All Handbid Reviews

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User Profile

Dave

Verified reviewer

Environmental Services, 2-10 employees

Used monthly for less than 12 months

Review Source: GetApp
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed January 2024

Conservation auction

They were great to work with and made the auction so much easier on everyone.

PROS

The ease at which you can utilize this team and the amount of funds they help you bring in to your organization.

CONS

It just cost more than our team doing it ourselves.

Reasons for switching to Handbid

Making it easier on our team. We have been doing auctions since 2001 and for the first time we got to leave all of the extra work to a team of professionals.

Gaelan

Hospitality

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

4

Reviewed October 2016

Easy to use Software, highly thought out and beautiful

I did a demo with all of the top auction software on the market and Handbid was by far the best interface (easy to look at) and well worth the investment. It was very easy and fun to put my silent auction items in the system. Guests and volunteers were blown away by how nice everything looked on their phones and iPads. We had almost the same items as the auction last year (with about 25 extra) and made double what we made last year, totalling $46,000. I put our live auction items in for an extra boost of advertising. We also used Handbid to collect funds for a paddle raise. The check out process was very easy and intuitive. Swipping credit cards is incredibly easy, as well as importing a contact spreadsheet before the event, little things that really speed up the process. During the auction (and after) I noticed the Handbid system slowed down a bit. You have to be patient while items save, but it is updated real time in the system (so guests could see an update right away). Besides speeding up the system, I have only one more suggestion. I would love to see more information on Handbid TV, especially a live update on winning bidder on each auction item and the current price. I think this would create a lot of competition within the audience. I will definitely use Handbid again next year if this is an update you can make. The customer service was great. Out of 500 guests, only 3 people told me they would prefer the old-school method of paper bidding. However, I believe this was because we didn't have enough iPad volunteers available, next year I will station one at each auction table. There are many organizations on the island that are now interested in using Handbid.

PROS

beautiful design

CONS

not being able to have a live stream of the current highest bidder, with item and price. This is something that BidPal software does.

Anonymous

2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 12 months

Review Source: GetApp
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered

OVERALL RATING:

2

EASE OF USE

2

VALUE FOR MONEY

1

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

3

FUNCTIONALITY

1

Reviewed February 2022

Do not recommend this software for the price and challenges

Not pleasant and lots of wasted man hours. Our event manager spent at least a week's worth of time resolving issues and logging support tickets. Having used various auction software programs in my 15 years of working in the non profit world, I've never experienced the challenges and headaches as we did with Handbid. I believe many technology issues are often user error but when over 25% of your guests cannot seamlessly access the Handbid system there has to be some responsibility taken by Handbid to help reach a resolution.

PROS

We purchased this software because it supported both auctions/events and peer-to-peer fundraising. Handbid's support team was very responsive and helpful.

CONS

We experienced a lot of technical challenges with the software, including; 25% of our guests had challenges of logging in, accessing their tickets, editing guests. Display sheets won't print if you have HTML in your descriptions but the tutorial does not tell you this. Our point person after the sales process averaged 7 days to reply to an email and did not provide a phone # as another way to contact. The contract is vague on what the 125 items that come in the basic plan. This number is both your silent and live but also games, for sale and raffle items. To add more costs $300 and Handbid will get you on additional add ons. These are a few examples of the challenges and I've done auctions for over 15 years and used several different software (Greater Giving, One Cause, qTego) programs and Handbid by far is the worst.

Reason for choosing Handbid

Price. Sales process and promise the registration process for our guests would be seamless. They support peer to peer fundraising and Qtego which we had used for past 2 years did not support P2P fundraising.

Marisa

Verified reviewer

Education Management, 1,001-5,000 employees

Used more than 2 years

Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed October 2018

Handbid is a great online auction resource

Everyone I've worked with at Handbid has been very helpful and friendly. The bidders in our auction appreciated the service Handbid offers and the ease of easing the website and mobile app.

PROS

I've used Handbid for several years now and I love the ease of it. The interface is quick and easy to get onto and jump right in whether you are an administrator adding details for your auction or you are logging into the phone app to bid on an auction.

CONS

For our non-profit, the fee for credit card payments was an unfortunate expense but understandably so given Handbid has to recoup their credit card processing fees.

Donna

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed September 2016

Habitat Dream Builder's Ball

Habitat Susquehanna was first non-profit in Harford County, MD to try mobile bidding at its annual event. It was exciting for everyone (some were a little reticent, but those who ventured into the future LOVED it), we raised more money on our Silent Auction than ever before, and will use it for the 3rd year in 2017. Our second auction had a higher participation level including people who followed the auction online but did not attend the event. Uploading info took only as long as the size of the auction and back office help was responsive and helpful. I DO recommend having a Handbid rep at your event; it's worth it! Any snags were dealt with quickly and efficiently and a good time was had by all.

PROS

The software had a learning curve, for sure, but once you get the hang of it, it's very easy to follow. The 'bugs' from our first year were improved for our second year, and I am sure that this year will be our easiest yet. From the perspective of the guests, it was like playing a videogame at an event except it was acceptable to be staring at your phone!

CONS

The phone version requires guests to realize where/when to swipe in order to see the details of an auction item.

allison

Religious Institutions, 51-200 employees

Used weekly for less than 12 months

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

4

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

4

FUNCTIONALITY

4

Reviewed October 2016

Our First Auction with Handbid

After doing a lot of research with a number of companies, our school purchased Handbid for our 2016 school gala and auction. We had an excellent experience with a lot of good feedback from guests who attended the gala and others who bid from a remote location. We enjoyed the process of building the app for our gala and received prompt replies from our account manager when we had questions. One recommendation we hope Handbid will consider is a process to generate an auction booklet from the app. With more than 100 items listed at our event, it would have been a huge time saver to have this capability on the back end. We look forward to using Handbid again during the current school year.

PROS

The ease of use when building our event.

CONS

We had a few bumps along the way but were typically able to get the help with needed from Handbid.

Josh

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed October 2016

1st Annual Success

The entire process was seamless: from check-in, silent auction, live auction, paddle raise, wine pull and check-out. All I heard all night from our guests was, "Check-in was a breeze" and "this app is cool". If I had to find one thing about the app that I might change is to be able to assign a cork number to an actual person (maybe there is a way to do this already), but I have 10 bottles that I need to get the respective owner and I have no idea who they belong to. At the end of the day it doesn't matter really, but that would be a nicety. Also, my event planner friend that helped us out that night commented about how nice the layout was and how easy to use the it was compared to others she had used before.

PROS

I liked the customizations that you could tweak. We didn't use this feature, but I really like the handbid TV option as well which allows your audience to see a live updated dashboard into what is going on during the night.

LeKeshia

Non-Profit Organization Management, 2-10 employees

Used monthly for more than 2 years

Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed December 2019

Handbid

We love Handbid and usually run anywhere from 50-75 items on it three times a year for our event which gets viewed nationally using Handbid.

PROS

This is used for our event silent auction and runs 3 week prior to the event as well as used the night of the event for our live auction. We love the ease of setting up the items as well as for the bidders the process all the way through is very smooth.

CONS

We don't have any cons using this and love the feasibility of having everything on line versus in the past at the event on clipboards.

Jacqueline

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed October 2016

Working with Handbid is such a pleasant experience!

Working in the event industry, I have had the opportunity to work with multiple auction software companies. Working with Handbid has been the best experience, by far! The application was extremely easy to configure and their customer service team was there every step of the way to answer any questions we had. Our staff and volunteers were able to make edits and updates quite quickly and more importantly our attendees were able to sign up, check-in, check-out, and bid with ease. We loved the features handbid provided like being able to send alerts through out the event to promote an item/encourage an attendee to visit a specific area of the auction. This allowed us to ensure our auction got the exposure it needed without interrupting the event experience for the guests. I would highly recommend Handbid! We will continue to use them for all of our future events and look forward to the same success.

User Profile

Sahil

Verified reviewer

Computer Software, 501-1,000 employees

Used weekly for less than 6 months

Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

4

FUNCTIONALITY

4

Reviewed July 2018

It is the best software for events related to auctions.

PROS

So far i have used so many bidding apps but this is the best one among them.I am using this app from past few months you can bid from anywhere across the globe in this app.Its very convenient for the sellers or auction organisers as well.They can invite bunch of people to their auctions without doing any physical work and the user interface of this app is very attractive yet simple.

CONS

I haven't come across any serious issue so far but there should be a feature to invite those bidders which were active in our previous auctions.

Anonymous

2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review Source: GetApp
This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered

OVERALL RATING:

2

EASE OF USE

2

VALUE FOR MONEY

2

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

1

FUNCTIONALITY

4

Reviewed January 2023

Great Software - Poor Business Process and Ethics

Poor business ethics - They do not stand by what they promise and take no responsibility. I had a good experience with the sales rep,[sensitive content hidden]. [sensitive content hidden] seemed great and provided a thorough demo and training. The software seemed great and had the two things we needed in one app. I got the software and paid. After getting the software, I was told it would be an additional $200 for the feature we needed - the feature that was promised by the sale rep, and that was made VERY CLEAR was included. The unethical practices were pushed by an[sensitive content hidden] which may be a real person, or might be a made-up customer service name, I can't be sure. It ppears their practice is to make promises, get your money, then withhold various options, of which the software is useless without, and have a third person, in this case, the[sensitive content hidden], tells you it will be $200 more. I even offered to work with them, and said I would agree to pay $100 more, despite the issue being 100% on their end, and they refused. They even said there could be no refunds if we canceled...despite again, they're lying and the issue being 100% on their end. With all that said, no matter how good the software is, I can not recommend working with them. The product is great once you figure out how to use it, and the price is reasonable, but you'll never know when various options will be held hostage for more money.

PROS

The experience for the end user is great. Great tool for auctions.

CONS

It is difficult to set up, and not intuitive, but, their demo is very good at explaining how to use all functions, and there is a wealth of "how-to" videos to help you do anything you need within the software. You will have to allow more time to set this up than you will any other software, but, once you do, it does appear far more robust than their competitors and with a very good end-user platform.

laurel

Fund-Raising, 2-10 employees

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

4

EASE OF USE

4

VALUE FOR MONEY

4

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed September 2016

Handbid is a winner!

We had our first fundraising experience and hired Handbid to manage the silent auction. We were able to raise exponentially more money using Handbid, and our guests loved the Handbid app on their smartphones! The staff did a great job managing the event, helping us with the auction items, and running the auction. The reports generated after the event are detailed and informative. I recommend to others considering Handbid to fully understand the various levels of service. The more services you sign up for (at a fee) the easier the experience will be for you. If you have people who are willing to dedicate 100% of their time for the auction you can probably use fewer of the services, but the auction is important enough and complicated enough that it is worth paying Handbid more for the majority of the services that they offer in order to have everything go smoothly and with fewest complications.

PROS

Modern look and feel, ability to reach more people, makes the silent auction a lot of fun!

CONS

Not intuitive, need considerable help and support to manage the silent auction to ensure the photos, descriptions, amounts, signing people up, and other communications go smoothly.

Vendor Response

We were honored to help Tony & Laurel Werner manage their first ever fundraiser. As Laurel said, their event was a huge success in terms of funds raised & the positive guest feedback. We want to clarify the additional services we provided Kilitech in addition to our auction software. Because it was their first event & due to their busyness/travel, they contracted us to setup & manage event registration, organize the auction items, write & edit item descriptions, attach photos, & load all data into Handbid prior to the event. At the event, we provided staff that managed checkin, helped bidders, worked with the live auctioneer to record live & paddle raise winners, & managed checkout. Our team also was responsible for setting up the auction area & creating the display sheets. Post auction we completed custom reports for Kilitech. Most of our customers take on this work on their own (do-it-yourself (DIY)). However, if you are in need of more assistance, we can provide that for you!

Replied September 2016

Debbie

Museums and Institutions, 51-200 employees

Used more than 2 years

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

4

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

3

Reviewed September 2016

Cost effective auction software!

We've used Handbid for 5 years now. It has grown leaps and bounds each year. Our event attendees love it as do we. Our only gripe is resizing photos is a pain - if they allowed you to edit the photos within the platform all would be perfect! It's made paper bidding sheets a thing of the past. Having our guests bid from their seats in the ballroom is awesome as the auction tables are out in the foyer. Handbid's customer service rocks! We only have one auction a year, so they patiently retrain us before our annual event. I've looked at other options, but the combination of features and price wins us over each time.

Jeanine

Non-Profit Organization Management, 2-10 employees

Used weekly for less than 6 months

Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.

OVERALL RATING:

2

EASE OF USE

1

VALUE FOR MONEY

3

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

1

FUNCTIONALITY

2

Reviewed September 2020

Digital Auction Software

Handbid has allowed us to take our auction online. But I'm not sure we couldn't have done the same thing via FB Marketplace.

PROS

We used this software because they are partners with MobileCause. So that was what we liked most. They supposedly worked seamlessly with our fundraising software.

CONS

We have been underwhelmed with the partnership between the two and the general ease of use of Handbid. Customer service is slow, if they answer you at all. Our users find the software clunky and slow. With COVID, we have had to our auction and event completely virtual and Handbid was not ready for that transition. This was our first year with MobileCause, so we learned that brand new software--then we had to turn around and learn a brand new software program with Handbid. We are a small nonprofit, so it was pretty overwhelming.

Reason for choosing Handbid

We were told this would be seamless and easy. That has not been the case.

Ashlie

Non-Profit Organization Management, 2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed September 2016

The Fountain of Youth in Auctions Found at Handbid

After years in event management, there is finally a platform that takes the details of revenue components and turns it into a user-friendly system. The back-end component is worth its weight in gold! We had two weeks to plan and execute an event on the brink of the tragedy in Dallas after July 7th and by using Handbid our goals were more than exceeded in revenue. Our bidders at the venue and around the world enjoyed the app, the game like feel of the bidding process, and the checkout process. NO MORE LINES or PAPER BIDDING!!

PROS

Ease of use for the management team as well as event guests.

CONS

We didn't find this software sooner.

Lauren

11-50 employees

Used weekly for less than 6 months

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed September 2016

First Time Mobile Bidding User

This was the first time our non-profit organization has used a mobile bidding platform and we have been really happy with Handbid! The customer service is fantastic and the team was really helpful in the days and weeks before our event. We utilized the Knowledge Base throughout the planning process. We highly recommend Handbid to our community partners and other non-profit organizations!

PROS

The software is fairly intuitive which we liked.

CONS

We had a major issue the night of the event. We had previously been warned to turn off the credit card requirement the night of the event, which we did days before the event. The night of the event it was turned back on not by us, maybe a software glitch? Its a mystery. We also received feedback that those who downloaded the app received too many emails after the event. I have the app and did not receive excessive amount of emails but I also did not purchase anything that evening.

Celina

Non-Profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees

Used less than 12 months

Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.

OVERALL RATING:

4

EASE OF USE

3

FUNCTIONALITY

4

Reviewed July 2019

It's Ok

PROS

I like that Handbid allows customization of auctions based on individual event needs. You can also customize the allowed time for bids to be entered, when the auction is over, etc.

CONS

I think overall the software is a bit confusing and not very easy to use, especially for customers. It carries out its purpose, it's just a bit confusing.

Reason for choosing Handbid

I was not on the purchasing end, I just help train people on how to use it and implement it for certain events

Amanda

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed October 2016

Best Silent Auction Product Available

After working with silent auctions for organizations as a volunteer and as a non-profit employee, I wished for a helpful and easy tech product to manage appealing item promotion, user friendly checkout and bidding. Handbid came to our rescue. Our guests now have fun with the bidding and are much more engaged in the auction, getting immediate positive feedback for their participation. As a result, income has doubled on most of our silent auctions in the year we have been Handbid users. This is a great investment for us and we plan to keep the product for many years to come. The support is great and the account managers get back to you anytime there is an issue. The CEO even came to visit us to say hi and to show us new upgrades coming out soon. Five star company all the way around.

Mike

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed December 2016

This is absolutely fantastic!!

Have used some competitors software at different events before. I am not an IT guy, not a programmer, tablet and smart phone literate only. However, I was able to run, list, edit, add, remove, so easily I felt like a programmer. I watched the training video, did a 2hr training on phone and computer hookup with our rep (so very nice and responsive)..........it was so easy. Check out allows you to either use your account, their account, set up your own stripe account, accept cash, check or credit card. If you do charity events, silent/live auctions for fundraisers do yourself a favor and look into this. I highly recommend the product and the people. Both product and people were fantastic and I'm generally pretty hard to impress.

PROS

Ease of use and intuitiveness

CONS

No cons

Stephanie

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review Source: Capterra
This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

4

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed February 2018

intuitive, tons of features, great customer service

PROS

HandBid has been fabulous for us thus far. The customer service has been quick with questions and support, the pricing is beyond reasonable, and the product has been simple to use, both internally and for our clients. I've used it as a bidder at other auctions and it was fantastic. The internal side has been easy to use and fully featured to meet all of our needs.

Virginia

Non-Profit Organization Management, 201-500 employees

Used monthly for less than 2 years

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed September 2016

Awesome, awesome, awesome!

The best part of using Handbid is the customer service. They are always readily available for questions, concerns or suggestions. Think what really impressed me was when we had an issue closing our auction late at night and contacted their customer service and was provided an answer immediately despite the hour.

PROS

User friendly. App based and web based. Live time updates.

CONS

Broadcast messages don't necessarily reach everyone who's viewed your auction (the "browsers") but only people who have checked in as "bidders". Also not a way to notify bidders directly from the app/web that have previously been active in your auctions about a new auction you are running.

Tamara

Non-Profit Organization Management, 2-10 employees

Used monthly for less than 12 months

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed September 2016

Wonderful Experience!

We were slightly hesitant to move our auction activity to a mobile app, worried that our guests might have issues learning the new platform. We were completely wrong! Jeff and his team provided great support from our setup through our post-event work. The platform is very easy to use from the management side and from the user side. Our staff and volunteers had no problems learning how to manage the app for registration or bid input. Plus, the app looks great! Guests had fun bidding, enjoyed the interface, and appreciated that they could move around and keep tabs on their items. We will definitely be using Handbid for our future events!

PROS

Easy item and bidder input, mass uploads; Aesthetically fun; options for notifications or not for user; ease of event reports; timer for end of auction

Jason

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

4

Reviewed October 2016

What did we ever do before Handbid?

Handbid is fantastic! Not only did it save us significant time and effort, but it boosted our auction revenue to record levels. This intuitive application was simple to set up and rich in functionality. Handbid's great technology is only rivaled by their commitment to customer service. They provided our team with the necessary tools before we even asked and their tech support was always available to help (even on weekends & after hours). Our only disappointment is having to wait until next year's Handbid auction!

Brad

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

5

Reviewed October 2016

Great tool for schools and nonprofit events

We have run 2 gala events and a golf tournament with Handbid. It had a tremendous impact on our overall returns. Plus, the app is extremely easy to teach and use. We found that for our second and third events, it got even easier, since most of our parents already had Handbid on their phones, knew how to use it, etc. Finally, this tool was great because it allowed distant relatives and friends to participate in the auction. This made the event more fun, expanded our universe of bidders, and ultimately drove up bid prices on many of our items.

Jen

Used free trial

Review Source: Capterra

OVERALL RATING:

5

EASE OF USE

5

VALUE FOR MONEY

5

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

5

FUNCTIONALITY

4

Reviewed September 2016

Handbid for Silent Auction

Transitioned from writing bids on bid sheets to Handbid, and had tremendous success. Our guests had a lot of fun with it and our revenue doubled the first year and tripled the second. Allowed our guests to engage in the live auction and silent (via their mobile devices) concurrently. I would highly recommend opening up the silent auction five days before, and working to get your guests up and bidding early and often! Thumbs up to Handbid and special shout out to the customer service team for the great support and training.

Showing 1 - 25 of 45 Reviews