An age restriction can be placed on Instant, Raffle, Silent and Vote items when the item being sold requires the purchaser to be of a certain age. When an age restriction has been applied, the guest will need to enter their date of birth prior to viewing or purchasing the item. Once a valid date of birth has been entered, the guest will not be required to enter this again for any age restricted items on the site.
We highly recommend when selling age restricted items that you verify the guests age, if the age is in question, when handing over the item by either having your volunteers check their ID.
Apply an Age Restriction
To apply an age restriction to an Instant, Raffle, Silent or Vote item when creating or editing the item, select either 18+ or 21+ from the Age Restriction field.
Guest Experience
From the Items Page
When the guest selects an item with an age restriction, they will be prompted to enter their date of birth. If a valid date is entered, they will proceed to the item to place the bid or purchase. The guest will only be prompted to enter this date the first time they attempt to interact with any age restricted item, and will not be prompted again for consecutive bids nor on other restricted items.
From an Order Form
When the guest attempts to add an age restricted item to their order while in an order form they will be prompted to enter their date of birth. If a valid date is entered, they will proceed by selecting the quantity to add to their order. The guest will only be prompted to enter this date the first time they attempt to interact with any age restricted item, and will not be prompted again for future bids nor on other restricted items.
Via Text
When the guest attempts to place a bid or purchase on an age restricted item via text message, they will be prompted to enter their date of birth as a text response (MM-DD-YYYY). If a valid date is entered, they will proceed by submitting the bid or purchase The guest will only be prompted to enter this date the first time they attempt to interact with any age restricted item, and will not be prompted again for future bids nor on other restricted items.
FAQs
Does GiveSmart store my guest's birth date?
No, GiveSmart does not store the birth date information. It applies a field calculation, and only stores whether or not the date that they entered either met or did not meet the age restriction.
Can I see a report of all guests who have entered their birth date?
No, there are no reports at this time that will indicate whether a guest has provided a birth date.
Can I apply an age restriction to an item that currently has bidding or purchase activity?
Yes, you may apply an age restriction to an item at any time, though we highly recommend adding it prior to the start of the auction. If applied to an item that currently has bids or purchases, the bidder will be prompted to enter their birth date prior to placing their next bid.
What types of items would I need to apply an age restriction to?
Typical items would include but are not limited to: firearms, alcohol, tobacco and certain trips or car rental restrictions.
Are there any items that I am not allowed to sell on the GiveSmart platform?
Yes, any items relating to Cannabis or CBD are not allowed to be sold. We always recommend that you check with your local and state laws to ensure you are in compliance with any questionable item.
What happens if a guest accidentally enters the wrong date and needs to update the date entered?
If a guest enters an incorrect date, they will be able to enter a true date of birth the next time they visit the restricted item if it did not meet the age requirement.
If I duplicate an item with an age restriction, does this field carry over?
Yes, if you duplicate an item with an age restriction applied, it will apply the same selection to the duplicated item.
If I copy my users from my last event, do they need to confirm their date of birth on the new site if they already confirmed on the old one?
No, the age verification from the prior event will carry over to the new event. This will apply for both copied users as well as users who self-register on the new site who attended prior events.
If a volunteer needs to place a bid on behalf of a guest, will they have to enter their own date of birth before being prompted to place the bid?
Yes, volunteers and admin will need to enter their own date of birth prior to being able to place a bid on behalf of the guest. For these age restricted items, we highly encourage the guests to place the bids or purchases themselves so they will be able to provide this information, as they will not be prompted to enter a date of birth if the bid is entered on their behalf at the time it is placed.