Boost recurring donations this giving season with the upsell prompt!With the Auctions app, you can send each bidder a link to their own checkout. When a bidder says the link doesn't work, the page they see is the same whatever the reason: "This link is no longer valid", "This link may have expired or been revoked, and can no longer be used to access this page." and "Please contact the organization to request a new link.", with a Back to Auction button. (If the link was mistyped or cut off, the button reads Go to Home instead.)
In every case the fix is the same: send the bidder a new link. The checks below tell you why it happened, so it doesn't happen again.
Checking the bidder's links
- Open the Auctions Manager.
- Click the title of the auction you want to manage.
- Click the Checkouts tab.
- Click the bidder's name, or click Open on their row.
- Under Checkout link, look at the list of links that still work, with Created and Sent via.
- Scroll to Communications & activity to see every link that was sent, replaced or revoked, and when.
1. A newer link replaced it
This is the most common cause. Each bidder has one working link at a time, and each of these creates a new one and stops the older ones working:
- Generate link, straight away
- Send link, once the new link has gone out
- Send Reminders to All Unpaid, once the reminder email has gone out
- Email checkout link to N bidders after a batch charge, once the email has gone out
How to tell: Communications & activity shows "Checkout link replaced by a newer one".
What to do: ask the bidder to use the most recent email or text from you. If your team sends links during checkout, agree who sends them, so a reminder doesn't replace a link someone just handed out.
2. Someone revoked it
A link stops working the moment someone clicks Revoke and confirms.
How to tell: Communications & activity shows "Checkout link revoked".
3. It expired
A link that hasn't been used expires 7 days after it was created. The text message shows the date, for example "(expires Sep 23)", and the email states when it expires.
How to tell: the link was created more than 7 days ago.
4. The bidder paid in full, then owed something new
After a bidder pays in full, the link they used keeps opening their checkout so they can see what they paid. If they then owe something new, for example an item that closed later or a pledge confirmed after they paid, that link stops working.
How to tell: the bidder's status is Partially paid and their Payments and Adjustments show an earlier payment. See Why does a bidder who paid still owe a balance?
Sending a new link
Under Checkout link, tick Email, Text, or both, and click Send link. If you are inside the resend cooldown, you'll see "Contacted N min ago — inside the 30-minute cooldown." Click Send anyway. See Sending a bidder a checkout link.
You can't create a link for a bidder who owes nothing. Send link is unavailable, and Generate link shows "This checkout has no remaining balance — there is nothing to collect."
Bidders with a user account
A bidder with a user account doesn't need a link. They can click Sign In on the auction, open the account menu, and click My Checkout.
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