How to Set Up an Auction

This article contains the steps for setting up an auction on LiveAuctioneers, along with the steps to follow once you've finished creating your sale.

This article contains the following sections:

• Preparing to Create an Auction
• Set Up a New Auction
• Select a Payment Plan
• Auction Details & Date
• Auction Clerk Options
• Select Payment Options
• Select Bid Increments
• Confirm Policies
• Next Steps

Preparing to Create an Auction

1. Basic auction details, such as date & time, a description, and your terms of sale.
2. A selection of between 50 - 1,250 unique items you would like to sell.
3. If you're uploading your items, you will need a properly formatted spreadsheet containing all of your items.
4. Images of your items. Review upload methods here.
5. Your preferred payment method to pay the listing fee and publish your catalog online.

Keep in mind, you can save your auction at any point in the set up process and publish it at a later date. From your Seller Dashboard, click on the Auctions tab and select Pre-Auction to view the list of your pending auctions.

Please note, the universal cut-off time for making edits to the Auction Details is 2 hours prior to the commencement of the sale. This excludes the Buyer's Premium and Terms & Conditions- these cannot be edited once the sale is published.

Not ready to list your auction catalog yet? Announce your upcoming auction with an Auction Preview.

Set Up a New Auction

After signing in to your Seller Dashboard, click on the Set Up New Auction button located in the top right corner of the Home Page, or click on the Auction Setup tab.

On the Auction Setup page, click the Setup a New Auction button.

Once you've indicated that you'd like to set up a new auction, you will be taken to the Auction Details tab, which contains a series of sub-tasks needed to complete the Auction Details. This article will go through all of the selections that need to be made to complete the Auction Details.

You will first be taken to the Plan tab.

Select a Price Plan

On the Plan tab, select the appropriate price plan and whether this is a Live Sale, Timed Sale, or Timed+.

• If you do not see the correct plan or have questions regarding your listing options, please contact your Client Success Manager or email sales@liveauctioneers.com.

Once you select a Plan, you will be taken to the Details & Date tab.

Auction Details & Date

On the Details & Date tab, enter the specifics of your upcoming sale.

• Auction Title: The name of your auction. Titles have a 45-character limit, including spaces. Titles cannot contain special characters.

• Description: Include the most searchable words that best describe your sale. Tell us the main categories featured in the auction, as well as any noteworthy items being offered. When crafting a Description, consider what would buyers would search for to find your items. Descriptions have a 1,995-character limit. For tips on creating a quality Auction Description, click here.

• Preview Period: When and where are your items available to view? Do you allow in-person viewings/exhibitions of all of your upcoming items? This field has a 2,000-character limit and does not allow HTML.

  • For example: “Preview on Sunday, October 4, or available for preview on LiveAuctioneers."

• Category: Choose the category that best describes your sale. We give you a list of 16 categories to choose from, but you can only select 1. Approximately 24 hours after your sale is uploaded, our system searches your catalog for keywords and designates each lot to a broad category that can be browsed by our bidders. This also triggers email alerts sent to bidders interested in the types of items you sell. 

  • Learn more about Optimizing your Auction for Search (SEO) here. 

• Auction Curators: List the specialists who curated this auction catalog. Learn more here.

• Catalog Declaration: If your catalog contains firearms, alcohol, or sexually explicit, or offensive material please check the appropriate box. If it does not contain any of these, check the None of the above box.

• Auction Location: Enter the physical location where the auction is taking place. If your auction is online-only, enter your registered business address here.

• Shipping Options: Select the shipping methods that best suits your auction house process. If you are interested in LiveShipping through LiveAuctioneers click here.

  • My auction offers LiveShip via NLS

  • My auction offers free local pick-up from the above location

  • My auction allows buyers to arrange their own shipping

• Phone: This is the phone number that will display online to bidders. Bidders will use this number to contact you with questions about the auction or the items in the catalog.

• Time Zone: Use the drop-down to select the time zone your auction is in.

• Auction Date: This should refer to the date and time your first lot will close. In the traditional auction sense, this is the 'auction day' or 'start date'. You do not need to select a time for your auction to 'go live,' as it will be live for absentee bidding as soon as you publish your auction. 

Click the Next button at the bottom of the page to save and proceed to the Auction Clerk tab.

Auction Clerk Options

On the Auction Clerk tab, indicate how your sale will be clerked on auction day.

1. Live Sale (Manual Clerk): You are responsible for starting and clerking the auction.

   • Broadcast your auction live: Select this option if you are interested in broadcasting a live video stream on auction day. 

2. Timed Sale (Automated Clerk): LiveAuctioneers will automatically clerk, sell, & progress lots. Bidding begins at the Starting Price you set for each item and progresses at pre-defined bidding increments. You may set reserve prices for each item in advance. If you wish to manually clerk your sale, do not select this option.                   

Click the Next button at the bottom of the page to proceed to the Payment Options tab.

Select Payment Options

The Payment Option tab is where you will indicate the payment methods you will accept, what fees you will charge, and whether you will set any payment limits.

• Allow for LiveAuctioneers to Collect Payment: Checking this box indicates that you will be using our LivePayments feature to collect payments from winning bidders. Click here to learn more or contact your Client Success Manager.
• Online Payments Fee: This selection indicates how you will handle fees associated with online payments. You will only need to make a selection here if you have indicated that you will be using LivePayments.
  • Absorb Online Payments Fee: A fee will be collected from you post-auction and will not be added to the buyer's invoice.
  • Pass Online Payments Fee onto Bidders: A fee will be added to the buyer's invoice so that the fee is not collected from you post-auction. If you intend to pass the online payments fee on to bidders, please ensure this is clearly stated in both your Terms and Conditions and Payment Policy.
• Autopay: Automatically collects payments from bidders. You will only need to make a selection here if you will be using LivePayments. Click here to learn more about Autopay.
  • Standard Autopay: Automatically charges bidders for any payments that are still outstanding 72 hours after invoicing.
  • Instant Autopay: Automatically charges bidders as soon as the invoices are sent. Bidders will be informed to expect invoices shortly upon auction close for any won items. To ensure a positive experience for winning bidders, please make any necessary adjustments and send invoices within 6 hours of auction completion.

• Credit Card Payment Limit & Bank Transfer Requirement: Here you can set the maximum amount of money that you'll accept credit card payments on. Anything above that amount will be required to be paid via Bank Transfer (ACH).
  • Do not enable credit card payment limit: Indicates that there is no limit to amount that can be paid via credit card.
  • Invoice only up to $5,000 can be paid with credit card: Indicates that you will accept credit card payments on invoices with a total of up to $5,000 (not including sales tax or processing fees).
  • Invoices only up to a custom value can be paid with credit card: Indicates that you will accept credit card payments on invoices with a total of up to the value you enter into the field. That value does not include sales tax or processing fees.
  • No invoices can be paid with a credit card: Indicates that you will not accept any payments made via credit card.
• Payment Methods Accepted: Check the box to left of each payment method you will accept. The credit card options below will not be available for selection if you have indicated that you will not accept any credit card payments.
  • Visa / Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Discover
  • Personal Check
  • COD (Cash on Delivery)
  • Money Order/Cashiers Checks
  • Wire Transfer                                                                                                  

• Currency: Choose the currency you will use to price your items. We recommend choosing a currency that is the same as your bank’s currency, as choosing a different currency may result in currency conversion fees.

• Buyer’s Premium: This is a service fee for which the buyer is responsible. The Online Buyer's Premium can be set from 0% up to 5% above the Buyer's Premium charged to floor bidders (i.e. "In-House Buyer's Premium"). For example, if your In-House Buyer's Premium is 20%, you may charge up to 25% to bidders on LiveAuctioneers. For more information about Buyer's Premiums, click here.

Click the Next button at the bottom of the page to proceed to the Bid Increments tab.

Select Bid Increments

The Bid Increments tab is where you set up your Bid Increment table. This table determines the amount each bid is increased by as the bidding progresses. Increments can be modified up until 2 hours before the start of the sale. 

For Live auctions, your Internet clerk has the ability to adjust the bid increments on the day of the sale through the LiveAuctioneers seller’s console. 

When completing the Bid Increment table, you must set a minimum of 10 increments.

At the bottom of the page, check the box to indicate that you have confirmed your bid increments are correct and then click the Next button to proceed to the Policies tab.

Confirm Policies

The Policies tab is where you document all of the details your bidders need to be aware of in order to ensure a positive auction experience.

Standard Policies: Buyers will see these policies on the auction's page and within the Shipping, Payment, and Auction Policies section of the item pages. These policies are designed to protect you as a seller as well as your bidders. By providing policies that are safe, fair, and respectful, you can offer assurance and instill confidence in your buyers.

• Payment: This field should describe the types of payments you accept and whether or not bidders should expect to be charged automatically. This field should also describe any payment limitations. If you intend to pass the Online Payments Fee on to bidders, please ensure this is clearly stated here as well as in the Terms & Conditions field below..
• Shipping: This field should describe how you handle shipping, such as whether or not bidders can arrange their own shipping and if you offer local pick-up.
• Terms & Conditions: Your Terms & Conditions provide a brief description of what your buyers should expect when purchasing from your auctions. Provide your buyers with important information about how you do business, and indicate whether or not you offer cancellations. This field has a 90,000 character limit.

• Invoice Message: Your invoice message will appear on the bottom of the invoice that is emailed directly to your buyers. Keep this succinct and only include the most important payment and shipping information:
  • Whether you have a payment deadline
  • What types of payment you accept (if you are not using LivePayments)
  • The best way to complete payment (if you use LivePayments, please reference our Guidelines & Best Practices)
  • Shipping and pickup information

You will be able to update and edit your Invoice Message during the auction setup process and while your catalog is online. Your Invoice Message can be found in your auctioneer dashboard under your auction > Auction Details > Policies.  

Next Steps

1. Create/Upload Catalog Items

   • If uploading a catalog spreadsheet, be sure it is properly formatted prior to upload.

2. Upload Catalog Images

   • You can add images individually or upload in bulk. Take a look at our photo guides to learn about the required image formats, how to use our Drag-and-Drop feature (recommended), or how to set up your FTP program.

   • Please note, if the auction setup is not finished, you will not be able to upload images.

3. Select Your Cover Lots

   • Cover lots are photos of three lots that will appear next to your auction details on LiveAuctioneers.com.

4. Complete Payment for Your Auction Set Up

   • This is where you pay for the listing fee and any marketing you've purchased for the auction.

5. Proof & Publish Your Catalog

   • Review your Auction Details and agree to the LiveAuctioneers Terms & Conditions to get your auction up on LiveAuctioneers.com.