free forever | No | No | No | No |
| Bidder requires app? | No — web-based | Yes — native iOS/Android app | No — web-based | No — web-based | No — web-based |
| Bidder requires account? | No | Yes (in-app) | Yes (registration) | Yes (registration) | Yes |
| Transaction fee on online payments | 2.9% + $0.40 (32a) on top of Stripe/PayPal — OR $0 with self-managed payments | 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction | 5% pay-later on pay-as-you-go; varies by plan | Custom (sales-led) | 2.9% + $0.30 (standard processing) |
| Years in market | Since 2008 (17+ years) | Since 2010 | Since 2008 | Acquired by Community Brands | Auction tools via Qgiv acquisition |
| Best for | 1-4 events/yr, schools, churches, small/mid nonprofits | Mid-to-large nonprofits with annual gala budgets | Larger nonprofits running multiple events/yr | Large nonprofits, schools, associations | Existing Bloomerang CRM customers |
Pricing and feature data sourced from each vendor's public pricing pages and verified third-party listings on G2, Capterra, and GetApp (Nov 2025-Apr 2026). Pricing changes — always confirm current rates directly with vendors before purchase. 32auctions transaction fees apply only when using the Online Payment Collection upgrade; self-managed payments carry no 32auctions transaction fee.
Stories from preschool PTOs to verified G2 reviewers. The metric we care most about: did they use 32auctions again the next year?
The site was easy to set up and worked like a charm for our first fundraiser. The remote bidding features were the best part — administrators could post items in minutes and see who'd bid on what in real time. We raised more than I projected.
No marketing-speak. Just the truth about how the platform actually works for online bidding platform.
Why no app for bidders?
Because app installs cause measurable drop-off — typically 20-50% of potential bidders, depending on demographic. Older donors, people who don't routinely install new apps, and donors who get the auction link while they're in the middle of doing something else simply don't complete the app-install flow. Going app-free is a deliberate design choice for our positioning (small to mid-sized fundraisers reaching real-world donor demographics). Competitor platforms with app-based bidding fit different positioning (large nonprofits with tech-comfortable donor bases and event-day staff support to help guests install).
Do you support proxy bidding (auto-bidding)?
Yes. Donors can set a maximum bid amount; the platform incrementally outbids competitors on their behalf up to that maximum. They win at the lowest amount needed (e.g., set max $200, current bid $50, they win at $55 if no one bids higher, or at their $200 if a competitor reaches that point). Donors don't have to check back during the auction window. They get notified if they're outbid (so they can raise their max if they want) and notified when they win.
Can bidders see who else is bidding?
Bidders see the current high bid and their own bidding history, but they don't see other bidders' identities by default — the bidding is anonymous to other bidders. The auction organizer (you) sees full bidder information in the dashboard. This is the standard silent auction model (bidders see prices, not names) and works well for both privacy and bidding-war psychology.
What happens if two bidders bid at the same time?
The platform handles concurrent bids with millisecond-level conflict resolution. The first bid in wins; the second bid is rejected with a clear message and the bidder is invited to bid higher. Auto-bidding kicks in for any donor with a higher max — so if Donor A has a $200 max set and Donor B places a $150 bid, Donor A's auto-bid of $155 takes precedence and Donor B is notified to bid higher.
Can bidders place bids on multiple items at once?
Yes — there's no limit on the number of items a single bidder can bid on. The platform tracks all of a bidder's bids in one bidder record, and at auction close, generates a single invoice for all items the bidder won. This is dramatically cleaner than competitor platforms that issue separate invoices per item won.
How does the bidding work on a phone with a small screen?
The entire bidder UX is designed phone-first, not desktop-with-mobile-as-afterthought. Large tap targets for thumbs. Fast-loading photos that work over slow venue WiFi. Bid forms designed for mobile keyboards. Apple Pay and Google Pay both work through Stripe checkout. The site responds to landscape vs portrait orientation, dark mode preferences, and accessibility settings automatically. Older phones and slower connections are explicitly supported (the platform doesn't require the latest browser or fastest connection).
Is bidding secure?
Bidding sessions are encrypted (HTTPS everywhere). Bidder credit-card data, when entered for payment via the Online Payment Collection upgrade, never touches 32auctions' servers — it goes directly to Stripe or PayPal (both PCI-compliant payment processors). 32auctions stores the bidder's name, email, and optional phone (and any custom registration fields you add), but never card data or other sensitive financial information. The platform meets the standard security expectations for nonprofit fundraising — see the privacy policy at 32auctions.com/pages/privacy.html for specifics.
Name it now. Set it up tonight. Share it tomorrow. Free base auction. No credit card. No commitment.