Bid Beacon Reviews

Pros

Easy to set up, easy for the users (older than baby boomers did struggle a bit), and even easier pick up process. Our company has used it two years in a row and it was a fantastic way to reach people, that otherwise wouldn’t have seen our items.

Cons

I think the price for adding on photos is absurd. We’re showcasing art and sometimes to get the full “picture” I need 3-5 photos per item. I quickly have to up the package-, and it’s pretty frustrating.

I wish there was a feature that could show others that were looking at the items real time. It could build excitement and up bids.

Pros

Bid Beacon gave us the ability to do something we hadn't previously been able to do, which was have a silent auction without all of the cluttering around tables of miscellaneous items. We opted to make all of our silent auction items experiences, or coupons instead of tangible things. (For example, a 3 night stay in a nearby town vs a basket of wine and chips) Bid Beacon allowed us to make eye catching thumbnails for these experiences and all of them sold for more than what we were expecting. It's very user friendly, and even some of our older attendees were able to bid along.

Cons

There isn't a feature that allows you to format the text within the auction item description. This makes the description look like a hard to read wall of text. It would be a huge improvement to be able to bold text and add bullet points.

Pros

It’s is very cost effective, and was pretty easy to figure out

Cons

Users should be required to enter credit card info before they start bidding, and then charged at auction closing for any items won. this would help in closing out auction items

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Bid Beacon

Pros

The auction was easy to set up and I was able to figure out through the step-by-step instructions how to connect it to my PayPal account. It's great for the price and overall worked great.

Cons

We only use it about once a year, so the pricing structure and what was included changed from the last time I used it so had to make a few adjustments. I also had an issue and was disappointed that I had to use chat support over a phone call because it was not included in the package I purchased. We did have a slight issue with viewing items which were paid for after the auction, but were able to figure it after a slight frustration.

Pros

Easy to put pictures and information onto the site

Cons

You could not enlarge the pictures
Some of the bid functions did not work properly.

Pros

Bid Beacon has been a game changer for our annual silent auction. This is our organization's primary fundraiser and Bid Beacon has made it possible for us to reach an entirely different group of bidders who may not attend our in-person event. We can't imagine using anything else!

Cons

It would be great to have a few more customizable options, particularly the colors of the auction pages for those who pay for the highest tier.

Pros

very simple to upload new items to the auction
easy to switch between using the mobile app and the desktop version
Amazing customer service!

Cons

not always straight forward to join the auction depending on what operating system you're using
would like to be able to sort report by bidder - not just by item

Pros

This product is super easy to setup and was a great benefit to our fundraising

Cons

The user management portion was a little buggy for our admin users.

Pros

User friendly, having multiple admin users.

Cons

1. Ability to generate a receipt (invoice) before the bidder comes to pay would be a nice feature.
2. Lot # on receipt (invoice) would be helpful.
3. Email of winners - didn't seem to have a rhyme or reason to order. Alphabetic would be handy.
4. Has issues with systems running very slow near end of auction. Some people's website quit working.

Pros

Ease of use, quantity of features makes this a no brianer to utilize.

Cons

Honestly, nothing. Keep up the good work.

Pros

The ability to purchase a bundle most suited to needs is imperative to any cost conscious organization. No financial surprises, sending invites is easy. Admins will appreciate the ease of managing the status of winning bids with downloadable general reports.

Cons

Setup: Little more documentation on what photos (for items) dimensions for ease of viewing on web/android/iphones. Push Notifications need a bit more capacity.

Pros

I love that our supporters can bid from anywhere, they don't have to be physically at the event to bid on items and it makes it so much easier for us to raise more by simply engaging our email list and social media followers alongside the people who actually get tickets and come to the event.

Cons

Overall Bid Beacon made this auction so successful and fun!

Pros

I loved the feature where we could auto bill all winning bidders in lieu of tracking down bidders to collect payment. The system was turn-key and easy to use.

Cons

I didn’t like how you could reorganization sections in the auction. They appear in the order you create them and you don’t always know what sections you want in advance. We had a section for donations, gift cards, items and experiences. I always wanted donations at the top.

Pros

Easy to use for all . Payments and bids were both easy

Cons

Nothing we liked everything we used. Maybe verify emaols

Pros

I loved that we were able to upload all our items, and number the items to be easier to find within the app. Plus the ability to be able to set a max bid on different items was a huge sucess!

Cons

Our only issue we had was some people had issues getting thru the firewall to be able to pay online at the end, or even be able to bid.

Pros

This software was easy to understand and use.

Cons

Some of the features were a bit clunky compared to software I’ve used in the past.

Pros

The software was easy to set up and easy for our silent auction guests to use. As a non-profit, I appreciated the flat fee for per use.

Cons

I was worried about the checkout process because you can't preview it. It didn't look quite like the youtube videos online, but it worked!

Pros

Super easy to navigate! Good quality images.

Cons

I have not come across anything that I would consider for this section

Pros

Managing bids is so much easier than using paper for bids.

Cons

I don’t like the user interface being different from the administration.