How Text-to-Bid Works at a Golf Tournament Silent Auction

Redswing today: guests bid on paper bid sheets and you record each winner. Text-to-bid is not turned on in Redswing yet. This guide explains how text-to-bid tools generally work so you can decide whether one fits your outing.

If you've run a silent auction at a charity golf outing with paper bid sheets, you know the pattern. You collect good items, print the sheets, set up a table, and most golfers walk past it twice: once at check-in and once on the way to the awards dinner. Some items get one bid; a few get most of the attention.

The reason is mostly physical. Golfers can't bid from the 14th hole, and they can't see when someone outbids them. Text-to-bid is one answer to that: it lets guests bid from their phones by text message.

What is text-to-bid?

Text-to-bid is a silent auction format where guests bid by sending a text message to a phone number set up for the event. A guest might text a short command such as BID 3 200 to bid $200 on item 3. Most tools reply with a confirmation, and send an alert when someone else bids higher, so the guest can bid again from wherever they are.

How bidding usually works, step by step

Before the event: the organizer lists each item with a name, description, fair market value, minimum bid and bid increment. Each item gets a number.

Phone numbers: guests' mobile numbers come from registration or from a list the organizer imports. Guests should only get texts they agreed to receive.

Auction opens: the organizer opens bidding, often at check-in. Guests who agreed to texts get a message explaining how to bid.

A guest bids: a golfer texts BID 4 350 and gets a reply saying they are the high bidder on item 4.

Outbid alert: if another guest bids $400, the first golfer gets a text saying they've been outbid and can reply with a new bid.

Closing: the organizer sets a closing time. Many tools let guests text a command to check the current high bid on an item.

Anti-snipe rule: some tools extend the auction by a couple of minutes when a bid arrives right before closing (more below).

Settlement: winners are told what they won and how to pay. Depending on the tool and the organization, that might be a payment link, or paying at the table by check or cash.

What is anti-snipe protection?

Anti-snipe protection extends the auction when bids arrive in the final minutes. For example, a bid in the last two minutes adds two more minutes, and the auction closes only after two quiet minutes in a row.

Without it, a bidder can wait until the last second so the previous leader has no time to respond. With it, a late bid simply keeps bidding open, which many guests find fairer.

How settlement works

With paper bid sheets, someone has to find each winner, collect payment and match everything up while the awards dinner is going on. Some winners leave before anyone finds them.

Text-to-bid tools usually help by listing winners automatically and telling each one what they owe. How the money is collected depends on the tool and on your organization's own payment setup. Whatever you use, the money should go to your organization, not to the software company.

Does text-to-bid bring in more?

There are no published controlled studies comparing text-to-bid with paper bid sheets at charity golf outings, so treat any specific percentage with care.

What can be said is that the two formats work differently. Paper sheets depend on guests being at the table. Text-to-bid reaches guests who have a phone signal and agreed to texts, wherever they are on the course. Whether that matters for your event depends on your items, your guests and how well your paper process already works.

What you need for text-to-bid

A texting number: the tool you choose sets up the number guests text. Texting programs in the US need carrier approval before they can send messages, so ask the provider how long that takes.

Guest consent: only text guests who agreed to receive texts, with clear opt-in wording and a way to stop (reply STOP).

Items entered in advance: names, descriptions, fair market values, minimum bids and increments. For 15 to 20 items this usually takes under an hour.

A plan for payment: decide how winners will pay and who confirms each payment.

A paper backup: keep printed bid sheets on hand in case of poor phone signal on the course.

If your auction runs on paper today, Redswing lets you keep your items and winners on one list and record each winner after the auction.