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This article shows you what a Qgiv auction looks like for attendees. It will take you through the steps for browsing, bidding, and paying for items on the web or in the Givi app.
Please note: Once you’ve registered for an auction, you can use either a web browser or the app to participate if the organization has enabled that option, and you can switch between the two using the same login information.
If you need help registering for an auction, check out the articles linked at the end of this article.
Contents:
Legacy Web-Based Navigation
Please note: Our web auctions experience was updated in February 2025. If you're using an updated auction form, check out the Redesigned Web-Based Navigation section of this article.
Navigating the Auction Site and Browsing Items
Once you’ve registered, you’ll see a button to Start Bidding Now on the confirmation page to set up your auction account and bid on items.
You’ll also receive an email of your auction ticket with a link to enter the auction. Look for an email with a subject line that includes, “Your [name of the auction] Ticket.”
The body of the email will also include a Set Up Bidding link.
Clicking the Set Up Bidding link in the email or on the registration confirmation page will take you to a page where you can edit your registration details.
You can edit your registration details if you want or click View Auction Items to bid on items via the web.
Here’s an example of what an Auction Items page might look like:
From the Auction Home page, you can usually find the Items page using navigation links at the top of the screen. However, the host organization can customize navigation, so your auction might look a little different.
The other major area you’ll want to familiarize yourself with is the My Activity page. You can access this page by clicking your name in the upper right corner of the screen after you log in.
From this page, you can:
- View your bidding and purchase activity
- Pay your balance
- Add or change your payment method
- Review your Ticket Details
- Update your notification preferences
- Log out of your auction account
The My Activity screen displays all of your auction activity. You can also change your payment method and pay your balance from this screen.
On the Ticket Details page, you can update your personal information, add a phone number if you didn't add one during registration, and set your Notification Preferences to receive auction notifications via email and/or text message.
When you’re ready to browse items, return to the Auction Items page.
If the host organization has turned on the search and filter features, you can search for specific items, change the sorting order for items, and filter by category, tags, and items with no bids.
Click on a specific item to view the item detail page.
Bidding on Items
From an auction item’s detail page, you can bid on the item by clicking Place Bid. Depending on the auction's settings, you may see a few different options for bidding.
If the auction has Max Bids enabled, you can set the maximum amount you're willing to pay for the item. The app to bid for you if you are outbid, up to the amount you specify.
If the auction has Traditional Bids enabled, set the amount you want to bid, and the system will immediately set your bid to that amount. If you are outbid, you'll need to enter a new amount to keep bidding on the item.
If the hosting organization has set a Buy Now price for the item, you'll see that amount in the bidding modal. To buy the item outright, simply set your bid to the Buy Now price.
After you place a bid, the item page will update to reflect your bidding status.
The process is similar for contributing to fund-a-need items and for buying store items.
For fund-a-need items, the Place Bid link will be replaced with a link to Contribute, and for store items, the link will be labeled Buy.
Fund-a-Need
Store
Also, for store items, you’ll have the option to select the quantity of the item you want to purchase.
Checking Out
When an auction category ends, a popup will appear, telling you the category has ended. The popup includes a link to the My Activity page so you can see what you’ve won.
Click See What I’ve Won to return to the My Activity page, where you can review your purchases and change or add your payment method before checking out.
Click Pay Balance to check out.
Please note: You can pay your balance for Store and Fund-a-Need items at any time, but you won’t be able to pay for Auction items until the hosting organization has opened checkout. If an Auction item category has ended, but you don’t see the cost of your won items reflected in your payment balance, it probably means the host has not opened checkout yet. You’ll need to check back after checkout opens to complete your payment.
Once you’ve submitted a payment, you’ll see a link to View Receipts. Your receipts will also be emailed to the email address associated with your auction account.
Remember that you can switch between the web and Givi at any time using the same login credentials.
Redesigned Web-Based Navigation
Navigating the Auction Site and Browsing Items
Once you’ve registered, you’ll see a button to Start Bidding Now on the confirmation page to set up your auction account and bid on items.
You’ll also receive an email of your auction ticket with a link to enter the auction. Look for an email with a subject line that includes, “Your [name of the auction] Ticket.”
The body of the email will also include a Set Up Bidding link.
Clicking the Set Up Bidding link in the email or on the registration confirmation page will take you to a screen where you can set a password for your auction account.
Then, click View Auction Items to bid on items via the web.
Here’s an example of what an Auction Items page might look like:
From the Auction Home page, you can usually find the Items page using navigation links at the top of the screen. However, the host organization can customize navigation, so your auction might look a little different.
The other major area you’ll want to familiarize yourself with is the My Activity page, which you can access in the upper right corner of the screen after you log in.
From here, you can:
- View items that you’re watching
- View items that you’re bidding on
- Increase your max bid for items you’re bidding on
- View your cart
- Pay your balance
- Add or change your payment method
Click My Account to:
- Review your Ticket Details
- Update your notification preferences
- View transaction receipts
- Log out of your auction account
On the My Ticket Details page, you can update your personal information, add a phone number if you didn't add one during registration, and set your Notification Preferences to receive auction notifications via email and/or text message.
When you’re ready to browse items, return to the Auction Items page.
If the host organization has turned on the filter features, you can change the sorting order for items and filter by category, tags, and items with no bids.
If you’d like to keep an eye on an item that interests you, you can click the bookmark icon to watch it.
Watched items will appear on your My Activity page.
Click on a specific item to view the item detail page.
Bidding on Items
From an auction item’s detail page, you can bid on the item by clicking Place Bid. Depending on the auction's settings, you may see a few different options for bidding.
If the auction has Traditional Bids enabled, set the amount you want to bid, and the system will immediately set your bid to that amount. If you are outbid, you'll need to enter a new amount to keep bidding on the item.
If the auction has Max Bids enabled, you can set the maximum amount you're willing to pay for the item. The app to bid for you if you are outbid, up to the amount you specify.
If the hosting organization has set a Buy Now price for the item, you'll see that amount in the bidding modal. To buy the item outright, simply set your bid to the Buy Now price.
After you place a bid, the item page will update to reflect your bidding status.
The process is similar for contributing to fund-a-need items and for buying store items.
For fund-a-need items, the Place Bid link will be replaced with a link to Contribute, and for store items, the link will be labeled Purchase.
Fund-a-Need
Store
Also, for store items, you’ll have the option to select the quantity of the item you want to purchase.
Checking Out
When an auction category ends, a popup will appear, telling you the category has ended. The popup includes a link to the My Activity page so you can see what’ve you’ve won.
Click See What I’ve Won to return to the My Activity page, where you can review your purchases and change or add your payment method before checking out.
Click Pay Balance to check out.
Please note: You can pay your balance for Store and Fund-a-Need items at any time, but you won’t be able to pay for Auction items until the hosting organization has opened checkout. If an Auction item category has ended, but you don’t see the cost of your won items reflected in your payment balance, it probably means the host has not opened checkout yet. You’ll need to check back after checkout opens to complete your payment.
Once you’ve submitted a payment, you’ll see a link to View Receipts. Your receipts will also be emailed to the email address associated with your auction account.
Remember that you can switch between the web and Givi at any time using the same login credentials.
Givi-Based Navigation
This video offers an overview of auction navigation in the Givi app.
Please note: Some of the screens in this video may appear different in your version of the app, but the general navigation depicted in the video remains the same.
Navigating the App and Browsing Items
For the best auction experience, we recommend installing the Givi app on your mobile device.
If you’ve already registered for an auction and created an account for bidding, from the Givi home screen, tap Log In to log in to your account and enter the auction.
Then, enter the email address and password you used when creating your account.
You can also log in using Google or Facebook credentials, but only if you used one of those methods for your initial account setup. If you used an email address to set up your account, you’ll need to use that method for all future logins.
If you can’t remember your account password, just tap Forgot your password? and then enter your email address. A one-time passcode will be emailed to you.
Please note: You can resend the passcode if you don't receive it. You may also need to check your email's spam folder.
You’ll then be prompted to create a new password to log in.
Once you've logged in, you'll be on the Givi home screen.
If you’ve entered the auction previously, this screen will display your active auction ticket, which you can tap to enter the auction.
If you have not yet selected a ticket to enter the auction, you can tap Events at the bottom of the screen.
Any events you've registered for will be displayed on this screen. Tap Enter Auction to view items and start bidding.
If you still need to register, or if you have a ticket for the auction but haven’t set up a Givi account and password yet, tap Join + Find Event from the initial home screen and then enter your email address.
If you have a ticket already, entering your email will display a screen where you can choose to receive your ticket via text (if you provided a phone number during registration) or email.
A six-digit passcode will be sent to your phone or email. Enter it here to verify your identity and enter the auction.
If you don’t have a ticket to the auction yet, entering your email will prompt you to search for an event by clicking Find Event.
Search for the name of the auction or the name of the host organization.
To register, click Enter Auction from the auction event’s page.
You can also preview auction items before you register by tapping Preview Auction on this screen
If you're entering an auction and you didn't save a payment method during registration, you'll be prompted to add a Payment Method and then to set your Notification Preferences. We recommend you do both now for a smooth bidding and checkout process.
Once your account is set up and login is complete, you’ll be automatically redirected to the Auction Items page.
You can return to the Items page at any time by tapping the Home icon at the bottom of the screen.
At the top of the screen, you’ll see a variety of filter and sorting options.
Using the search bar, you can search for an item’s name or number, if you know it.
Tap the QR code icon to open your device’s camera and scan an item’s QR code to view its details.
Use the tags and filtering options to display items that match specific criteria, including price range, whether the item has bids, and more.
Tap on a specific item to view the item detail page.
If you want to Watch an item, tap the bookmark icon.
Before we go into bidding on items, there are a few other areas of the app you’ll want to familiarize yourself with.
The My Activity screen is where you can view the items you are Watching or Bidding on.
The Cart tab displays items you have won or purchased. You can pay your balance for Store and Fund-a-Need items from this screen at any time during the auction.
Tap the three horizontal lines icon to visit the Menu screen, where you can review your Payment Methods and your Ticket Details, including your Notification Preferences.
Finally, tap your bidder number at the bottom of the screen to pull up the My Bid Paddle.
Your bid paddle will display your bidder number in portrait or landscape view.
From here, you can also tap View QR Code to pull up your own unique QR code, which the event’s hosts can scan to assist you with bidding and checkout.
Bidding on Items
From the auction Home screen, you can bid on an auction item by tapping the item and then tapping Select Amount or the arrow to expand the bidding area.
With the bid area expanded, you can see the current winner and select your bid amount. You can also specify a Max Bid for the item, if offered. Swipe to place your bid.
Setting a Max Bid will allow the app to bid for you if you are outbid, up to the amount you specify.
The process is similar for contributing to fund-a-need items and for buying store items.
For fund-a-need items, the slider will be labeled Contribute, instead of Bid, and for Store items, it will be labeled Buy.
Fund-a-Need
Store
Also, for store items, you’ll have the option to select the quantity of the item you want to purchase. You may also see a prompt to Select Options if you need to specify something related to your purchase, such as item color.
Checking Out
When an item category ends, the countdown for the item will be replaced with a message that says, “Item Ended."
When the auction’s host opens checkout for the item category, you’ll see a message about any items you've won. If you’ve set up your Notifications, you’ll also see a notification badge on the bell in the upper left corner of the screen.
Tap the Cart icon at the bottom of the screen to pay your balance for any Auction items you've won, Store items you've purchased, or Fund-a-Need items you've contributed to.
Please note: You can pay your balance for Store and Fund-a-Need items at any time from this screen, but Auction items will not appear here until the hosting organization has opened checkout. If bidding for an Auction item has ended, but you don’t see the cost of your won items reflected in your payment balance, it probably means the host has not opened checkout yet. You’ll need to check back after checkout opens to complete your payment.
Review your cart, and then tap Pay Balance to finish checking out.
You'll have the opportunity to update your payment method and add funds to cover processing fees before swiping the Pay slider.
If you need help from auction event staff, tap your bidder number at the bottom of the screen and then tap View QR Code to display your personal QR code, which will help staff locate your information.
Once you’ve submitted a payment, your Cart tab will display your Paid Items and the Pay Balance button will disappear.
If you purchase additional items after paying your balance, the Cart will update, and you'll see a Pay Balance button with your new balance at the bottom of the screen.
Don't forget to pull up your QR code if you need help from auction staff. And remember that you can switch between Givi and the web at any time using the same login credentials.
Happy bidding!
Related Resources
- [Video] Givi Overview
- [Handout] Registering for an Auction on the Web
- [Video] Entering an Auction in Givi
- Register for Multiple Auction Tickets
- Manage Multiple Auction Tickets
- Graphics and Printable Tutorial: Downloading Givi and Entering Auction