How to Ship Auction Items: A Guide for Houses and Winners

What are the ways an online auction can ship?

The seller picks one shipping mode per auction, and every item page shows which it is before anyone bids.

Per-item pricing suits small, uniform items the seller can price in advance. Combined shipping suits winners who take several items, since one box usually costs less to send than several. For the bidder's view, see do online auctions ship?

• Pickup only: winners collect from the seller. Common for furniture, equipment and anything heavy or fragile.
• A price on each item: the shipping amount shows on the item page and is part of the You pay total before you bid.
• One combined amount after the auction: the item page says Quoted after the auction, and the seller adds one shipping amount to the invoice once it knows everything a winner took.

How do I ship auction lots as the auction house?

Shipping runs through Auction settings before the auction opens and the Invoices tab after it closes.

1. In Auction settings, choose the auction's shipping mode before you publish, and set a shipping price on each item if it ships at a per-item price.
2. After the auction closes, open the Invoices tab. For combined shipping, weigh each winner's items and enter their shipping amount; their Pay button appears.
3. Wait for payment. Winners pay by card on Auktia, straight to your Stripe account.
4. Pack and send. Then tap Mark shipped and enter the carrier and tracking number, or tap Scan label to add tracking from the label.
5. The winner sees the tracking on My bids. Invoices and payments are covered in auction invoicing.

How do I get an auction win shipped to me?

Winners handle everything from My bids, the page that holds your bids, wins, invoices and receipts.

1. Before you bid, check the item page's Shipping line: a price, Quoted after the auction, or pickup.
2. After you win, open My bids and choose Ship here, or Use another address for a different one. Tap Save as my address for next time if you'll use it again.
3. If shipping is quoted after the auction, wait for the seller to add it; then Pay appears and you pay by card.
4. Follow the tracking on My bids once the seller marks the item shipped.
5. When it arrives, check it against the description. If it's materially different, tell the seller and Auktia within 7 days under buyer protection.

How should you pack auction items for shipping?

Auction stock is often used, odd-shaped or one of a kind, so packing matters more than for new goods in their own box. General habits that work with any carrier:

• Photograph the item and its condition before it goes in the box, so there's a record if a question comes up.
• Use a sturdy box with room for padding on every side, and double-box anything fragile.
• Wrap each piece separately and fill empty space so nothing shifts when the box is shaken.
• Tape every seam, and put a slip with the item number inside in case the outside label is lost.
• Weigh and measure the packed box before quoting: carriers price on weight and size, and a guess can eat the margin.
• Keep anything that can't travel safely pickup only, rather than finding out at the shipping counter.

Which auctions can't ship?

Cash-at-pickup auctions can't ship. A seller running without Stripe confirms the owner's phone with a text code, and its auctions are pickup only: winners see the item and pay at the door. Stripe is the way to take cards online and to ship, so a seller that wants to ship connects Stripe first. See cash-at-pickup auctions.

On the money side, the item page works out sales tax on the winning bid (hammer price) plus the buyer's fee (buyer's premium), not on shipping, so the shipping line adds to your total without tax on top.