How Auto Increments affect Webcast Pre-Bidding and Clerking

8 min readUpdated October 18, 2025

This guide details the affect Auto Increments have on Webcast Auction Pre-Bidding. Whilst the affect is similar to that of Auto Increments for Timed Auctions, the method for enabling and disabling Auto Increments for Webcast Auctions is different and can influence both Pre-Bidding and Clerking.

This guide will focus on what how Auto Increments affect your Bidders, your Portal your Dashboard Admins, and your Clerk. We recommend watching the Overview Video below, or scroll down the full written guide. Click here for the steps on Enabling Auto Increments for Webcast Auctions.

Overview Video – How Auto Increments affect Webcast Pre-Bidding and Clerking

Overview Video Coming Soon

Auto Increments Explained

Your Auto Increments table explained

Your Auto Increments table will contain your preset Default Auto Increments, as set during the setup and testing phase of your Portal.

Your Auto Increments table uses what we call Auto Increment Spans to set the current Increment on a Lot, these spans are split into two figures:

The Increment – This is the Increment your Lots will follow up to the Bidding Ceiling
The Bidding Ceiling – This determines the limit for that Increment from which it will switch to the next higher Increment in your table.

For example, our sample Auto Increment table currently uses these Spans:

$100 increments up to $1,000
$250 increments up to $5,000
$500 increments up to $20,000
$1,000 increments up to $50,000
$2,500 increments up to $100,000
$5,000 increments up to $200,000
$10,000 increments up to $400,000

Once your Lot reaches the upper limit of your Auto Increment table (i.e. the highest bid passes last span on the list) your Lot will use the Final Increment for all further bidding on that Lot:

$20,000 increments from $400,000 onwards

The Webtron Dashboard follows specific formatting for your Auto Increment table, each Auto Increment value must have two additional 0s (zeros) added to the end of the value:

10000<100000 ($100 increments up to $1,000)
25000<500000
50000<2000000
100000<5000000
250000<10000000
500000<20000000
1000000<40000000
2000000

Your Bidders and your Portal – Webcast Auto Increments

Terminology Clarification – When we refer to Auto Increments and Manual Increments being enabled or disabled, we’re referring to the action of disabling (unticking) the Manual Increments checkbox located in the Webcast Clerking console. Manual Increments Disabled = Auto Increments Enabled.

The most immediate and obvious affect enabling Auto Increments has on both your Bidder and your Portal can be found simply by opening the Place Auto Bid panel. With Manual Increments enabled, your Bidders are free to type in any amount they choose to set as their Auto Bid:

Place Auto Bid panel with Manual Increments Enabled

Place Auto Bid panel with Auto Increments Enabled

The Place Auto Bid field becomes a dropdown, with the Bidder having the option to pick from the next 100 Increments for that Lot, rather than being able to type in a manual amount.

This means that any Standard Bids will also follow your Auto Increment table and update based on the set Opening Bid or Current Highest Bid amounts.

Your Dashboard Admins and your Clerk – Webcast Auto Increments

Enabling Auto Increments has affects beyond your Portal and can, from some perspectives, add restrictions to how your Dashboard Admins and your Clerk can control and edit your Lots.

Dashboard Admins and Editing Lots

The most obvious affect is when Creating or Importing your Items. If Auto Increments are enabled, the Increment column will be relabelled as Dynamic Bid Increment, meaning the Increment is set based on the value you set in the Opening Bid field for that Lot:

This also means that if you Edit or Bulk Edit your Lots later on, you cannot change the Increment on your Lots until Manual Increments is re-enabled.

Changes can be made by updating your Auto Increments table, but we do not recommend doing this without due consideration and training. Any changes to your Auto Increments table will affect ALL of your Auctions in Live status, including any Timed and Webcast Auctions running simultaneously.

Edit Access Restrictions – Access and editing privileges for your Auto Increment table is currently restricted to Webtron Dashboard Admin Tier 5. We recommend booking a consultation and training session before making any changes to your Auto Increment table.

Webcast Clerks and Managing Lots

Whilst your Webcast Clerk has ultimate control over whether Auto Increments or Manual Increments are enabled, we’ll run through the affect Auto Increments can have on the Lot in the Ring. As a quick reminder, your Webcast Lots are pulled in to the ring and auctioned off one-by-one (or grouped), with the Clerk having the ability:

Set the current Hammer price
Set the current Asking Price
Set Current Increment (if Manual Increments is enabled)
Place Bids on behalf of the Floor (Floor Bidder Bids)
Cancel and Undo Bids
Accept Commission Bids on the current Increment or Asking Price
Sell or Pass the Lot in the Ring
Pull the Lot from the Ring and send in a different Lot

Auto Increments affected the Clerk’s ability to change the current Increment on a Lot. When Auto Increments are enabled, the Increments list will still indicate the current Increment set for this Lot, but the list will not be clickable:

The Clerk has the ability to re-enable Manual Increments by ticking the Manual Incr. checkbox below the Increments list here:

However, this will affected all other Webcast Auctions in Live status on your Portal. Enabling Manual Increments again will disable Auto Increments for all other Webcast Auctions in the Pre-Bidding phase. Toggling between Manual Increments and Auto Increments is quick and easy for the Clerk, but we recommend considering the wider affect changing this setting can have if you are running multiple Webcast Auctions simultaneously.

Auto Increments for Webcast Auctions – Pros and Cons

If you are considering using Auto Increments for just Webcast Pre-Bidding, or Live Bidding, or both, we heavily recommend reading through the Pros and Cons listed below. If you’re unsure or have any questions, get in contact with us at support@webtronoa.com to book a consultation and training session.

Auto Increments for Webcast Auctions – Pros and Cons List

Pros	Cons
Auto Increments will prevent Bidders from setting off-increment Auto Bids.	The Commission Bid field during the Live Bidding phase will still allow Bidders to enter an off-increment amount, regardless of Increments setting.
Auto Increments introduce an easier structure for your Bidders to follow.	Your Auto Increment table is hidden from your Bidders but the Increment indicator on your Portal (on each Lot and the Lot in the Ring) will display the current Increment and update automatically.
Auto Increments simplify the Clerking process.	Clerks cannot change the Increment unless Manual Increments is re-enabled, creating an extra click and time delay if an increment change is requested by the Auctioneer.
Your Auto Increment table can be updated at any time.	Your Auto Increment table is applied to all of your Webcast Auctions, but with the option to toggle it on or off for your Timed Auctions.
For your Bidders, Auto Increments greatly simplifies the process of setting an Auto Bid amount.	Whilst Auto Increments is enabled, your Bidders can only pick from the next 100 Increments on Lot. This may be enough, but to set an Auto Bid higher than the 100th option, they must choose the 100th Increment, confirm that as their Auto Bid amount, then open the Place Auto Bid panel again to choose from the next 100 Increments.
Auto Increments or Manual Increments can be easily toggled by the Clerk or an Admin with access to the Webcast Clerking console.	Webcast Auto Increments can only be enabled from the Clerking console, requiring you to have at least one hidden and unreconciled Webcast Auction active at all times.
Each of the bands or spans of your Auto Increment table can be as broad or specific as you want them to be.	Editing your Auto Increment table is a delicate process and errors could result in lower than intended bid amounts being actionable by your Bidders.

Should you use Auto Increments for your Webcast Auctions?

Ultimately this is up to you, we can assist you with setting up your Auto Increment table, as well as instructing your admins on how to edit it, how the Clerk can toggle it on and off and give you directions on how best to manage your Increments, but the choice to use or trial them out is up to you.

We recommend discussing the affects using Auto Increments can have, both on your Clerk and your Bidders, weigh up the pros and cons and how it would affect your internal processes as well, and if Auto Increments would ultimately be of benefit to you and your Bidders.