This article contains instructions for building and formatting a spreadsheet to upload your catalog to LiveAuctioneers. Steps on uploading a catalog spreadsheet can be found here.
This article contains the following sections:
About Catalog Spreadsheets
To bulk upload a catalog, you’ll need to use a spreadsheet generated from software such as Microsoft Excel (recommended) or OpenOffice. Your spreadsheet will need to be saved as a .CSV or text-tab delimited file type.
Excel files saved in the .xlsx file type cannot be uploaded.
Do not save your spreadsheet as a .csv UTF-8 file type.
Your catalog spreadsheet must contain the required columns listed below, and can contain any of the optional columns. Column titles/headers are case-sensitive and must be spelled exactly as they appear below in order for the column to be read by the platform.
See our sample catalog spreadsheet here for reference.
Click on any of the column titles below to view a definition of the column as well as any formatting requirements/limitations.
Please note, catalogs must contain between 50 - 1,250 lots.
Required Columns:
Optional Columns:
- Condition
- Consigner
- ImageFile.1, ... , ImageFile.20
- Is Firearm
- Buy Now Price
- Exclude From Buy Now
- Reserve Price
- Height
- Width
- Depth
- Dimension Unit
- Weight
- Weight Unit
- Domestic Flat Shipping Price
- Quantity
- Category
- Origin
- Style & Period
- Creator
- Materials & Techniques
- Lot Reference Number
- Location Nickname
Required Column Definitions
Lot Number (LotNum)
Lot numbers can consist of up to 10 characters maximum. The lot number may also have an alphabetical character following it (no space between the number and letter) to distinguish from identical numbers. For example, 27 and 27A.
- For auctions being cross-listed from LiveAuctioneers to The Saleroom, Lot-tissimo, or EstateSales.NET, Lot Numbers cannot begin with a letter or contain special characters such as periods, dashes, or underscores.
Title (Title)
This is used to display your lot on LiveAuctioneers, so add the most searchable words to your title. The title cannot exceed 100 characters (including spaces). If this column is missing, the platform will use the first 100 characters from Description column instead.
Description (Description)
There is no word limit here, so try to describe your item as accurately as possible. Be sure to include the size, age, materials used, artist/designer/manufacturer, how it was made, and any unique features. The words you use in the Description column help shoppers locate or discover your items when they search on LiveAuctioneers.
Please provide dimensions and weight as it will allow prospective bidders to estimate shipping cost, and will reduce the number of incoming inquiries. All damage should be well described.
- You may use simple HTML tags. Links to your website are NOT permitted and must be removed.
- Links to YouTube videos are NOT permitted.
- LINE BREAKS or CARRIAGE RETURNS. These should be specified using HTML tags such as <br>. Using the tag once is the equivalent of pressing enter once.
- Bolding your text is also permitted. These should be specified using an opening and ending tag. Using <b> at the beginning of the string of text notes that your text bolding should start at this point. To note that bolding should stop at a certain point, close it off with a </b>.
- Using <strong> and </strong> will not bold the text.
- Italicizing text is also permitted. These should be specified using an opening and ending tag. Using <i> at the beginning of the string of text notes that your italicized text should start at this point. To note that the italicized text should stop at a certain point, close it off with a </i>.
- Using <em> and </em> will not italicize the text.
- Chinese characters should be sent to us in Unicode. We recommend using Pinyin to convert any text with foreign characters to ensure they are correctly displayed.
See our Best Practices for Item Descriptions guide for more tips on creating quality item descriptions.
Low Estimate (LowEst)
List the low estimate of the item, which cannot be greater than your High Estimate or lower than your Start Price. Do not include currency symbols. This value cannot exceed more than 9 digits.
High Estimate (HighEst)
List the high estimate of the item, which cannot be equal to or less than your Low Estimate. Do not include currency symbols. This value cannot exceed more than 9 digits.
Start Price (StartPrice)
The start price will serve as a starting point for your bidders to leave absentee bids. The Start Price cannot be greater than your Low Estimate. If this field is left empty, the Start Price will be automatically be set to 50% of your Low Estimate. Do not include currency symbols. This value cannot exceed more than 9 digits.
For auctions being cross-listed from LiveAuctioneers to The Saleroom, Lot-tissimo, or EstateSales.NET, the Starting Prices will be rounded up to the next valid increments if they are not on-increment. This is to ensure full alignment between LiveAuctioneers and The Saleroom and/or Lot-tissimo. Additionally, a Starting Price equal to your first valid increment will be automatically created if one is not specified.
Optional Column Definitions
Condition
If you are aware of the condition of an item you are selling, please list it in this field as it can be helpful for the bidder when trying to determine the amounts they are willing to bid.
Consigner
This is for internal use only and will not be displayed online.
Image File (ImageFile.1 to ImageFile.20)
Image file columns are only required if the photographs are not named according to lot numbers. See our Image Requirements guide for more information about the accepted image file formats and naming conventions.
If you are using this column, you must list the full image file name including the .jpg extension. The file names are case sensitive.
Is Firearm
Enter either a zero or a one in this column to indicate whether or not there are firearms, or firearm accessories, within the auction that were produced after 1898:
- 0 = this item is not a firearm and does not contain firearm accessories
- 1 = this item is a firearm or does contain firearm accessories
Buy Now Price
If you enabled the Buy Now feature, this is the price at which your item will be listed after the auction if passed or unsold. If this field is left empty or the value entered is 0, the Buy Now price will be set at the Reserve Price or Low Estimate. This value cannot not exceed more than 9 digits.
For more information about the Buy Now feature, click here.
Exclude From Buy Now
If you have the Buy Now feature enabled, enter either a zero or a one in the column to indicate whether or not the item is eligible for Buy Now:
- 0 = (default) item eligible for Buy Now
- 1 = item not eligible for Buy Now
Reserve Price
If you are running an automated sale or using the Online Seller pricing plan, you can use this field to enter a Reserve Price above your Start Price. Items being sold on the automated console will not sell if the Reserve Price is not met. Click here for more information about Reserve Prices.
For auctions being cross-listed from LiveAuctioneers to The Saleroom, Lot-tissimo, or EstateSales.NET, the Reserve Prices will be rounded up to the next valid increments if they are not on-increment. This is to ensure full alignment between LiveAuctioneers and The Saleroom and/or Lot-tissimo.
Height
Used in conjunction with the Dimension Unit column to indicate the height of an item. This field only accepts numerical values.
Width
Used in conjunction with the Dimension Unit column to indicate the width of an item. This field only accepts numerical values.
Depth
Used in conjunction with the Dimension Unit column to indicate the depth of an item. This field only accepts numerical values.
Dimension Unit
Enter the measurement unit you used for height, width, and depth. Acceptable units are: in, ft, or cm
Weight
Used in conjunction with the Weight Unit column to indicate the weight of an item. This field only accepts numerical values.
Weight Unit
Enter the measurement unit you used for weight. Acceptable units are: oz, lb, g, or kg
Domestic Flat Shipping Price
Enter flat-rate shipping prices, if available to bidders in the contiguous US. This value will display prominently on your item listing pages and encourage bidding.
This field only accepts numerical values.
If you offer Free Shipping, enter the number zero (0) in this column. By doing so, a Free Shipping note will be displayed on the item page and your item will appear in Free Shipping filtered search results.
Quantity
Enter how many of this item are included in the lot. For example, if lot 45 was a set of 4 armchairs, you would put 4 in the Quantity field for this lot.
Important: This does NOT allow you to set the price per piece in a lot. LiveAuctioneers does not support Price Per Piece or Times the Money for a lot. The price you enter for a lot is for the whole lot, regardless of the quantity entered.
Category
Enter an ID to categorize the item's Category. Category codes can be found here. Learn more about item categorization here.
Origin
Enter up to two IDs to categorize the item's Origin(s). Separate multiple IDs with spaces. Origin codes can be found here. Learn more about item categorization here.
Style & Period
Enter up to two IDs to categorize the item's Style & Period(s). Separate multiple IDs with spaces. Style & Period codes can be found here. Learn more about item categorization here.
Creator
Enter up to three IDs to categorize the item's Creator(s). Separate multiple IDs with spaces. Creator codes can be found here. Learn more about item categorization here.
Materials & Techniques
Enter up to eight IDs to categorize the item's Materials & Techniques. Separate multiple IDs with spaces. Materials & Technique codes can be found here. Learn more about item categorization here.
Lot Reference Number
Enter a reference number up to eight-digits. This field is optional and internal only.
Location Nickname
If you are storing the lots for a sale in multiple locations (example: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago), please note the respective Nickname of the location next to each item.
This will help when arranging shipping or pickup of items post-auction, as well generating shipping quotes if you use LiveShipping. For more information about shipping locations, click here.
Any lots that are not associated to a Location Nickname will default to the auction location that you entered under Details and Date in the Auction Details.