Standard And Advanced Texting
As of summer 2023, US regulations require a "campaign" registered with the Campaign Trust Registry (CTR) to send text messages. If these messages are not, carriers will block them.
Registering a campaign involves multiple steps, time, and costs that are not a good fit for many of our customers who use texting to enhance their events. To adjust to these changes, we're dividing our texting features into two levels: Standard Texting and Advanced Texting.
All texting feature sets require a paid subscription with Auctria. See our pricing page for more information on available subscriptions.
Standard Texting
Standard Texting is enabled instantly for an event with a single click in the Auctria dashboard. Registering a Text Profile or incurring additional costs is unnecessary.
All system-generated text notifications, including bidding updates, registration confirmations, check-in notifications, and item won alerts, are supported. Bidders can reply to outbid notifications to place their next bid by text. However, Standard Texting will not have custom text messages or bulk texts sent to all bidders.
Your event is automatically assigned a shared phone number from our managed pool when using the Standard Texting feature set.
Advanced Texting
Advanced Texting provides the same features as our older texting features.
In addition to all system-generated notifications, you can Send Custom Text messages and select a dedicated event phone number.
To use Advanced Texting, organizations must register a Texting Profile through the Auctria dashboard, which will be externally reviewed by the CTR. Please note that this process can take up to a month or more, so plan accordingly.
Only registered 501(c)3 organizations with a valid Employer Identification Number (EIN) are eligible due to the CTR's verification requirements. The name associated with your EIN must match exactly your 501(c)3 registration.
Suppose you've previously registered a Text Profile with Auctria. In that case, you can check your status on the Texting page of the Auctria Dashboard under Communication. Profiles registered in the last few months should be valid; older profiles may need updating with the Organization's EIN.
These rules do not currently apply to Canadian organizations.
Opt-In Consent
All texting features require us to obtain opt-in consent from your guests before we can send them text messages.
During online registration, bidders will see a checkbox for opting in to receive texts. Alternatively, they can opt-in by texting the event, or you can manually opt bidders in during check-in with their verbal consent.
Text Credits
All texting plans will continue to require a text credit per message sent and received. Emerald licenses receive 1,000 credits, and Diamond licenses receive 3,000 as part of their subscription. Additional credits continue to be $25 per 1,000 currently.
Note: A "text credit" is based on the underlying text message length, which is 160 characters max, so long texts will consume multiple credits if they go over this length.
In The Future
As we advance, most events will find the Standard Texting feature a good fit for their events.
Standard Texting provides notifications and a way to text guests personalized links without needing the added cost and complexity of Advanced Texting.