Cash-Only Auction Pickup: Run Online Sales Without Stripe

How do cash-at-pickup auctions work on Auktia?

Some auction houses would rather collect at the door than run a card processor. Auktia lets them sell online anyway. Instead of connecting Stripe, the seller confirms the owner's mobile number with a 6-digit text code on My auctions, under how you get paid.

From then on, its auctions are pickup only, with no shipping. Winners see the item in person and pay at pickup by whatever the auction lists: cash, card, check, Venmo or Zelle. Bidders still add a card to Auktia before they bid, because that's Auktia's check that every bidder is real. That card isn't charged for these auctions: winners pay you at pickup, not Auktia.

How do I set up a cash-only pickup auction?

The usual first steps still apply: agree to the Terms, add the Billing card on My auctions, confirm your seller information and wait for approval, usually within a day. Then:

1. On My auctions, under how you get paid, enter the owner's mobile number.
2. Type in the 6-digit code Auktia texts to that phone.
3. Open Auction settings → Auction details → Pickup days, tap + Add a pickup day for each date and time window, add Pickup notes for anything else, and tap Save.
4. List the payment methods the auction takes at pickup, such as cash, check, Venmo or Zelle.
5. Publish the auction. Pickup and remove-by details show on the auction page, and the auction appears in the Pickup planner on those days.
6. After the auction closes, open the Invoices tab and tap Mark paid as each winner pays.

How do I mark winners paid at pickup?

The auction's Invoices tab lists every winner's invoice with the winning bid (hammer price), buyer's fee (buyer's premium) and sales tax. Print all invoices before pickup day so your counter has a copy. When a winner pays, tap Mark paid and pick how: cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, card or other.

A worked example: a $100 winning bid at an 18% buyer's fee with 8.25% sales tax comes to $100 + $18 + $9.74 = $127.74. Tax is on the winning bid plus the fee, and a pickup-only auction has no shipping line. The winner saw that same total on the item page (lot page) before bidding, so the number at your counter is no surprise.

Auktia sends winners payment reminders automatically. For winners you know are paying at pickup, tap Pause reminders so they don't get nudged for money they plan to hand you in person.

What if a winner doesn't show up to pay?

No-shows are the cost of cash sales, and Auktia gives you two tools for them. From day 3 after the auction, tap Report non-payment in the auction's Invoices tab. That pauses the no-show's bidding across Auktia, not just on your auctions.

You can also block a bidder from one auction or from all your auctions, and new bidders can only have $2,500 of bids and unpaid wins at once until they've paid an invoice. Approving and blocking bidders covers the Bidders tab.

When should you connect Stripe instead?

Stripe is still the way to take cards online and to ship. With Stripe, winners pay by card on Auktia straight to your Stripe account, and Stripe pays out to your bank. Cash-at-pickup auctions can't ship, so if you sell to bidders out of town, connect Stripe from Card payments → Connect your Stripe account.

Fees work either way. When an auction closes, Auktia holds its fee on your Billing card, and about 4 days later charges what card payments didn't already cover. On a cash-at-pickup auction, that's the whole fee. The card payments guide weighs the tradeoffs.