40 Auction Terms Every Online Auctioneer and Auction House Should Know

General Auction Terms

1. Bid – An offer made by a buyer to purchase an item at auction.
2. Reserve Price – The minimum price a seller is willing to accept for an item.
3. Hammer Price – The final bid price when the auction closes, before additional fees.
4. Buyer’s Premium – An additional fee charged to the winning bidder, usually a percentage of the hammer price.
5. Lot – A single item or a group of items offered together in an auction.
6. Cataloging – The process of describing auction items with titles, descriptions, and images.
7. Consignment – An agreement where a seller provides items to an auction house to sell on their behalf.
8. Live Auction – A real-time auction event with a live auctioneer conducting the bidding.
9. Timed Auction – An online auction where bidding is open for a set duration without a live auctioneer.
10. Silent Auction – An auction format where bids are placed privately, often through an online platform or written bids, without an auctioneer calling bids in real time.
11. Absolute Auction – An auction where the item sells to the highest bidder with no reserve price, ensuring a sale regardless of the bid amount.
12. Auction with Reserve – An auction where the seller has set a minimum acceptable price that must be met for the item to be sold.
13. Absentee Bid – A bid placed in advance by a buyer who cannot attend the auction.

Online Auction & Auction Software Terms

14. Proxy Bidding – A system where software automatically places bids on behalf of a bidder up to their maximum amount.
15. Buy Now – An option allowing buyers to purchase an item immediately at a fixed price without bidding.
16. Soft Close – A feature that extends the auction end time if a bid is placed in the final moments.
17. Sniping – The practice of placing a bid just before the auction closes to win at the last second.
18. Auto Extend – A setting in online auctions that extends the closing time if there’s bidding activity near the deadline.
19. Bid Increments – The set amount by which a bid must be raised.
20. Auction Dashboard – The control panel in auction software where administrators manage bidding, lots, and users.
21. Anti-Snipe Protection – A software feature that prevents last-second bidding by extending the auction.
22. Online Bidding Platform – The software used to conduct and manage online auctions.
23. White Label Auction Software – A customizable auction platform that allows businesses to brand the auction experience as their own.
24. API Integration – The ability to connect auction software with other tools like payment gateways and marketing platforms.

Technology Terms in Auctioneering

25. DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) – A professional camera often used by auctioneers and auction houses to capture high-quality images of auction items.
26. .CSV File (Comma-Separated Values) – A file format commonly used for bulk uploading auction lots, bidder data, and reports into auction software.
27. Cloud – A system for storing auction data, images, and bidder information on remote servers, allowing access from any device.
28. Web App – An auction software platform that runs in a web browser, requiring no downloads, and is accessible from any internet-connected device.
29. Native App – A mobile application that is installed directly on a smartphone or tablet and typically offers a smoother, more responsive auction experience.

Bidding & Buyer Management Terms

30. Paddle Number – A unique identifier assigned to a bidder.
31. Bidder Registration – The process where users sign up to participate in an auction.
32. Outbid Notification – A software feature that alerts bidders when they have been outbid.
33. Reserve Not Met – A notification indicating that the highest bid did not reach the seller’s reserve price.
34. Winning Bidder – The highest bidder when the auction ends.

Seller & Payment Terms

35. Settlement Report – A financial summary provided to the seller after an auction.
36. Payment Gateway – A system integrated into auction software for processing payments securely.
37. Consignor Settlement – The process of paying sellers after the auction, often minus commissions and fees.
38. Lot Accounting – Tracking bids, payments, and sales for individual auction items.
39. Escrow Service – A third-party service that holds payment until the buyer receives the item.
40. Value-Added Tax (VAT) – A consumption-based tax that requires auction houses to collect taxes from customers on sales and pay taxes on purchases. Auctioneers may be liable for VAT on the profit margin of auctioned goods, while buyers may be liable for VAT on the hammer price, buyer’s premium, and overhead premium.

Conclusion

As online auctions and auctioneer software become more dominant in the industry, understanding these concepts will help you engage bidders more effectively, streamline your operations, and boost your revenue. At AuctionWriter, we provide tools and resources for auctioneers to simplify their workflows and improve their success with online auctions.

Log in to AuctionWriter to see the impact of AI-powered cataloging and automation on your auction business.