Pearl Bids

In sum:

Theater Schmeater is a small (50-seat) theater in Seattle. We have used an annual auction as a cornerstone of our fundraising efforts. For many years, we did things manually. It was time consuming (obviously) and led to lines and impatience when it was time to "check out." We used Pearl Bids for the first time last year, and just completed our second auction using this tool. It has allowed us to do much preparation in advance. It's greatest benefit, though, was night of the event. Entering winning bids is quick and easy. By rearranging our schedule and doing our short entertainment skit after "raise the paddle" (instructions to do RTP are among the FAQs on the Pearl Bids site) we had all receipts printed and ready by the time people were ready to leave. The bidding license is valid for one year. We weren't paying attention and our license expired shortly before our event. Our first renewal did not go smoothly due to operator error (i.e., mine). Customer support was prompt, helpful, and friendly, and our event came off without a hitch. Pearl Bids is inexpensive, flexible, and easy to use. I highly recommend it for organizations holding an auction that do not want to pay big $$ for other packages.

Benefits:

One thing I loved most is that you can add an unlimited number of items to auction; contacts and attendees for no additional fee. It has an interface that looks like email so it's easy to use. Also it has this add-on bidding license which makes creating invoices and totaling your auctions an extremely east task.

Drawbacks:

The software served my purpose well except for the part where i was not able to email those attending my auctions,that feature would be really nice if added.

In sum:

Using the software enabled me and my organization to reach more people.

In sum:

The program was super easy to use. Our tables looked great with the Pearl Bids generated bid sheets, and I am sure that many items received extra bids, because the information was so clear and attractive. Being able to generate email receipts and getting to have the info readily available for our next auction was definitely a strong plus too!

Benefits:

I can see an ongoing list of the donations and who has donated. The ability to export the information is a tremendous help as I was able to then produce print-outs and additional reports based on our needs.

Drawbacks:

I need to be able to create a couple of customized fields such as who in our organization was assigned to request the donation. Was not able to figure out how to export that information if it was entered into the "Notes" section. We also group items together to form a "basket". My work-around was to utilize the tables function. We do both Silent Auction and Raffles at our fund raisers, so had to come up with a naming convention to distinguish between the two types of donations.

In sum:

Organizes and tracks incoming donations and ties them to the business or individual that donated the item.

In sum:

I ran a silent auction of about 60 items for a weekend group of about 150 attendees. Since was my first, i putting some extra detail on how we did it below.. Software worked fine, though i might like a few more customization options. Well worth the low cost. Ran it with one person, and a few occasional assistants at setup/take down/help with data entry. Bid forms looked very professional, lots commented on how smoothly it ran. I got as much info as i could entered before auction, and printed bid sheets on carbon copy paper [you print on both sheets, but penned ink bids go through] If sheet close to filled with bids, i made another set, putting last bidder name/number first on the next sheet. Having computer/printer with you and lots of pens very useful, extra ink, and carbon and regular paper. Was also asset that not everything went out at one time, people kept coming back to see what was new. We had random badge numbers printed on back of attendee badges so didnt need bidder registration process. At end of auction, we wrote winning badge number in corner, picked up white sheets.. and yellow copy stayed with item.. The white copies went to the store, sorted in winning badge number order. When bidder paid, store gave them white copy. They brought to the auction, we keep white copy and they kept yellow copy and got item. Labor day weekend event, ended auction on Sunday 130pm, allowed plenty of time for all to pay for and pick up items before left on monday.. raised nearly 4000 dollar for our cause. Donations all submitted by attendees, things of spiritual/special value.. notified them in advance to send me details of donations, and bring donation to event.

In sum:

We've used this innovative software to manage our largest event of the year for three years now, our annual Green Fling for the Marin School of Environmental Leadership. We loved being able to add a picture of the auction item into the interface. Being able to add and manage many events was a real plus. Tech support is excellent too. Sure beats the many years of managing school events in Excel!!

Benefits:

The company is only 40 miles away so it's easy for me to get support. It is extremely easy to use and everyone loves it.

Drawbacks:

The bidding license could be better explained and the limitations the software has without it. But that's about it.

In sum:

Makes my life easier....