We are going to start using our SAPro software in our other school fundraisers, not just our auction. It is a great way to organize and keep all of our sponsor and donor information organized. I can also not speak highly enough of the customer support! They are quick to answer calls and get you answers to your questions.
Pros
We've used Silent Auction Pro for at least three events in the last several years as a Mobile Pro client. It is pretty intuitive and keeps our donations well organized, as well as allowing us to communicate effectively with bidders and donors. The ability for anyone to bid online opens our fundraising to the community, not just our school families, helping us raise much more money than we could achieve with paper bidding.
Cons
We would love to see an app in the future, rather that just a mobile site for bidding.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 9/10
I loved the software. We had used BidPal/OneCause prior but the cost model was unbearable for us this year. With Silent Auction Pro we pay after the first event; nothing upfront. Capped fee% and low fixed cost are benefits. Credit card processing (we used WorldPay) fees are lower (and no monthly fee), making the total cost lower. Software is feature-rich. This can be a double-edged sword as features can add complexity. Help is always available and phone support was awesome. Overall, the features are worth it. Ability to 'stage' or start a new event while keeping a recently finished event active for a bit would be a welcomed improvement.
Pros
Features, Performance and Support were all Excellent.
Cons
Registration and PW requirements for bidding .
No import (from spreadsheet) capability. Understandable, but would have been nice. They do offer to import for you at extra cost. They must have had bad experiences... It turned out to be less an issue than I thought. They were very upfront about it and it was not a surprise.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
Excellent - A++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mobile Online Bidding and Custom Email / Text Distribution for marketing SAVED our annual fundraiser which was 100% virtual in 2020.
Pros
Software is user friendly and website easy to navigate. Continue to annually learn and become more familiar with functionality of features since 2013.
The websites offers variety of features: previous donation report, contact history, donation inventory and tracking, auction item bundle function, mobile online bidding, email merge, and custom email / texts distribution.
Support (Help) staff is very knowledgeable and accommodates at anytime.
Cons
Would like to see individual email / text contacts available for email distribution, besides category labels.
Would like to be able to obtain only 2-3 years previous donation history. History older than 3 years not necessary, report too long and cumbersome.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
Pros
Silent Auction Pro has features like image uploading and item organizing that make it useful for auctions.
Cons
Silent Auction Pro uses an unreliable payment processor, they do not give an opt out for saving credit card info, and there is no bulk upload for items.
Regarding our credit card processors: Silent Auction Pro uses two of the largest and most reliable payment processors on the planet - PayPal and WorldPay / Vantiv.
Regarding storing credit cards: For mobile bidding, yes customers must put a credit card on file. This is by design as we believe that it is in the best interest of organizations holding fundraisers that they have a credit card on file for each online bidder. People who do not have a credit card or refuse to put one on file may bid on a bidding Kiosk. Note that credit cards are NOT stored on Silent Auction Pro servers but instead with PayPal or WorldPay.
Regarding no bulk upload for items. This is true. It is just as easy if not easier to enter donations into Silent Auction Pro than it is to enter them first in a spreadsheet (where you can't enter a photo anyway). If you purchase a system to help manage your event, you should use that system exclusively and not try to switch back and forth.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 3/10
They know what they are doing and have their team is also very knowledgeable. They will also help you with suggestions and ideas to enhance your event!
Pros
The team at Silent Auction Pro truly wants your event to be successful. They are alaways available by phone or email, and while their website has fabulous tutorials, they are also fabulous in providing you hands on support.
Cons
I would like to see more analysis reports
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
A free trial is available on request.
AuctionCore: $129 per event
AuctionDay: $149 per event + 1.5% per transaction
AuctionPromoter: $149 per event
AuctionOnline: $149 per event
AuctionMobile: $149 per event
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