Handbid Pros and Cons

Jeff Porter and the entire team at Handbid are the best in the business—they empower us, provide invaluable training, and inspire us with their unwavering belief that every event we host will be a success. Their support is second to none, making each experience truly outstanding. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

If I had to mention one downside, it would be that I wish Handbid could sync with our organization’s accounting systems. Unfortunately, we use two different platforms for CRM and accounting that don’t integrate, which isn’t Handbid’s fault. It’s simply a challenge with our organization’s setup. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The customer service from Handbid is one of the best things. They truly are there for any issues or questions you may have. I love working with their team. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have yet to run into a downside about Handbid. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There are so many great features to use, each year we target a few more things to do to maximize our revenue. We've looked at some other conference apps with integrated silent auction functionality and that made us realize how robust an app handbid is for managing silent auctions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

This is nit picky - but the validation of the spreadsheets to import into handbid always takes about 4 to 5 hours longer than it should - mostly going in and figuring out which titles or characters are too long, or fixing import text mistakes from going from a xls to a csv type format. I had to use a very specific csv MSDOS format to get the imports to work - a regular csv didn't work - commas in the description messed up the csv parsing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I've had the pleasure of using Handbid for the past three Classic silent auctions, and I can't say enough about how much it's elevated our events. The software is incredibly user-friendly, making it easy for both our team and our bidders to navigate and participate. What really stands out, though, is the exceptional support from the Handbid staff. Whenever we've had questions or needed assistance, they've been there with prompt, helpful responses. Their dedication to ensuring our auctions run smoothly has made a significant difference. I highly recommend Handbid to anyone looking to streamline their auction process and enhance their fundraising efforts. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We don't have a sponsor for silent auction, so I wish I could've been able to take the "Sponsored By" part off when people first log on and see our auction on Handbid. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The accessability to Elise, Inga, and the service team throughout our planning process is always appreciated. Paying to have Elise on-site this year was totally worth the money. We were so grateful to have someone on site to help problem solve, process payments, assist with check out, and train volunteers. The client was thrilled with how much better registration and check out was, and how quickly we were able to close and settle the auction as a result. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find handbid easy to use after 3 years of using the application, but I do find the technology to be a bit glitchy and limited. IDK why you can hit enter to search in the guest list but not the bidder or item list. Using Enter to activate the search is pretty standard in technology, and its already set up that way on the other list, so this seems easy enough to fix. I also don't understand why the auction pages and import template require different info for the exact same thing: display name and display name for sheet; description and description for sheet; donor name and donor name for sheet. Why would this ever need to be different? It just creates more work for us. When you drag and drop categories after importing the item list, can you drag multiple into the same row so one description ticks both boxes? I know in past years I found emailng the guest list to be frustrating because of limitations and formatting issues caused by bullets, &, and other symbols.

I would be nice to have a few display sheet formats to choose from (I do like the new version better than last year!) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Once I learned the platform, it was pretty simple to use. Our guests found it easy to use as well. The option to open the bidding before the event was awesome. We made $10,000 more on our silent auction this year than last and a large part of that was because of how easy it was to use the software. Hands down the best thing about this was the customer service I received. I was very nervous to use it and move to an online platform but Inga Veiss was there for me every step of the way. She was patient and very responsive to all of my questions and issues over several months and even the night of the event. She is the reason I feel comfortable continuing to use Handbid because I know I have help when I need it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There were a few situations with guest check-in that we needed to have help for because it was too complicated for us to do at the event. Some guests said they had difficulty creating accounts. It is definitely more geared toward younger people who are familiar with technology. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Handbid is easy to use and the company provides a lot of helpful advice to increase fundraising. The platform provides multiple ways to fundraise too. Our organization has been using handbid for several years and the customer support is outstanding. I also really like that there is a phone app in addition to website access. New features are added regularly and the most recent option to check in guests on the phone app is a great feature that really streamlines the check in process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We have run into issues with people using android phones. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The manager app is fairly easy to work with once you know how to use it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It can be difficult to navigate on the back end if you're not familiar with the program.

Also the photo you take for an items is a much smaller portion of the full photo when you see things as a bidder and scroll through the item categories. Not until you click on the actual item do you see the full image. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

easy to keep track of items not being sold, easy to navigate Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Uploading horizontal pictures. I think this needs to be improved. We had to first export picture to power point, then crop, screen shot and then upload into Handbid. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The online training and support documentation was excellent. The System is easy to use and support is available when needed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

When I started using the system, there was not support avialable after hours or on the weekends. I am a volunteer and working on this site as time permits. After hours is when I was utilizing the system. I now see a pop up that advises how to get asssitance after hours. An update needed and glad it now exists. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.