Bid in a silent auction

Quick answer

Open the auction link your organizer shared (it ends in /auction), tap Bid on an item, enter your name and email, and confirm your amount. You don't need an account. If someone outbids you, ScrambleSync emails you.

Overview

Some events run a silent auction to raise money. Each item shows a starting bid and the current high bid. You bid from your phone while you're at the event. There's no account to make. The bidding page doesn't take payment, so ask the organizer how winners pay.

Who this is for

Golfers and guests at an event whose organizer is running an auction. The auction is an extra feature organizers have to have turned on, so not every event has one.

Find the auction

There's no link to the auction inside your scorecard. The organizer shares the auction page address, which is your event's web address followed by /auction (for example scramblesync.com/e/your-event/auction). Look for it on a sign, a QR code, or a message from the organizer.

Place a bid

1. 1

   Open the auction page

   You'll see a 'Live Auction' tag, the auction's name, your event, and how many items are up for auction. If you see 'The auction isn't open yet. Check back when it goes live.', bidding hasn't started.

2. 2

   Read the item

   Each item shows a photo and description if the organizer added them, 'Fair market value' when they entered one, and the 'Starting bid' or 'Current high bid'. The high bidder is shown by first name and last initial, like 'John S.'

3. 3

   Tap Bid

   The button shows the lowest bid you can place, like 'Bid — min. $50.00'. The first time, you'll see 'Place your bid'. Enter 'Your name' and 'Email address', then tap Continue to bid.

4. 4

   Set your amount

   On 'Bid on this item' the amount starts at the minimum. The minimum is the starting bid if nobody has bid yet. Otherwise it's the current high bid plus the raise amount the organizer set. Change the amount if you want to bid more.

5. 5

   Confirm

   Tap the Bid button. When it works you'll see 'Bid placed!' and 'You're the high bidder on <item>. We'll email you at <your email> if you're outbid.' Tap Back to auction.

Your name and email are remembered on that phone. The bar at the top says 'Bidding as <your name>' with a Change link if someone else is using the phone. High bids update on the page by themselves as other people bid.

If someone outbids you

ScrambleSync emails the previous high bidder. The subject is 'You've been outbid on' followed by the item name. The email shows the new high bid and has a Bid again button that opens the auction page. The email is sent on a best-effort basis, so keep an eye on the page too.

Winning and your receipt

When bidding closes, the organizer confirms winners. A confirmed item shows 'Winner selected ✓' and takes no more bids. If the organizer confirms your item with Lock winner and has receipt details set up, you get an email with the subject 'Auction win acknowledgment' and your event's name. It lists your name, the item, the date, a reference number and the amount. If the organizer entered a fair market value, it also shows that value and the amount over it, which may be tax-deductible. The email has a link to the same acknowledgment on a web page.

Tips

• Bid a little above the minimum if you really want an item, since another bidder can beat you by the raise amount.
• Keep the auction page open or check back, so you see when you've been outbid.
• Take a screenshot of 'Bid placed!' if you want proof of your bid.

Troubleshooting