Managing Bidders

With the Auctions app, you can view every bidder registered for an auction, review their bidding activity and payment methods, and take action on individual bidders from the Bidders tab.

To open the Bidders tab:

1. Open the Auctions Manager.
2. Click the title of the auction you want to manage.
3. Click the Bidders tab.

The tab is titled with the auction's name, so you always know which auction's bidders you are looking at.

The bidders list

The list shows one row per bidder:

• Bidder Number — the number used on the floor and on printed materials
• Name, with connection badges (see below)
• Date Registered
• Status — Active, Winner, or Banned
• Email and Phone

Use the Filter field above the list to search by name, then click Go. Click Reset to clear the search. Click any column heading to sort.

A bidder with no number yet shows an em dash rather than a zero.

Connection badges

Each bidder's name carries a badge for every identity it is currently connected to:

• Attendee — the bidder came from, or has been linked to, an event attendee
• User — the bidder is linked to a Soapbox user account. Click the badge to open that account.

A bidder can show both badges, one, or neither. The badges reflect connections as they are now, and they update as you link and unlink.

The lock icon

A padlock next to a bidder's number means that bidder has activity — bids, wins, or paddle raise commitments — so their number is protected from bulk renumbering. See Managing bidder numbers.

Viewing a bidder's details

Click a bidder's name to open the detail panel, which shows:

• The bidder's name, number, and status
• User Account — the linked account, with a button to open it. The button is hidden for bidders with no linked account.
• Phone Number, with a Verified indicator when confirmed
• Shipping Address
• Payment Methods
• Origin — how the bidder record was first created, for example Admin — from event attendee or Self-registered online. Origin is recorded once and never changes, even if you later link or unlink accounts.
• Items Bid On, Bid History, and Favorites

Click Close to dismiss the panel.

Editing a bidder's contact details

You can correct a bidder's details on their behalf — useful when a bidder gives the wrong number at a registration desk.

1. Click the bidder's name to open the detail panel.
2. Next to Phone Number or Shipping Address, click the edit control.
3. Update the details.
4. Click Save.

For a bidder linked to a Soapbox user account, name and email are managed by that account and are not editable here.

Payment methods

The detail panel lists the cards saved for this auction and which one is the auction default.

Important: A bidder must be connected to a Soapbox user account before a payment method can be added. For a bidder with no linked account, the panel explains this instead of offering the button. A phone number is also required before saved payment methods are enabled. See Linking and unlinking user accounts.

Saved payment methods are available only on sites that take payments through Stripe.

Bidder actions

Select one or more bidders using the checkboxes, then click one of the following in the toolbar:

• Anonymize — hides the bidder's identifying details in the administrator
• Reveal — restores details that were previously anonymized
• Ban — blocks the bidder from bidding in this auction
• Unban — restores a banned bidder's ability to bid
• Edit Bidder ID — assigns a different bidder number
• Swap Numbers — exchanges the numbers of exactly two selected bidders
• Merge Bidders — combines two records for the same person
• Manage Numbers — opens the bulk number tool for the whole auction

Adding, numbering, merging and account linking each have their own article:

• Adding a bidder to an auction — the three ways to create one
• Managing bidder numbers — bulk assignment, renumbering, and reserved ranges
• Merging duplicate bidders
• Exporting the bidder roster
• Linking and unlinking user accounts

Related articles:

• Creating and managing an Auction
• Registering and signing in as a bidder
• Exporting winning bids from an Auction

Note: Bidders can also be registered from the auction floor on a staff device using Soapbox Engage Onsite — including assigning a bidder number, saving a card, and setting which saved card is the auction default. Bidders created that way are ordinary bidder records and appear in this list. See Registering and managing bidders from the floor.