Who Does What?
Your ranch does the part nobody else can do: raise the cattle and talk to your buyers. We build the website, run the auction software, connect your payments and give you the dashboard to run your own reports. Most sales are up and running within 7 days of signing.
What Happens From Start to Finish?
Step 1: You Reach Out
We walk you through how it works, answer your questions and put together a quote, usually on the first call. No obligation.
Step 2: You Sign and We Get Started
Once the contract is signed and the deposit is in, we start building right away.
Step 3: We Build Your Sale Website
Our design team builds the sale into a new ranch website, or builds a separate sale website on its own domain that matches the website you already have. Either way it carries your ranch's name, colors and look.
The site is hosted on our servers. That is how we control the security and make sure your sale emails reach your buyers. We set up your auction email at this stage as well.
Step 4: We Connect Your Payments
Card payments run through Stripe and go straight into your account. You open a Stripe account and we connect it to your sale. No card numbers are ever stored on your website.
Step 5: You Load the Lots
Your dashboard has tutorial videos, and we walk you through it. For each lot you add photos, YouTube videos, EPDs, pedigree, weights, notes and PDFs, then set the opening bid, the bid increment, a reserve price if you want one, and a buy-it-now price.
Lots can go live as you add them, or stay hidden until you are ready. Categories keep the catalog organized, like yearling bulls, two-year-olds, and a Reference Sires category for your herd sires that can’t be bid on.
Step 6: Buyers Preview and Register
Buyers can study the catalog and register before bidding opens, so they are ready on day one.
Step 7: Bidding Opens
From here the system runs on its own. Maximum bids, bid confirmations and outbid emails all happen without anyone touching them.
Step 8: The Sale Closes
Every lot closes at the time you set for the auction. If a bid comes in during the final minutes, that lot gets extended bidding…so a few more minutes for other buyers to bid even more. Winning buyers get an email right away.
Step 9: Buy-It-Now
Lots that did not sell stay listed at the buy-it-now price you set, until the end date you choose.
Step 10: You Collect and Run Your Reports
You contact the winning buyers and collect payment by card, check or both. Your dashboard reports show every bid, every buyer and who has paid, and all of it exports to Excel.
A first-time online sale should feel easy. We walk you through the setup, and the software runs the sale from bidding to the final report.
Tom Bruch, founder
How Long Does It Take to Set Up an Online Cattle Sale?
Less than 7 days from the signed contract, backed by our 7-Day Setup Guarantee, as long as you get us what we need promptly. That covers the design, the software, payments, email and your training walkthrough. A new ranch website is a bigger build and gets its own timeline.
What Does the Ranch Handle and What Do We Handle?
Your Ranch
- Put together the lots and the details for each one
- Open a Stripe account
- Promote the sale to your buyers
- Set opening bids, bid increments, reserve prices and buy-it-now prices
- Collect payment from winning buyers
- Arrange delivery, health papers and registration transfers
- Check your state's rules on auctions and auctioneer licensing
- Run your own reports and export your buyer list from the dashboard
Online Livestock Auctions
- Build and host your sale website
- Install and set up the auction software
- Connect Stripe and set up your email
- Tutorial videos and a training walkthrough
- Handle every technical question during the sale
What Dates Do You Set for an Online Sale?
Catalog Preview
Lots can go up weeks ahead so buyers have time to study them. You decide when each lot becomes visible.
Bidding Opens
Registered buyers can place their first bids.
Sale Closes
Bidding ends at the time you set. Lots still drawing bids in the final minutes get extended bidding, and winners are notified by email.
Buy-It-Now Ends
Unsold lots stay available at their buy-it-now price until this date. After that, the sale is complete and the site is ready for your next one.
Is This a Timed Online Sale or a Live Auction?
A timed online sale. Bidding is open for the days you choose, and every lot closes at the same set time, each with its own extended bidding at the end. There is no auctioneer, video feed or sale ring, so it is not built to run alongside a live auction.
Common Questions About the Setup and the Sale
Will the sale look like the rest of our ranch website?
If we build your ranch website, the sale is part of it. If your ranch website is hosted somewhere else, the sale runs on its own domain, and we design it to match your existing site.
Can we change lots after bidding opens?
Yes. You can update lots from your dashboard at any time. If you need something changed on the technical side, we turn it around within 24 hours.
What if a buyer wins and does not pay?
Require a credit card on file before anyone can bid. Most sellers do, and it cuts down on no-pay buyers. Your reports show payment status for every winning buyer.
Can we run more than one sale a year?
Yes. Your annual fee covers unlimited sales, so a spring bull sale and a fall female sale can run on the same website.
Can buyers register before bidding opens?
Yes, at any time, so they are ready the moment bidding goes live.
Do we need an auctioneer license?
Some states have rules for auctions and auctioneers. Check with your state before your sale. We provide the website and the software. Licensing is between you and your state.