ReadySetAuction is probably the most convenient solution for Non-Profit organizations looking to raise some money through auctions.
The company offers 2 packages. The Event Package is geared for auction management for auctions held off-internet. You can print your catalog, manage your RSVPs, track your donations, and have your guests purchase their tickets / tables / sponsorships through your website. The Online Auction package is geared for those who want to hold their auctions online. It will allow you to create an online catalog and have guests bid online, however it lacks the managing and tracking features of the Event Package. Alternatively, you can have both features if you upgrade to Premiere for either package. Basic packages cost about $400, premiere is $700.
The main element that sets this apart from competitors is that ReadySetAuction will host your auction on their servers, requiring no programming or set up on your end. The bad news is that they will charge you a 3.5% "transaction fee" of each winning online bid on your online items.
ReadySetAuction Home page
ReadySetAuction Demo Page
Final scores:
Usability: 7/10
Support : 7/10
Customizability: 5/10
Ease of use: 8/10
User reviews:
2/5No After Hours Support
The software collects all the information you want to run an auction. As a person inputting information, I found navigating the system annoying, and often times when you would want information autofillable, or at least accessible by copying and pasting it was very cumbersome to do so. After using it for 3 years, we determined year after year that although some parts were cumbersome, it was worth it for the flow and ease of moving data through the system. This year we had the kicker Ready Set Auction did not turn on our Cashier System in time for our auction and we had to do all check-in/Check-out manually. There was no after-hours support (that we could find, at the time or to date)to contact to correct this. The Cashier System was inabled by 8am the next morning. Rightly, they said we did not give them the 10 day notice as stated in their policy, but when we purchased the Cashier System, we were assured by the customer service rep that it would be no problem. You can't fully test the Cashier until the time of the auction so we did not find out until D-Day.
Posted By: PublicSchool, on Tuesday, April 20, 2010
