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How to accept pre-bids on locked / live auction Items?

Last updated:
April 20, 2026

Setting up a live item to accept bids before the item is sold by an auctioneer

Live items (aka locked items) include a checkbox which, when ticked, allows bidding on the item. GalaBid campaign administrators tick this box to enable bids to be placed before the auctioneer takes over. Administrators typically allow pre-bidding in the days leading up to the live auction.

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Note that pre-bids are not included in your campaign's total raised. The highest pre-bid is never counted as the winning bid.

To enter a winning bid, pre-bidding on the item must be disabled and the winning bid must be entered using a Volunteer account. Once entered via a volunteer account it will be added to the participant's invoice.

Only winning bids entered using a volunteer account are added to the campaign's total raised.

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Read our article about entering winning bids on live items in GalaBid and taking payments for live auction items using GalaBid.

Video Overview of live (aka locked) items and pre-bidding settings

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