Everything an auction needs, from first lot to final settlement
AuctionZu covers the full timed online auction: building the catalog, running fair bidding, and finishing the paperwork afterward. Here is what is included.
- Catalog and CSV importSpreadsheet import, checks before publish
- Timed biddingProxy bids and anti-sniping, server-checked
- Branded storefrontYour name, colors and logo
- Post-sale and closeoutInvoices, payments, pickup, payouts
- ReportsSell-through, collections, exports
- Command centerWhat needs you today
- Team roles and securityRoles, MFA and an audit trail
Catalog and CSV import
Build a catalog quickly without specialist training. Enter lots one at a time, or bring in a spreadsheet you already keep.
| Row | Column | What to fix |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | starting_bid | Must be above 0.00 |
| 19 | title | Required |
| 31 | reserve | Not an amount, like 25.00 |
- Lots with title, description, photos, category, starting bid, reserve, increment, quantity and lot order.
- CSV import with a downloadable template and row-by-row validation, so you fix problems before anything is saved.
- Bulk edit for categories, increments and other shared fields.
- Consignor records attached to lots, ready for settlement.
- Publish checks that block an auction with missing required details and say exactly what to fix.
- Duplicate a past auction to start the next one.
Timed bidding
Bidding rules are set before you publish and then locked, so every bidder plays by the same rules from the first bid to the last.
Paddle 1 sets a maximum of $120
Paddle 1 leads at $50, the starting bid
Paddle 2 bids $80
Automatic bid for Paddle 1: $85
Paddle 2 sets a maximum of $130
Paddle 2 leads at $125: one increment over Paddle 1's $120
- 5:03:48A bid inside the last 2 minutes. The close moves from 5:05:00 to 5:05:48.
- 5:05:00The original closing time passes. The lot is still open.
- 5:05:30Another late bid. The close moves to 5:07:30.
- 5:07:30Two minutes with no new bid. The lot closes and the winner is set.
- Bidder registration with approve and deny decisions.
- Server-checked bids: minimum increments, reserves and closing times are enforced by AuctionZu, not the bidder's browser.
- Optional proxy bids. A bidder's maximum stays private and is used only as needed.
- Anti-sniping extensions: a late bid pushes the lot's closing time out by the window you choose.
- Bid history that is append-only. Retractions and extensions are separate actions that require a reason.
- Outbid and won notifications.
Branded storefront
Bidders shop with your business, not with us. The storefront carries your name, logo and colors.
- Hosted, responsive bidder pages for phones and desktops.
- Search and filter lots by keyword, category and status.
- Buyer premium, tax, shipping or pickup, and terms shown before bidding.
- Custom domain support where it can be offered.
- A preview that shows exactly what bidders will see before you publish.
Post-sale and closeout
When the last lot closes, the work moves straight into invoicing, payment and settlement, without exporting to another tool.
The buyer pays $121.33
- Hammer
- $100.00
- Premium 15%
- $15.00
- Tax 5.5%
- $6.33
Where it ends up
- Consignor
- $80.00Hammer less 20% commission
- Your business
- $35.00$20.00 commission and $15.00 premium
- Sales tax to remit
- $6.33Hammer plus premium, at 5.5%
AuctionZu holds $0: the card payment lands in your own processor account, and you pay the consignor from it.
- Winner determination and draft invoices, with fees and tax itemized.
- Payment collection through a hosted payment processor. AuctionZu never stores card numbers and never holds funds.
- Paid, unpaid, refunded and outstanding balances on every invoice.
- Pickup and shipping status for each invoice.
- Refunds and manual adjustments with a required reason, recorded in the audit history.
- Consignor settlement reports, and CSV exports of bidders, lots, bids and invoices.
Reports
See how your sales performed and what is still owed, from the same records you ran the sale on.
- Sales completed, lots sold, sell-through, hammer total and buyer premium for the last 30 or 90 days or this year.
- Collected against still owed, and the typical time from invoice to payment.
- Hammer, sell-through and collection by sale.
- Unpaid invoices grouped by age.
- CSV exports for a spreadsheet or your accounting tools.
Command center
The Home screen answers one question: what needs doing now. Press Cmd K from anywhere to jump to a lot, a bidder or an invoice.
- Live auctions and lots closing soon.
- Upcoming launches and what is blocking them.
- Bidder approvals waiting for review.
- Lots missing photos or descriptions.
- Unpaid invoices and the closeout queue.
- Recent critical events, each linked to the record it affects.
Team roles and security
Give each person the access their job needs, and protect the accounts that can move money or change results.
| OwnerMFA | AdminMFA | Operator | FinanceMFA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | ||||
| Build catalogs and import lots | ||||
| Create, publish and run sales | ||||
| Approve bidders | ||||
| Hand over lots at pickup | ||||
| Money | ||||
| See invoices and payments | ||||
| Record payments and refunds | ||||
| Settle with consignors | ||||
| Export data | ||||
| Business | ||||
| Retract a bid or extend a lot | ||||
| Settings, storefront and team | ||||
| Read the audit log | ||||
| Billing | ||||
- Owner, admin, operator and finance roles.
- Invite teammates by email and change or remove access at any time.
- Multi-factor authentication for privileged accounts.
- A tamper-evident audit trail of important actions.
- Each organization's data is kept separate from every other organization's.
Not in the first release
We would rather tell you what is not here yet than surprise you. These are on our list for later releases, and customer feedback will decide the order.
- Reusable auction templates
- Bidder segments and email campaigns
- A consignor portal
- Accounting exports
- An API and webhooks
- SMS notifications
- Live auctioneer and simulcast bidding
Ready to run your next auction?
Tell us how you run sales today, and we will walk you through a sale on AuctionZu from the catalog to the consignor payout.