Who Built This Software?
We wrote this auction software from scratch in 2007, and it has run sales every season since.
A buyer who has never bid online can register, set a maximum bid and follow their lots from a phone. I built it to be that simple.
Tom Bruch, founder
What Do Buyers Get?
Maximum Bidding
A buyer sets the most they are willing to pay, and the system bids for them up to that amount. They get an email whenever it bids on their behalf, so they always know where they stand.
Extended Bidding = Bidding Wars
If a bid comes in during the final minutes, that lot's closing time moves out a few minutes. Every active buyer gets a fair chance to answer, and nobody wins a lot with a last-second bid the others never saw.
Here is how it plays out. Lot 14, a yearling bull, has 3 minutes left when Smith bids $4,500, and the lot's clock moves out 5 minutes. With 1 minute to go on the new clock, Jones bids $5,000 and the clock moves out again. Smith answers at $5,500. Jones decides that is enough, and 5 minutes after Smith's last bid, Lot 14 closes.
Mobile Bidding
The whole sale works on any phone, tablet or computer. No app to install.
Bid Indicators
The lot a buyer is winning gets a green border. A lot where they have been outbid turns red.
Favorites
Buyers mark the lots they care about and view just those, which helps in a big catalog.
My Bids
Buyers can see all their bids, only the lots they are winning, or only the lots they have lost.
Email Notifications
Buyers get an email when they register, bid, get outbid, win or buy a lot at the buy-it-now price.
Detailed Lot Pages
Unlimited photos, YouTube videos, PDFs, pedigree, EPDs, weights and notes. You decide how much to show.
Catalog Preview and Search
Buyers can browse the catalog before bidding opens and search by lot number or name.
Buy-It-Now After the Sale
Unsold lots stay listed at the buy-it-now price you set, at the top of the page, until your end date.
What Do Sellers Manage?
Tutorial Videos
Your dashboard includes tutorial videos for every task.
Lot Management
Add, edit, show or hide lots at any time. Set the opening bid, bid increment and buy-it-now price for each one.
Reserve Prices
Set a reserve on any lot that needs one. Buyers see Reserve Met, Reserve Not Met or No Reserve on the lot and in the catalog, and a lot only sells if bidding reaches its reserve. A lot that falls short moves to buy-it-now, the same as any other unsold lot.
Categories and Reference Sires
Group the catalog any way you like. A Reference Sires category holds display-only lots, so your herd sires appear in the catalog without being for sale.
Optional Card on File
Require a valid credit card before anyone can bid. It cuts down on dead-beat-bidders who win and do not pay.
Email Verification
New buyers confirm their email address before they can bid, which keeps out fake accounts.
Payment Options
Take cards through Stripe, checks, or both. Record a check in your dashboard and the buyer shows as paid.
Convenience Fee
Pass card processing costs to buyers with an optional convenience fee.
Post-Sale Reports and Excel Export
See every bid by lot, who won, who has paid and how. Export your results and your full buyer list to Excel.
What Comes Free With Every Sale Website?
Sponsor Advantage
Our complete sponsor system: rotating sponsor displays, spotlight placements, a full sponsor page and sponsor tiers, with every impression and click counted and a summary emailed to you every month.
Unlimited Sales Per Year
Your spring bull sale, your fall female sale and anything else you sell, all on the same annual fee.
Automatic Buyer Emails
Registration, bid, outbid and win emails, all sent by the platform.
Facebook Promotion
We post your sale on our Facebook page when the catalog goes live, a week before the close, the day before the close, and after the close for buy-it-now.
A Listing on Online Livestock Auctions
Your sale goes on our Upcoming Sales page, where buyers look for sales running on our platform.
What Add-Ons Are Available?
Livestock Auction Amplified adds Text Message Alerts ($599 per year), the Lot Finder ($599 per year) and a Bidder Email Campaign ($599 per sale).
How Is the Sale Website Protected?
Every sale website on our platform runs through Cloudflare Enterprise, the same security network used by banks and large retailers.
It does two jobs. First, it blocks bots, fraud attempts and anyone trying to overload the site before they reach your sale. Second, it serves your pages from a location close to each buyer, so the site stays fast whether the buyer is in Montana or Georgia.
That matters most in the last minutes of a sale, when buyers are refreshing the page and the bidding is at its busiest.
Is Card Information Stored on the Sale Website?
No. Card payments run through Stripe, which is PCI-compliant and keeps card data on its own secure systems. Payments go into your Stripe account and then to your bank on your normal payout schedule.
Where Is the Sale Website Hosted?
On our servers. That is what lets us guarantee the security, the email delivery and our 24-hour update turnaround. Your sale is not sitting on a shared, generic hosting account.
Common Questions About the Software
Does it work on phones?
Yes. Any phone, tablet or computer, through the browser. No app.
What is maximum bidding?
A buyer sets the highest amount they will pay, and the system bids for them only when someone bids against them, up to that limit.
What is extended bidding?
When a bid comes in during the final minutes, that lot's closing time moves out a few minutes so other buyers can answer.
What support do we get during the sale?
We are available to you for any question or problem during your sale, and technical issues get handled right away. Buyer questions go to you, so your buyers stay connected to your ranch.