How to Overcome Limitations of Online Auctions
By Whit Hunter
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If you're an online nonprofit fundraiser, you know that online auctions can be a great way to get your products in front of a large audience.
However, online fundraisers can be a challenge if you're not familiar with the latest technologies, platforms, and bidding process.
There are some limitations to consider when running an auction. In this article, we'll discuss some of the most common limitations and how to overcome them.
We'll also provide tips on making the most of your auction strategy.
So whether you're a beginner or a seasoned fundraiser, read on for insights that will help you take your donations to the next level!
Common Limitations When Running an Online Auction
Let's discuss some common limitations bidders and fundraisers face in an online fundraising auction.
Site Downtime
Site downtime is one of the most common limitations when running an online auction. It can be frustrating for both fundraisers and bidders.
Not only does the fundraiser lose potential bids and donations, but bidders may also have difficulty completing transactions or getting in touch with support.
To combat this, you must ensure your site runs at peak performance and can handle sudden spikes in traffic without crashing. Auction sites are notorious for crashes during popular auctions, often resulting in lost fundraising opportunities.
Auction sites should have contingency plans in place in case of outages.
How to Solve it?
There are a few things that you can do to minimize site downtime:
- Ensure that your hosting provider offers quick support. This will help ensure that any issues are timely resolved.
- Maintenance tasks should always be scheduled during off hours (nighttime or weekends) when traffic is lightest. This will minimize the impact on your users and speed up the resolution of problems.
- Have alternate methods for contacting customers (email notifications, phone numbers listed on contact forms) and backup systems to handle customer transactions (credit card processing services, escrow accounts).
- Bidder registration should also be automated so buyers are automatically added to lists if they still need to receive confirmation emails after registering.
No Human Interaction
One of the biggest limitations when running an online auction is that you can't physically attend to accept bids and handle payments. This means you must rely on automated processes or third-party services to ensure a smooth auction experience for your donors.
Online auctions are designed to let bidders buy goods without the need for an intermediary, but this lack of human involvement can occasionally lead to problems.
Some sellers opt for live chat or contact support during the auction to mitigate these issues. Other sellers allow their auctions to run without communication, trusting that their buyers will care for things independently.
How to Solve it?
To combat this, use a third-party escrow service. Escrow services act as a middleman between the auctioneer and bidder, holding onto the purchase until both parties fully agree on terms (or until the auction has been completed).
This ensures that everything goes smoothly from start to finish without any risk of fraud or dispute.
BetterWorld Auction software provides an infallible escrow system that guarantees that your buyers receive the items they purchased without any complications.
High Fees
Running an online auction can be a great way to raise money for your nonprofit or charity organization. However, high fees are a common limitation of this type of fundraising.
High fees charged by most auction platforms make it difficult for fundraisers to bring in enough money to support their causes despite having a lot of donors willing to participate.
How to Solve it?
BetterWorld provides a completely free auction platform that eliminates these fees altogether.
Our platform is perfect for supporting grassroots organizations or projects that need extra financial help. It's also ideal for larger fundraising campaigns that want to reach a wider audience.
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Long Learning Curve
Most online donation platforms are difficult to use and take time to learn how to navigate. If you don't have a tech team on staff or someone familiar with these types of systems, this can be a huge roadblock when trying to get started with online giving!
Many potential buyers are unfamiliar with bidding and feel overwhelmed by the process. This can cause them to hesitate or even skip over your auction altogether.
You will likely have to put in a lot of hard work and perseverance to get your auction off the ground and running smoothly.
How to Solve it?
Running an online auction can be complex if the platform isn't designed specifically for fundraising.
BetterWorld provides a user-friendly platform that makes participating in your auction easy and straightforward.
It's important to find an auction platform that is easy to use, with plenty of guide resources available, so that you can get started as soon as possible.
BetterWorld is just that platform — it's simple to navigate, and the learning curve isn't too steep.Watch the demo today!
Short Duration
A short duration for a fundraising auction can limit the amount of time an auction can run. When it expires, the auction will end, and any bids placed during that time will not be eligible for redemption.
This limitation may cause some bidders to shy away from bidding in an auction with a short limit duration because they won't be able to get their desired item.
Many auction sites allow only 24 or 48 hours (or some other length) for an auction to run before it expires.
You must set an adequate duration for the auction to run to maximize the number of times users have to place bids.
On BetterWorld, you can set the auction duration limit for as long as possible. We also allow you to extend the auction for an unlimited time. This way, you can ensure that your users have plenty of time to place bids.
Low-Quality Visuals
If your fundraising auction visuals aren't up to par, it can be difficult for potential buyers to understand what they're buying. Poorly designed images can lead to low bids and lost sales.
That's why it's important for fundraisers to invest in high-quality visuals from the start. By using quality photos and videos, you'll be able to attract more bidders and increase your chances of selling your items at a higher price.
How to Solve it?
There are a few simple steps that you can take to improve the visual quality of your photos:
- Use professional photography services that specialize in online auction photography. They will have experience taking pictures that look good on screen, making bidding easier for buyers.
- Choose high-quality images that accurately reflect the condition of the item being sold. This means avoiding stock photos or blurred shots that make it difficult to see any details inside or outside the package.
- Avoid placing objects too close to the camera or off-center; this will create blurry photos.
BetterWorld allows fundraisers to upload their photos and videos on auction listings so you can see how they look before bidding starts. This is a great way to test the quality of your visuals and make any necessary adjustments beforehand.
Use BetterWorld to Avoid Limitations in an Online Auction
BetterWorld is an online auction site that helps you overcome the limitations of online auctions. With BetterWorld, you can list auction items faster and easier, and raise more money through fundraisers.
With BetterWorld's user-friendly interface, you can also avoid the hassles and headaches that come with other online auction sites.
So if you're looking for a better way to raise funds for your next project, be sure tocheck out BetterWorld!

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