---
title: Bidding Together
description: Let couples and families bid together with Bidding Together in ClickBid. Share one checkout while tracking who won each item.
---
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# Bidding Together
## Releasing on Monday, November 23, 2026
**Releasing on Monday, November 23, 2026**
Bidding Together lets two or more bidders at the same event act as a group without merging their records. It's perfect for couples, families, or a table host who's covering their guests' wins.
### 🤝 What Bidding Together does
Every member keeps their own bidder record, bidder number, contact info, card on file, and bids. Nobody bids any differently. Being in a group adds three things:
- **See:** Each member can see the other members' items (won, winning, and losing), always labeled with the owner's name and bidder number.
- **Pay:** Any member can pay for any of the group's unpaid items using their own card.
- **Collect:** Every item line shows who won it, so the right item goes home with the right person.
💡 **Example:** Sam and Laura attend together, each with their own bidder number. Laura wins a few items and leaves early. Because they're bidding together, Sam can see what Laura won, pay for it from his phone, and pick it up at the desk.
### 🔀 Bidding Together vs. Merge duplicates
Use **Bidding Together** for two different people. Use **Merge duplicates** only when two records belong to the same person.
| | Bidding Together | Merge duplicates |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Use it for | Two or more different people (couples, families, a table) | Two records that are the same person |
| Bidder records | Both stay, unchanged | One is permanently deleted |
| Can it be undone? | Yes, anyone can leave at any time | No |
| CRM data | Each person keeps their own contact details | One record carries both sets of details |
| Number of people | Two or more | Exactly two records |
⚠️ **Important:** Merging permanently deletes a record and can't be undone. If ClickBid notices the two records look like different people (for example, different first names), it will suggest **Bid together** instead. You also can't merge a bidder who is in a bidding group until they're removed from it.
📝 Previously merged bidders: Records merged in the past can't be split, because the second record was deleted. To fix one, add the second person as a new bidder and put both in a bidding group. Past bids stay on the original record.
### 🛠️ How to create a bidding group
Admins Users can group bidders ahead of time in Manage Bidders, and volunteers can group them at check-in in Butler. Groups created by an admin or volunteer take effect right away and **don't send a text or email**, so you can group every couple on your guest list before the event without sending a single message.
**Option A: In Manage Bidders (before or during the event)**
1. Go to **Bidders \> Manage Bidders**.
2. Check the box next to two or more bidders in the table.
3. Click **Bid together**.
4. Review the confirmation and click **Yes**.
5. A Bidding together tag is added under the 'tag's section and can be clicked to view everyone listed in the group.
Your new group appears in the **Bidding groups** section below the table. Need to remove someone from the group click the dissolve button.
📝The green tag means bidder has checked in. Blue tag means bidder has not checked in yet.
**Option B: In Butler (at check-in)**
1. Open the bidder's record in Butler.
2. Tap **Bid together
**
3. Search for the other person by bidder number or name. Results show their bidder number, name, phone, email, and whether they have a card on file, so you can confirm you have the right person.
4. Tap **Add to group**, They're added right away, and the window confirms it.
5. To add more people, search again and tap **Add to group** for each one. When you're finished, tap **Done**.
💡 **Shortcut for two-person ticket orders:** If the bidder you're checking in is one of exactly two people on a ticket order, Butler offers *Same order: Sam Smith(#173). Bidding together?* Tap **Yes** and you're done.
Once a group is formed, both records show a **Bidding with** panel listing each member with their check-in status, phone, and email. From this panel you can:
- **Check in** another member without searching for them again.
- **Edit** a member's phone or email.
- **Remove** a member from the group.
✅ **Best practice:** Only add people who are present and have both asked to bid together. Confirm it with them out loud at the desk.
### 📱 How bidders can add each other
Bidders can also form a group themselves from the BidApp, no volunteer needed. A bidder-requested group only takes effect once the other person accepts.
1. In the Auction, go to **My Account \>below payment menthod\>Bidding together**.
2. Enter the other person's **mobile number or email**.
3. Tap **Send request**.
The software always replies *If that's a bidder at this event, they'll get a request.* It never confirms whether the contact matched, so no one can use it to look people up.
Bidding together then displays pending
The other person gets a text or email with **Accept** and **Decline** links.
**Accept** opens the Auction site so they can confirm while signed in. **Decline-** declines right away. The request also waits for them as a banner in the auction and under **My Account \> Bidding together**.
****
Also under My Account after accepting they are listed under Bidding together and can remove a bidder, leave the group, or add more people to the group if the email/phone number is known.
💡 **Good to know:**
- Requests use a phone number or email, never a bidder number, since bidder numbers are visible on paddles and leaderboards.
- The person who sent the request sees it as pending and can cancel it.
- Requests expire when the event closes.
- After the auction closes, checkout shows *Paying for someone else's items? Ask them to add you.* to help bidders find this option.
- The welcome text and email include a line reminding bidders they can add someone in My Account.
### 👀 What bidders see
**The group banner.** The next time a member opens the Auction, a banner at the top lets them know about the group, for example *You've been added to a bidding group with Laura Smith (#174). You'll see each other's won items and can pay for them.* They can tap **OK** to dismiss it or **Undo** to reverse the addition. Members also see a banner when someone else joins or leaves the group.
**Each other's items.** Under the **My Items**, **Winning**, and **Losing** filters, bidders see their own items first, then a separate section for each member, such as **Laura's items (#174)**. A member's items are never mixed into the bidder's own lists or counts. **All Items** and **Watching** don't change.
**Bidding stays the same.** Everyone bids under their own number, exactly as before. The only difference: if one member outbids another member of their group, no outbid text is sent.
### 💳 Paying for a group member's items
Any member can pay for any of the group's unpaid items, always with their own card. No one can ever charge another member's card.
**Option A: The bidder pays in the Auction**
1. Open **Checkout**. Your own unpaid items are always included.
2. Below your items, find each member's section, for example **Laura Smith (#174) · 1 items · $420.00**.
3. Flip the section's switch to include all of that member's items, or check only the specific items you're covering. If there are two or more other members, use **Include everyone** to select them all.
4. Pay with your card on file or a new card.
Member items are listed but unchecked by default, so nothing is paid for unless the bidder chooses it.
📝The group cannot see each other’s credit card information.
Each bidder can only view and use the credit card information associated with their own account.
**Option B: A volunteer takes payment in Butler**
1. Open the paying bidder's record in Butler checkout.
2. Their own items appear with the usual checkboxes. Each other member's items appear below as a separate, unchecked block.
3. Include a member's whole block or select individual items.
4. Charge the paying bidder's card on file or a new card.
✅ **What happens next:** The receipt goes to the person who paid, and each item they covered reads **Won by Laura Smith(#174)**. The winner gets a text letting them know, for example *Sam Smith paid for your item(s): #101 Weekend in Traverse City. Nothing more to do.* The paid items drop off the winner's unpaid list and they won't get any more payment reminders for them.
### 📦 Item pickup
In Butler checkout, every item line shows **Won by…** with the winner's name and bidder number. When Sam comes to the pickup desk, the volunteer opens his record and can hand over Laura's items with confidence, because each line says whose it is.
### ✋ Removing someone or ending a group
Anyone can leave a group at any time, and nothing needs to be cleaned up afterward because no bids or records were ever moved. A group stays active as long as at least two members remain.
- **Bidders** can tap **Undo** on the group banner, or tap **Leave** under **My Account \> Bidding together**.
- **Volunteers** can tap **Remove** in the **Bidding with…** panel, or **Remove from group…** on a member's block in Butler checkout.
- **Admins** can remove a member from the **Bidding with…** panel in Manage Bidders, or dissolve the whole group from the **Bidding groups** section. Dissolving ends the group for everyone in it.
When someone leaves, the remaining members see a banner letting them know, and that person's items no longer appear in their checkout.
⚠️ **If someone already paid:** Payments stand even if a member leaves afterward. The affected bidder sees a banner explaining who paid and is directed to the check-in desk. If the group was a mistake, an admin can issue a refund through the usual refund process. Refunds always go back to the card that paid.
### 📊 Reports, receipts, and CRM exports
ClickBid tracks both who won each item and who paid for it, so your records stay accurate.
| Where | What you'll see |
| --- | --- |
| Event Sales report | Separate **Winner** and **Paid by** columns |
| Unpaid bidder statements | The winner's unpaid items. Items another member paid for drop off automatically. |
| Paid bidder statements | What the payer paid, with **Won by** on lines they covered for someone else |
| Receipts | Sent to the payer, with **Won by** on each line they covered |
| CRM sales export | The gift is credited to the person who paid, with the winner noted on the line (for example, *Item 101, won by Laura Smith*) |
| Check-in, headcount, and seating reports | No change |
Because no records are merged, each person's CRM record keeps only their own contact details.
### ❓ Frequently asked questions
**How many people can be in a group?** There's no limit. A table host can group all of their guests and pay for everyone's items in one checkout.
**Can a bidder be in more than one group?** No. A bidder can only be in one active group at a time. To join a different group, they need to leave their current one first.
**Does batch checkout use groups?** No. Batch checkout charges each bidder for their own remaining unpaid items on their own card. For example, if Laura left with a card on file and Matt hasn't paid for her items, batch checkout charges Laura.
**What about quantity items charged at the time of bid?** Those still charge the card of the member who placed the bid.
**Will group members get each other's notifications?** No. All notifications go only to the bidder they're about. Mass messages also evaluate each bidder on their own, so a group never expands who receives a message.
**Can house or demo bidders be added to a group?** No, house and demo bidder records can't be group members.
**What if a bidder has no phone or email on file?** They can't be requested from the BidApp, but an admin or volunteer can still add them to a group. They'll see the group banner when they open the app and at check-in.
**What if someone was added to the wrong group?** Any member can tap **Undo** on the banner, or a volunteer or admin can remove them. Since no bids or records move when a group is formed, removing them fixes it completely.
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