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Bidding Owl Reviews Summary
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2nd year using this platform. First year we had lots of questions and had a learning curve to overcome on our end because we had never done an online auction before. But the auction went off smoothly. Second year the front end business of loading items/photos went much smoother. Had a glitch when the auction closed and the winners did not receive the notifications they should have gotten right away. The customer service people do respond quickly. There are some upgrades I'd like to see like the ability to sort your onscreen bidder list, look up winner for each item faster, crop and edit pictures after they are uploaded, etc. If those added I'd definitely give them a few more stars, but for the price and service I think it's a good option for small nonprofits.
I found the people at bidding owl helpful. The software easy to use. The only thing that was difficult was the closing out of the auction. It would be nice if there was a spot to write notes that the winning bidder would receive an email with the aftermath of how to retrieve the item or service.
Bidding owl is extremely easy to use and their customer support responds quickly when you do have a question. This is the 3rd year our non profit has used Bidding Owl for our silent auction.
I am no computer wiz. However, I found BiddingOwl to be extremely easy to use. I was able to navigate without having to ask any questions and easily correct errors as I went along. It looks super nice and the fees are less than any other company's.
Our auction hasn't started yet but everything has been great so far!
Bidding Owl was so incredibly easy to use! Its a great site to manage auction items, bidders, donors, sponsors and more for an amazing price. Bidding Owl's customer service was top notch! They were always there to answer questions and help us. Whether you are an online expert or novice, first time fundraiser or a professional fundraiser, you will love this site and software.
I've just completed my 6th Bidding Owl auction and it's a great platform. Over the 3 years I've used it, they have been responsive to any problems I've had and our bidders have really enjoyed the experience of bidding. I will use them again.
What a great tool BiddingOwl is for an online auction! We used this for our Annual Silent Auction. This is the first time our organization used online bidding and it went seamlessly! The support staff was always so responsive, knowledgable and answered any questions we had. The website is very organized and user-friendly. We were able to print reports and bid sheets. All info in one place was great. Our supporters loved it and so did we! We will definitely use BiddingOwl in the future!
Hi, I wanted you to know that we had a successful silent auction for our first attempt and your platform really made a difference. It was easy to use and provided all the tools we needed for a smooth event We will be using it agin. Many thanks for all the technical support. I will be singing you praises!
I was actually shocked to see a bill from Bidding Owl after my experience with them. Everything about this experience was terrible - from the picture hosting (there is no way to edit or modify your pictures and everything was posted sideways) to the fact that they can charge after the fact without disclosing pricing or the fact that they'll take 5% of non-profit fundraising money after doing absolutely NOTHING.
We had nothing but problems with them, and for the most part, my auction tanked when in years past it's been our highest rated fundraiser.
Customer service is non-existent and the phone number on the site doesn't work (but has recently been changed from a 1-800 number). I emailed them to complain - no response.
This screams "scam" and I'm considering filing a complaint with the FTC.
We used the online/mobile bidding only for the first time without having an actual event. We raised more funds for our non-profit than in previous years at our events. The ease of being able to do everything on-line, viewing auction, bidding, and bidders being able to check themselves out is a huge plus. The fee they charge for using their software is extremely reasonable and that is a huge plus.
The software is so easy to use and user friendly. I found it extremely easy to navigate and set up our auction, actually quite fun. I did have to contact customer service a few times due to my lack of knowledge on uploading photos and logos and they ended up doing it for me in a matter of minutes and were so friendly. Everything ran smoothly from start to finish and we will definitely use again.
They do not know how to manage tech or have the resources to do it because we were about to go live with our online auction and they had difficulties and shut everything down for an undetermined time. Now we are in a mess scrambling last minute. Very unprofessional and not competent to offer online auctions.
This site delivers! Easy to set up and add/change items. Simple bidder sign up and bids can be manually input for those that are not computer literate. Support was simple and available 24/7. No up front cost just a small % of the highest bid, this is a small nonprofits dream.
Bidding Owl is easy to use for managers setting up the site as well as bidders. Not only is the website gorgeous with the capacity for lots of information and photographs/logos for all items, but the customer service is excellent. We highly recommend Bidding Owl and will be using them every year for our annual fundraiser. Have an excellent website, get help whenever you need it, and raise a lot of money for your non-profit - it doesn't get much better than this!
We had a great experience. This was the first time our school held an online fundraiser and bidders loved it. We liked the format, because it helped us raise more money. We would definitely use Biddingowl again.
Good experience with this site for our Athletic fundraiser.
We just finished our fundraiser and absolutely loved their services. It made our gala event so much more efficient and the guest LOVED the mobile bidding feature. In addition, Biddingowl staff was super helpful whenever we had any questions. Thank you so much for your service!
From the business
There is a reason BiddingOwl is the top charity auction provider in the industry. They offer exceptional customer support and a full-service management platform to ensure your auction event, whether it be online or in-person, runs smoothly. Besides online/mobile auctions, BiddingOwl supports traditional paper bid sheets, tickets, donations, paddle raises, fund-a-need and more. Try them out. You won’t be disappointed.
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- SmartCustomer’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- SmartCustomer has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
I am sorry that you misunderstood our pricing. We offer a free service for traditional paper-bid sheet and outcry auctions. However, the use of online auctions is not free. We charge 5% of the highest bids placed. This is detailed on our website on the Pricing page (desktop) http://www.biddingowl.com/price-comparison.cfm
Further, when you sign up for an account the pricing is detailed on that page as well. * Silent and Live Auction manager is FREE; Online Auction Feature (including online pre-bid on silent and live items) is 5% of highest bid. I understand that this page might be misleading at first glance.
Please know that when you set up your site your ran the Online Auction Wizard. In this wizard in step #4 it asked you for a credit card number. As stated on the page: "In order to run your own online auction on BiddingOwl.com, we charge 5% based on your high bids. Once your auction has ended, BiddingOwl.com, LLC reserves the right to charge your credit card based on the amount of highest bids." On that page is also a checkbox that asks you to agree to the terms and conditions. Which you have agreed to.
I am very sorry that you have this misunderstanding. Yes, we do advertise our free version of our software heavily, however, online auctions are subject to a charge.