Timed Auction Software: Soft Close, Staggered Lots and Fair Bidding

How does a timed online auction work?

Bidding opens on a set date and runs for days. Each lot has a closing time, and lots close one after another, often a few seconds apart. Bidders place a bid at the next increment, or enter a max bid and let the software bid for them.

When a bid arrives in a lot's last minutes, soft close resets that lot's clock to the full window, and keeps doing it until bidding stops. The lot ends when nobody wants to go higher, not when someone's connection was fastest.

Which closing settings should timed auction software give you?

Closing settings shape how sale day feels for bidders and how long your staff watch the board. Look for each one as a per-sale choice, not a fixed rule.

The math is simple: 300 lots closing 20 seconds apart take 100 minutes, before any soft-close extensions. Our guide to soft close and lot stagger settings covers how to pick both.

• Soft-close window: how long a late bid extends a lot. Common choices are 1, 2, 3 or 5 minutes; 2 is a sensible default.
• Lot stagger: lots closing all at once, or 10 seconds to 2 minutes apart.
• Opening and first-close times: when bidding starts and when the first lot ends.
• Reserve, quantity and shipping per lot, with the sale's defaults covering the rest.

How should max bids and increments work?

Max bids, also called proxy bidding, let a bidder enter the most they'd pay; the software raises their bid one increment at a time only when someone outbids them. Nobody, including the auctioneer, should see a bidder's max. When two bidders enter the same max, the earlier one should win.

Increments should be predictable. A common ladder is $10 steps under $100, $25 from $100 to $500, $50 from $500 to $1,000 and $100 from $1,000 to $5,000. Good software also asks a bidder to confirm a bid far above the current one, which catches the extra zero before it becomes an unpaid invoice.

What should you see while lots are closing?

A live board lists every lot by closing time with its high bid, bid count, leading bidder, reserve status and clock. Watching it, you can spot lots stuck under reserve and answer bidder questions before a lot ends, not after. Running totals of high bids and premium tell you early how the sale is going.

Look for the ability to keep cataloging into a sale while it runs. On a liquidation sale, stock scanned during the week can join the end of the closing schedule as soon as it has a title and a photo.

What happens after the last lot closes?

Settlement is where timed sales succeed or stall. The software should list winners, build invoices with premium, tax and shipping, take card payments, and let you mark cash, check or Zelle as paid. Pickup times and a remove-by date belong on the sale page before bidding opens.

Payment reminders and a CSV export save hours on Monday morning. If a winner doesn't pay, you want to block that paddle from future sales in one step.

Where Auktia fits

Auktia runs timed online sales with a clock that ticks every second, soft-close windows of 1, 2, 3 or 5 minutes, and lot gaps from all at once to 2 minutes apart. Every price can be shown all-in, so bidders know the total before they bid. There is no per-bid fee: plans start at $49.99 a month plus 3% of hammer.