How to create an online auction
To create an online auction, click the “List a Sale” button in the upper right corner of the website. If you are not yet a registered member, you’ll be guided through the process of creating an account.
On Step 1 of the Add a Sale wizard, select “Online Auction” under “Sale Type”. Once selected, additional options will appear on the page, allowing you to select default auction settings such as item starting prices, bid schedules, shipping policies, tax rates, payment options, and more. Set the options to your desired settings, and then fill in the Sale Description and Terms & Conditions fields with relevant information. Be sure to include how buyers will pick up and pay for their items in your Terms & Conditions. If you would like to allow winning bidders to pay their invoices online, toggle the "PayPal" option to "Yes" and enter the email address associated with your PayPal account. If you would like to require that bidders enter a payment method prior to bidding as well as be able to charge buyers for the amount due on their invoices, toggle the "Credit/Debit" option to "Yes" and connect your Stripe account. Once finished, click the “Save & Continue” button. Note that at any time during this process, you may preview what your sale looks like by clicking the “Preview sale” link in the upper right.
On Step 2, input the address for the auction. You will be able to control if and when the address appears to buyers once you verify the address. If you don’t have in-person preview or pickup, you may select the the “I don’t offer in-person sale or pickup” option and leave the address empty. Click “Save & Continue” once your address settings are entered.
On Step 3, select the date and time at which you would like your auction to start. The default setting is to start the auction as soon as you publish. Next, select what date and time you want your items in your auction to start closing, and at what time increments your items should close. Click “Save & Continue” once your settings are entered.
On Step 4 you will enter items that can be bid on by buyers of this auction. Click the “Add Items” button to add your first item. Upload at least 1 image of the item or lot for sale (jpeg format and at least 300 pixels in both height and width), as well as the title and description. If you would like to enable users to “Buy It Now”, enter a Buy It Now price. Enter a buyers premium, if any, which will be added to the winning bidders invoice. To enable bidding, toggle the “Enable Bidding” switch to “Yes”. You will see options for starting price and reserve price, which is the minimum price you are willing to sell the item for. You may also set a consignor and commission rate for this item which will allow you to reconcile your sales with your consignors once the sale is complete. Lastly, select any applicable categories so that users who are interested in this item type can more easily find the item. Click “Save & Continue” once your settings are entered. You’ll see the item you just entered in your item list. Repeat this process for each item you wish to sell at auction. If you have a lot of items to sell, you may also try our time-saving bulk item upload feature which allows you to upload items from an Excel spreadsheet or CSV file. Once you have entered all items, click “Save & Continue”.
On Step 5, you’ll see a preview of what your auction will look like search result pages. You also have the option at this point to choose what dates you would like your auction to be included in our daily mailer, which is sent to all email subscribers that have signed up to receive a list of estate sales and auctions in the area. For additional exposure, you can also feature your auction Regionally (will appear on all search results pages within 250 miles oft he sale address), or Nationally (will appear on all search results pages). The total amount due for your auction sale posting, if any, will appear. Enter your payment information, if any is required, and click “Publish Sale”. Congratulations, you’ve just published an online auction!
On the confirmation page, you’ll see our recommendations for marketing your sale, including quick links to share your sale to your Facebook and Twitter pages as well as to your email list.
