Bidder Check-In

This article describes the process for manually checking bidders to an auction, editing checked-in bidders, and copying bidders from another auction. For information on importing customer data, see Importing Customers (Bidders and Sellers). For information on importing post sale bidder data, see Importing Post Sale Data. 

For information on creating bidder paddles/cards, see the 'Creating Bidder Paddles' section of the Form Builder article.

This article contains the following sections:

• About Customer Profiles
• Check-In a Bidder
• Copy Bidders from Another Auction
• View/Edit Checked-In Bidders
• Edit Bidder Credit Card Data
• Reporting

About Customer Profiles

Wavebid considers both bidders and sellers as customers, as they are both part of an auction company's clientele. Each customer has a profile that can contain their contact information, tax information, personal identification information, etc.

When searching for bidders or sellers during check-in, the user will be searching through all of the customers listed under the auction company's account.

When a new customer record (bidder or seller) is saved, Wavebid automatically checks the database for matching persons. If two customer records match, Wavebid will merge them into one record to avoid duplicates. For more information, see the 'Duplicate Customer Records' section under Wavebid Basics help article.

Customer Profile Fields

• Scan Personal ID: Click this field and then use a mag strip or barcode reader to scan the customer's driver's license. The system will automatically read the available data into the system and use it to populate the Personal ID Number field (driver's license or state ID number) and the Personal ID Issuer field (State that issued the ID). Information can also be entered into these fields manually. For more information on scanning IDs, see ID Scanners.
  • Please note that ID data varies from state to state. Please try scanning at least a week prior to the auction event. If there is an issue, report it to support@wavebid.com. Most new formats can be created in less than a week. 
• Scan Credit Card: Click this field and then use a mag strip or chip reader to scan the customer's credit card. The system will automatically read the available data into the system. Companies must have one of Wavebid's supported Payment Gateways to activate this feature. 
  • Bidders who currently have a credit card on file will have the last 4 digits of the card number listed under the Payment Gateway. For information on changing the credit card information, see Edit Bidder Credit Card Data.           
  • Bidders who do not currently have a credit card on file will say "none" under the Payment Gateway.                                       
• Notes: Enter any notes about the customer.
• Alert: Alerts appear as a pop-up window when a bidder registers for another auction. It also appears as a pop-up when the customer makes a payment.
  • For example, a "Don't accept registration" alert could be added to a bidder's profile to let employees know that a specific bidder should not be allowed to register for events.
  • Alerts do not appear when checking in a customer as a seller. Alerts will only appear when checking a customer into an event as a bidder.
• Perm Bidder #: Entering a number into this field will make the bidder a Permanent Bidder, meaning that they can be easily pulled from one auction to another.
  • Each Permanent Bidder within a company must have their own unique Permanent Bidder Number.
  • While the Permanent Bidder Number can be the same as the Paddle Number, it does not have to be. 
• Perm Seller #: See Seller Check-In.
• Tax #: Example, an EIN.
• Tax Exempt: Checking the tax exempt box will automatically make the customer tax exempt for all auctions.
  • This can be changed at the invoice level, but if checked, the customer will be tax exempt by default.
• Account Type: There are three different Account Types in Wavebid.
  • Reserve Not Met: Reserve Not Met is a “number” used when an item failed to meet the seller's reserve. Any contract commissions for reserves will be automatically applied to the seller, and the price will not be included in any auction totals or in reports.
  • House Number: House Number is a number for use by the auction house if they get stuck with an item. Items assigned to a house number are not included in any totals and will not appear with a selling price on the seller settlement.
  • Auctioneer: Used for the auctioneer of the auction house.

Check-In a Bidder

Bidders must be checked-in to each auction whether they already have a customer profile or not.

1. Navigate to the appropriate auction on the Dashboard and then select Accounting > Check-in.
2. Type the first few letters of the bidder's name into the Find Customer field and then click on the bidder's name from the search results list.
   • The bidder's information will populate below.
   • Click the Edit link to the right of the bidder's name and then proceed to step 4.     
3. If the bidder's name does not appear in the search results list, click the Plus icon in the top right corner of the page to create a new customer profile.
4. Enter or edit the bidder's contact information and other details as needed. 
   • The First Name, Billing Address and Email fields are required.
   • For more information regarding these fields, see the Customer Profile Fields section above. 
5. Enter the bidder's paddle number into the Paddle # field. The paddle number should not start with zero. The paddle number cannot contain letters.
   • This field is required in order to check a bidder into the auction.
   • The same paddle number cannot be assigned to more than one bidder. This includes Permanent Bidders.
   • Messaging will appear if the paddle number entered is already in use.
   • To add another Paddle Number to the bidder, click the Add link located at the bottom of the page. One invoice will be generated containing both paddles.
   • For information on creating bidder paddles/cards, see the 'Creating Bidder Paddles' section of the Form Builder article.
6. If the bidder is/was placing bids online rather than onsite, check the Online box.
   • This will automatically apply any Online Premiums to the bidder, if an Online Premium has been enabled at the Company or Auction Level.
   • Bidders that are auto-imported post sale are automatically marked as being 'Online'.
   • Once the Online box is checked and Saved, it cannot be unchecked. To have the Online box unchecked, please contact Wavebid Support.
7. Check the Absentee box to allow the bidder to place Absentee Bids.
   • For more information, see Absentee Bids.
8. If the bidder is exempt from paying taxes in this auction, check the Tax Exempt box.
   • For more information, see Tax Exemption.
9. If registration deposits have been turned on, a Deposit Total field will be visible.
   • For more information, see Registration Deposits.
10. If needed, add Auction/Invoice Notes.
    • Text entered into this field will appear in the Notes field on the bidder's invoice.
    • The field will not be visible to the viewer when printing a PDF of the invoice or emailing the invoice via Wavebid.
    • If text is entered into the Notes field directly on the invoice, that text will appear in the Auction/Invoice Notes field under the applicable bidder on the bidder check-in page.
    • For more information, see Invoices.
11. Click the Disk icon in the top right corner of the page to Save. The bidder is now checked-in to the auction.

For information on collecting additional details from bidders during check-in, see Marketing Survey.

Copy Bidders from Another Auction

To save time, bidders can be copied from one auction to another. Bidders that are copied from an will keep the same paddle number they were assigned in the original event, unless the paddle number is edited during check-in.

1. Navigate to the appropriate auction from the Dashboard, then select Accounting > Check-in.
2. Click the Copy Bidders button in the top right corner of the page. A pop-up window will appear.
3. Use the Choose an Auction drop-down to select the auction the bidders should be copied from.
4. Click the Ok button. A confirmation message will appear at the top of the page.
5. The newly copied bidders can now be viewed/edited.