Agree who owns each part of the setup.
Name the people responsible for the bidding platform, item data, guest support, and payment collection. If you are working with OFG, share your existing platform and ask how mobile bidding support fits the event proposal.
Set a deadline for approved package information. Late changes can create inconsistencies between printed displays and digital listings.
Test the actual guest journey.
Use an ordinary phone to register, find an item, read its terms, and understand how a bid would be placed. Test in the venue when possible. Check the display area as well as the registration desk; connectivity may vary across the space.
- Use readable images and short, accurate titles.
- Keep minimum bids and restrictions visible.
- Explain closing times and how winners will be notified.
- Prepare help for guests who cannot or prefer not to use a phone.
Rehearse the close and the fallback.
Confirm how final bids reach the checkout team and how payment status is recorded. Have an agreed response for a platform or connection failure, including who can authorize a change. Do not improvise alternate bidding rules without making them clear to everyone affected.
Use a guest-journey test script.
Test with the platform’s approved test process and avoid creating unintended live purchases. Ask someone who did not build the catalog to complete the sequence on an ordinary phone.
| Test | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Open the invitation | The link or QR code reaches the correct event and the instructions are understandable. |
| Register | Required details, account verification, and any payment step can be completed without staff guessing. |
| Find an item | Search, categories, lot numbers, and images lead to the correct listing. |
| Review and bid | Important terms are visible, minimums and increments behave as intended, and bid confirmation is clear. |
| Close and pay | Winner notification, payment, and the checkout team’s record agree. |
| Request help | A guest can identify a real support route and staff know what they are authorized to resolve. |
Make a controlled copy of the catalog approval process.
Item information often moves through several hands: the provider, committee, person uploading the catalog, and platform operator. Decide which document is authoritative and who approves changes. A restriction corrected in a spreadsheet has not been fixed for bidders until the published listing is updated too.
Compare a sample of each item type against the original terms. Check a physical collectible, an experience with dates, and a package with multiple inclusions. Verify the image, title, guest count, minimum, and fulfillment instructions. Then confirm that the same lot number appears on the physical display.
Run a venue and support check.
Technology preparation includes the people and location around the platform.
- Check connectivity in the auction area and understand the venue’s guest-network sign-in process.
- Confirm who has permission to edit listings, close bidding, export records, and resolve account issues.
- Prepare a help point for guests who have trouble registering or using their phone.
- Agree how changes to closing time are announced to in-room and remote bidders.
- Keep the platform provider’s support route available to the authorized event lead.
Write a fallback people can actually follow.
A useful fallback describes who makes the decision, how bidding is paused or redirected, how guests are informed, and which record determines the winner. Do not allow a separate paper process to compete with an online process unless your provider and event lead have agreed how the two are reconciled.
Rehearse a short connection interruption. Ask staff what they would tell a guest and what they would record. If the answers differ, simplify the plan. A calm, consistent explanation is more useful than an improvised technical diagnosis in the middle of the room.
Finish with an export and handover check.
Before the event, establish what data your organization can receive and who will use it. The closeout team needs accurate lot, buyer, payment, and fulfillment records. Limit access appropriately and follow your organization’s communication preferences when using bidder information afterward.
Bring your questions. We’ll start there.
Tell us what you have in place, what you are still deciding, and where your team needs support.
Discuss your bidding setup