Fundraising Blog

Should I Use Sealed Bids At My Fundraiser?

Good question! Sealed bids are a great way to introduce tension and excitement at fundraising events, but they should only be used for certain prizes.

What is a sealed bid?

Unlike live or silent auctions where bidders can see the bid they need to beat, sealed bids are concealed.

Bidders place a single bid. This is the maximum they want to pay for the prize on offer.

After the bidding deadline has expired, bids are compared. The highest bid or bidders win!

AKA

Sealed bidding can also be known as ballot, blind or closed bidding.

What about multiple items?

If you have multiples of the same item you can also use sealed bids.  For example, if you have 3 lots of the same holiday you can offer the prize to the top 3 bidders.

Tip: Make sure you disclose any multiple prize options. Bidders may get disgruntled if they think they’re bidding for a single, exclusive prize when in actual fact they’re bidding for one of a few.

Should I use it for every item?

We recommend using for particular prizes. Marquee items (e.g. artwork) or exclusive packages (e.g. luxury holidays) are ideal.

Find a prize that will be highly sought after by bidders.  Ideally it’s an item that guests want so badly they’re prepared to bid high to secure.

Does it involve lots of paper and administration?

Not with modern sealed bid solutions.  Providers, such as GalaBid, use a digital platform accessible via bidders’ mobile phones. The solutions are fast, efficient and involve zero paper waste.

Bids are easily collected and assessed with the winner/s identified in moments.

Mobile sealed bids also reduces the risk of tampering or lost bids.

Find out more

Want to know more about how sealed bidding can work at your next fundraiser? Contact us now!

About GalaBid

GalaBid is CrowdComms’ fundraising software, developed inhouse, which facilitates bidding, donations, purchases, payment for and management of all fundraising activities before and during live fundraising events, galas, golf days etc.

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