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Webtron VendorPlus+

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Short answers and quick steps for everyday jobs. Each one links to its full guide.

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5 quick steps

The Logo, Documents, Contacts and Supporting Content tabs are optional, and every field can be edited later.

  1. In the Dashboard sidebar, open Auctions & Items and click Create Timed Auction.
  2. On General Settings, enter the Name of Auction, Description, Bidding Extension and Buyers Premium.
  3. On Dates, set when the auction starts and ends.
  4. On Location, tick Use Auctioneer Address or enter the site address.
  5. Click the green Save Auction button. You land back on View Auctions with an Auction Created message.

Read the full guide Creating a Timed Auction

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Creating a New Timed Auction

Transcript

Before we begin, don't forget you can turn on Picture-in-Picture to watch this tutorial

video whilst you're using the Webtron dashboard.

Welcome back to the Webtron Guidebase.

In this tutorial video, we'll be covering how to create a new timed option.

Once you've logged into the Webtron dashboard, you can start creating a new timed auction

straight from the homepage.

Click Auctions & Items in the sidebar, and then click Create Timed Auction.

This will take you through to the new auction menu.

In each tab, you'll find fields marked with a red star.

These are required fields that must be filled in, either with just content, or to follow

a certain format.

First we'll start with the name of the auction.

We have up to 128 characters for your auction title, and the title of your auction will

serve as a link into the auction itself.

We'll call this Example Timed Auction 2.

Below that you'll find the description field.

The auction description appears below the title, on both the current auctions page and

on the auction catalogue page.

Your description can be any information that you would like to provide to your bidder,

such as collection days, brief details about some of the lots appearing in this auction,

or contact information for relevant team members.

Below the description you'll find the Currency, Bidding Extension, and Purchase Cutoff dropdown.

Your currency will be automatically set by your auctioneer profile, but if you need to

change it, click on the dropdown and select where the currency is listed below.

Next is the Bidding Extension.

The Bidding Extension is a time extension added to your lot's end time.

For example, if I set the bidding extension to 2 minutes, any bids placed in the last

2 minutes of a lot's countdown will then extend that lot for another 2 minutes, and that lot

will enter what we call Overtime Bidding.

If any further bids are placed once it reaches its 2 minutes countdown again, it will extend

for another 2 minutes.

The lot will close once all bidding activity has ceased.

We can select from 5 seconds up to 10 minutes, but our recommendation is 2 minutes.

This will give your bidders enough time to open their outbid notification and return

to your portal should they wish to keep bidding.

Below the Bidding Extension dropdown you'll find Purchase Cutoff.

Purchase Cutoff applies to the lot item type, if you have added either the Buy Now or Make

Offer purchase options to your lots.

Purchase Cutoff will hide the Buy Now or Make Offer options before your auction closes if

no purchases have been made on the lot or offers accepted.

By clicking the dropdown, you can choose to hide the Buy Now or Make Offer buttons 24

hours before your auction closes, or even up to 7 days.

And if you're not using the Buy Now or Make Offer purchase options, you can click No Buy

Now option.

Purchase Cutoff only applies to the lot item type, it does not apply to listings.

We have an overview video breaking down all of the item types and purchase options linked

in the description below, or you can ask our AI technical support to explain the difference

between the different purchase options and the item types that can use them.

Below Purchase Cutoff, you'll find your Buyer's Premium and your Tax Rates.

These will be prefilled based on your auctioneer profile's default Buyer's Premium and Tax

Rates, but if you need to change them, you can click into the field and modify your existing

Buyer's Premium.

The Buyer's Premium and Tax Rates follow a four-digit system, or a two-decimal system.

The first figure is the primary percentage, and two decimals.

If you are not levying additional taxes, such as GST or VAT, you can set your Tax Rates

to zero, and that will hide them from your portal.

Both your Tax Rate and Buyer's Premium can be edited at any stage.

Your Buyer's Premium and Tax Rate percentages can also be edited on a per-item basis after

you have created or imported your items.

The next tab is the Logo tab.

You have the option of adding some additional branding to each of your options by adding

a logo.

The logo will occupy the first slot in your current options image carousel here on your

portal.

Adding a logo is optional.

If you choose to add a logo, we recommend adding it as a PNG, but it can be a JPEG,

PNG, or TIFF.

We recommend also using a square 1-to-1 aspect ratio to best fit the box on your current

auctions page.

If you don't want to add a logo, you can click Undo, and proceed straight to the Dates tab.

The Dates tab is where you will set both the auction bidding start date and end date, as

well as your inspection or collection dates.

We'll start with the Auction Start and End section.

Your timezone will be prefilled by your auctioneer profile, so you don't need to change it.

Your portal will also translate the time of your auction to the user's default timezone,

either set at their device or in their bidder profile.

So if you have any bidders that are outside your timezone, they'll see your portal times

in their local times.

First, you'll need to add your auction start date.

Auction Starts refers to when the bidding will actually open for this timed auction.

Since both your auction and your items are in live status, your auction can appear early

on your portal.

Auction Starts purely controls when the bidding will actually open up.

To set your start date, click on the Date field.

A calendar will pop up underneath the Date field, with today's date highlighted in blue.

You can pick a retrospective or future date, or use the left and right arrow at the top

of the panel to cycle through the months.

You can click the hour dropdown, and pick from an hour in 24 hour time, 00 being midnight

and 23 being 11pm.

You can also change the minute value, which is in 5 minute increments.

The default is on the hour, but you can set it on the half hour if you choose.

Your Auction Starts and Auction Ends date can also be edited at any time.

If you do make any changes to your auction end date, remember to pull your items into

Bulk Edit to apply the new end date, as any changes to your auction dates is not automatically

reflected on your items.

They will retain their original end date.

Below the Auction Starts fields, you'll find the Stagger End Times checkbox.

Whilst Stagger End Times is not marked as required, we do recommend using it, especially

if your auction features more than 150 lots.

Stagger End Times allows you to set what are called soft close groups of your lots.

For example, if I set the buy rate to 5 minutes, and the lots to 10, the first 10 lots will

close at the auction ends time that I set, and then the next 10 lots will close 5 minutes

later, giving your auction a more gradual close, and allowing your bidders to follow

along with the end of the auction a bit easier, especially if they're bidding on multiple

lots.

Bidding Extension is not affected by Stagger End Times, so your lot countdowns will still

extend if they receive any bids in your Bidding Extension timeframe.

Same with Auction Starts and Auction Ends, your Stagger Rate can be edited at any time.

If done so, you'll just need to Bulk Edit lot 1 to apply the new Stagger Rate to your

item list.

We'll have a guide linked in the description, breaking down Stagger End Times and showing

you how to enable it, disable it, and how to edit your lots, should you change your

Stagger Rate after creating or importing your items.

Below Stagger End Times, you'll find the Auction Ends fields.

This allows you to set the end date of your auction.

Same as the Auction Starts field, click on the date bar, and then choose a date from

the calendar.

The only rule with the Auction Ends date is that, naturally, it has to be after the Auction

Starts date.

Then next to the date field, set your hour and minute rate.

If you're running a Timed Auction, if you're unsure when to end your Timed Auction, we

have a couple of recommendations.

If your Timed Auction is closing on a weekday, we recommend setting the end time in the evening,

giving your bidders the best chance to follow on with the end of your auction.

If the end date is on the weekend, we recommend setting your end time in the late afternoon.

Below the Auction Ends field, you'll find the Auction Viewing and Auction Clearance

sections.

Viewing is our terminology for inspection.

If you're offering inspection for your auction items, you have several options, starting

with Buy Appointment Only.

If you would like to set a date span, letting your bidders know when they can come in and

look at your items, you can simply set a Viewing Starts and Viewing Ends date span, and then

add additional information to the Comment on Viewing.

If you would prefer that your bidders get in contact with you and arrange an appointment

for inspection, you can choose Yes with Dates, or just Yes.

Yes with Dates will still allow you to set a Start and End date span, whilst Buy Appointment

Only Yes will hide the dates, and you can add additional information to the Comment

on Viewing field, such as contact information.

The easiest configuration that we recommend is setting Auction Viewing to Buy Appointment

Only Yes, and then using the Comment on Viewing field to add additional information for your

bidders.

Below the Auction Viewing fields, you'll find Auction Clearance.

Clearance is our terminology for collection.

You can set a date span and add a comment if you would like to specify when the collection

date or collection deadline will be for your auction.

Auction Clearance is optional.

You can add the dates here, as well as additional information in the Comment on Clearance field,

or add your collection information directly to your invoices, so that only your winning

bidders will see the dates.

The next tab is the Location tab.

The location you provide to your bidders can either be your office, storefront, or the

collection point for your auction.

We will have added a default address to your auctioneer profile.

Ticking Use Auctioneer Address will fill in this address for you.

The only required fields in the Location tab is Address Line 1, Town or City, Postal or

Zip Code, and Country.

You can tick Use Auctioneer Address to pre-fill your address details, or click into either

of the fields and fill them in manually, as needed.

We don't recommend clicking Pinpoint on Map.

The Google Maps API is currently unreliable, and may result in errors on your portal, so

we recommend skipping straight to the Documents tab.

You have the option to attach documents at both the auction and per-item level.

Whilst creating your auction, you can attach documents at the auction level.

These documents can be Word Docs, or .docx, Adobe PDFs, or Excel Spreadsheets in the .csv

format.

These will then be made available in the Essential Information panel on your portal, where your

bidders can both open or download the documents that you've provided.

Adding documents is completely optional.

There is no cap on the total number of documents you can attach at either the auction or item

level, but there is a cap on the individual file size of each file.

Each individual file can be up to 20MB in size.

If you don't have any relevant documents for your auction, you can skip ahead to the Contacts

tab.

The Contacts tab allows you to assign contact profiles to your auction.

For example, we've created a Webtron Support contact profile.

Ticking this checkbox will add the Webtron Support contact profile's details to the Essential

Information panel here.

You can create new contact profiles in the Users & Groups Contacts menu here, and assign

them different roles, such as Auction Information, Bidder Approval, or Collection Information.

Assigning contacts is optional.

We can also add a Contact Us button to your portal, should you wish your bidders to be

able to contact you on a single number or email address.

The next tab is the Supporting Content tab.

The Supporting Content tab contains some of your default content for your auctions, such

as your Terms & Conditions, Collection, Payment, and Registration message.

We'll start with the Special Terms & Conditions.

When creating your portal, you will have sent us a copy of your Terms & Conditions.

Every time you create a new auction, your auction will use your default Terms & Conditions,

and your bidders will be accepting those terms every time they register for one of your new

auctions.

With Special Terms & Conditions, you have the option to set per-auction Terms & Conditions.

To do so, untick the Use Auctioneer Content checkbox at the top left.

This will expose the text field for all of the following content boxes.

The Special Terms & Conditions, you can click into the box and copy and paste your different

terms.

When registering for your auction, your bidders will see these auction-specific Terms & Conditions.

If you have any other active auctions on your portal, they will not be affected by this

change.

The Terms & Conditions set in the Special Terms & Conditions box here will affect only

this auction.

Beneath Special Terms & Conditions, you'll find the Auction Information Collection field.

Here, you can specify your auction collection details, such as location, dates, and contacts.

This is also optional, and you can save the collection dates for your invoices, should

you only wish to communicate that to your winning bidders.

Below that, you'll find the Auction Information Payment field.

We can add default payment details to your auctioneer profile, or we can specify that

your payment information is contained within your Terms & Conditions.

These can be details specific to your payment terms, or other details such as direct transfer

details.

If you would prefer to state that only on the invoices, you can leave this box as is.

And then below that, you'll find the Auction Information Registration field.

Your bidders will see the registration message when they are accepting the Ts and Cs for

your auction.

You can change this registration message on a per-auction basis.

Otherwise, your auction will use your default template.

Below all of the fields, you'll find what are called substitution keys.

These can be added to each of the fields listed above, such as the registration message.

For example, if I want to add the person's name to the top of the registration message,

I can add a new line to the Auction Information Registration, add a bracket, and add the number

1.

Bidders will substitute the number 1 for their full name, or you can use their username by

changing the number 1 to 0.

Changing your supporting content is completely optional.

If you would like to use just your default content, leave Use Auctioneer Content ticked.

The final tab is Catalog Config.

Catalog Config is no longer supported, and will be removed from the Webtron dashboard

in a future update.

So you can skip ahead and click Save Auction at the bottom right of your screen.

We recommend clicking Save Auction, but leaving As Draft unticked.

Draft status for auctions is largely redundant.

Clicking Save Auction will move your auction into Preview status, while still hiding it

from your portal.

After clicking Save Auction, if you have left any required fields empty or filled them in

incorrectly, the dashboard will highlight this and prevent the auction from being saved.

Any errors with how you've filled out your auction details will be highlighted in this

red error box at the top of your screen.

Each individual error will be specified, and you can click Show Error.

That will take you to the tab, and highlight the field that you need to fix, as well as

tell you how to fix it.

For example, I've left the Hour field for both Auction Starts and Auction Ends empty.

I'll need to set an Auction Starts Hour, and Auction Ends Hour, in order to save my auction.

Once you've fixed up any of the errors listed, click Save Auction again, and you'll be returned

to the View Auctions page.

You may notice that your auctions aren't listed on the View Auctions page.

By default, the View Auctions page is filtered to show only auctions in Live status.

Newly created auctions will land in Preview status.

Click Modify Filter at the top left of the page, then under the Status section, tick

Preview, and then click Apply.

Your newly created auctions will now be displayed on the View Auctions menu.

Now that your new timed auction is in Preview status, you can edit it further, or create

or import items to this auction.

We'll cover how to create or import items in the next guide, but if you have any questions,

or would like to arrange one-on-one training, feel free to email us at support at webtronoa.com.

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