Alec Young In this guide chapter, we’ll break down how Timed Auctions and the Marketplace work.
Why both at the same time? Timed Auctions and the Marketplace both share a lot of options and features, look at it this way:
- Timed Auctions allow you to run short, non-live Auctions over a set timeframe, with the Lots and Listings closing once the End Date and Time for the Timed Auction is reached.
- The Marketplace is basically a permanent Timed Auction that allows you to list individual Lots and Listings with independent End Dates and End Times.
Timed Auctions
It’s the Final Countdown
At the most basic level, Timed Auctions are defined by the countdown. In the Webtron Dashboard, you’ll set a Start Date and Time, and an End Date and Time. Once the Start Date and Time is reached, your Bidders can place Bids and set Auto Bids right up until the End Time. Once the countdown on each Lot and Listing reaches zero, that’s it.
However, there’s more to Timed Auctions than meets the eye.
Simple Setup, Easy Management, Deep Flexibility.
Like their Webcast Auction counterpart, Timed Auctions with Webtron are simple to set up. If you don’t have all your Auction Details finalised yet, you can use placeholders to create your Auction and start creating or uploading Items. The only fields you need to fill in are:
- Auction Title
- Auction Description
- Buyer’s Premium (Pre-filled by your Auctioneer profile)
- Auction Start and End Dates (both can be changed at any point)
- Auction Location (City/Suburb and Country at a minimum)
Once up and running, Timed Auctions are easy to manage. From just the Bid Table, you can:
- View incoming Bids and Auto Bids in near-real-time
- Cancel Bids and Disable Auto Bids
- Make realtime changes to Increments and Reserves
And with no Live Webcast phase, Timed Auctions are as close to set-and-forget as Online Auctions get.
That being said, Timed Auctions with Webtron offer deep flexibility, from the Auction down to the per-Item level. Timed Auctions don’t just offer straightforward Bidding options for your Bidders, you can also:
- Add either a Buy Now or Make Offer button to Lots.
- Add Listings that show only either a Buy Now or Make Offer purchase option (No Bidding option for Listings).
- Re-order your Item list manually and use alphanumerical Item IDs, not just Lot Numbers.
- More Lots and Listings can be added at any stage.
- Bidding Extension will keep your Lots open if there are any last-minute bids, giving your Bidders plenty of time to get their bids in. Bidding Extension can also be updated at any time, even whilst the Auction is closing.
- Stagger End Times gives your Bidders the benefit of a gradual closure, splitting the End Times out for individual or clusters of Lots, helping smooth the anxiety and pressure of getting in Bids on multiple Lots as the countdown gets closer to 0.
Timed Auctions with Webtron breakdown
Create new Timed Auction
You’ll start off by filling out the Create new Timed Auction form, after which your Timed Auction will land in Preview status.
Create/Upload and Convert Items
Once in Preview status, you can now create items for your auction, either directly in-dashboard or upload via CSV spreadsheet, after which you’ll convert your items from Ghost to Preview status.
Upload Images and Attachments
After converting your items, you can now upload images via Bulk Upload, Bulk Edit or VendorPlus, and add attachments such as PDFs, Word Docs and embed YouTube videos.
Approve your Auction and Items
Use the Approve action on both your auction and items to show them on your Portal.
Manage Bids and Bidders
Whilst your auction is running, you can monitor and manage bids from the Bid Table, as well as view and manage Auction Registrations from the Registrants menu.
Reconcile your Auction
Once all of your items have closed you can Reconcile your auction to both move it to Past Auctions on your Portal, and enable Invoicing.
Generate and Send Invoices
After Reconciling your auction, you can now generate invoices in-Dashboard or use the VendorPlus Xero Manager to generate the Invoice Import spreadsheet for Xero.
Archive Auction
Once all Invoicing is complete, you can fully Archive your auction.
The Marketplace
Category-based and home to EOIs
The Marketplace is more oriented around your Category tree, displaying which Items are available based on their assigned Category:
Given the looser format of the Marketplace, we recommend using it to list Items that either didn’t sell during one of your Timed or Webcast Auctions, or Items that don’t fit in one of your Timed Auctions.
We also recommend using the Marketplace to list Expression of Interest items (EOIs) as Listings with the Purchase Option: Make Offer, as you can set a broad End Date and leave the EOIs up for your Bidders and Buyers to find.
The Marketplace with Webtron breakdown
Create/Upload/Transfer Items
You can create, import or transfer items to your Marketplace at any time, create them directly in-dashboard or upload via CSV spreadsheet, or transfer them via VendorPlus+.
Upload Images and Attachments
After converting your items, you can now upload images via Bulk Upload, Bulk Edit or VendorPlus, and add attachments such as PDFs, Word Docs and embed YouTube videos.
Approve your Items
After converting your items, you can now upload images via Bulk Upload, Bulk Edit or VendorPlus, and add attachments such as PDFs, Word Docs and embed YouTube videos.
Manage Bids, Bidders, Buyers, Purchases and Offers
The Marketplace has it’s own dedicated Bid Table, from which you can monitor and manage bids and offers, as well as view and manage Auction Registrations from the Registrants menu.
Reconcile your Items
Once all of your items have closed you can Reconcile your Items to enable Invoicing.
Generate and Send Invoices
After Reconciling your items, you can now generate invoices in-Dashboard or use the VendorPlus Xero Manager to generate the Invoice Import spreadsheet for Xero.
Archive Items
Once all Invoicing is complete, you can fully Archive your Items.