How to Bid

Bid on a tree or wreath at Festival of Trees to take home and enjoy throughout the holiday season. Auctioned items are decorated and sponsored by area businesses, organizations, and individuals. Tree proceeds will go towards supporting The Arc of East Central Iowa!

The silent online auction will begin bidding at 5 PM on Thursday, November 13.
The auction will end at 4 PM on Sunday, November 16.

How to place a bid

Visit thegazette.com/bid
Click “Get Registered”

Registration will require a first name, last name, email address, and phone number that you can access to so we can contact you on the status of the bid. You may receive a confirmation code to your email that will need to be entered onto the auction site. If you bid in 2023 under the same email address, you can login to your existing account and reset your password if necessary

Once registered, find and select the 7.5 ft. tree, 4 ft. tree, wreath, or planter you’d like to bid on. Confirm that the theme, company, and number are the same as the sign next to the item at the event.

Place your bid. Bids must increase by at least $10.
Check your email, phone, and auction website throughout the event to stay up to date on the current bids.
Bidding ends on Sunday, November 17 at 4 pm. Auction winners will be notified shortly after.

When an auto-bid is set up, the system will automatically place a new bid for you, up to a certain dollar amount.

For example, if a max bid is placed for $250, the auction system will counter-bid for up to that amount. If the bids exceed the set amount, it will stop auto-bidding. This does NOT mean you will automatically pay the auto bid amount you set. The bid will only increase by $10 until you win or reach your auto bid maximum. Payment is taken after auction winners are announced on Sunday.

Auction winners will be notified shortly after 4 PM on Sunday, November 17. The highest bidder will receive an email notifying them that they won the auction. The email will include a link to collect payment.

Payment will need to be made by 10 AM on Monday, November 18, or we will move on to the second-highest bidder.

Pickup will be available on Sunday, November 17 from 5-7 PM and Monday, November 18 from 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM.

Yes. The Festival of Trees auction is fully virtual. If you do not have access to a phone and email address, please have a friend or family member assist you in bidding.

Yes! Bid on as many items as you’d like. If you win more than one item, you will be responsible for each item.

Contact the event team as soon as possible so we can alert the next highest bidder!

Thank you for supporting Festival of Trees, The Arc of East Central Iowa, Freedom Foundation, small businesses, Eastern Iowa organizations, and 100% employee-owned local journalism. Enjoy!