How to Create an Auction Website

To create an auction website, you choose a hosted auction site builder, set up categories and auction rules, add your items and connect a payment provider. Easy.Auction was built to do this without code: timed auctions get chosen start and end dates and times, and each listing can carry a reserve price, a Buy Now price and a handling or shipping fee. Items can be added one by one or through CSV import of up to 100 listings at a time. Easy.Auction no longer accepts new subscriptions, so new sites start on Auctify, from the same team, with a 7-day free trial. Easy.Auction packages cost 99 to 299 USD a month and are no longer sold; its successor Auctify has plans from $49 a month, with zero commission.

How to create an auction website in 5 steps

1. Start a free trial on Auctify. Easy.Auction no longer accepts new subscriptions, so new auction websites begin on Auctify, its successor. The 7-day free trial at https://auctify.com/free-trial.php requires no credit card.
2. Choose your site type and domain. Decide whether only you sell or whether the site is a multi-seller marketplace, and whether it is public or a private, access-code protected site. Connect your own domain or use a free myauctify.com subdomain.
3. Connect payments and language. Link Stripe or PayPal so winning bidders can pay, and choose the language your bidders will see from the 20 languages Auctify offers.
4. Add your lots. Enter the lots you want to sell and set a buyer's premium per lot if you charge one. Keep within your plan's monthly allowance: 100 lots on Starter, 200 on Pro and unlimited on Enterprise.
5. Set bidding rules and open the auction. Use Auctify's proxy bidding and soft close for anti-sniping protection, then publish the auction and share the site address with your bidders.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need before I create my first auction website?

Mainly your items and a payment account. Easy.Auction sites take payment through built-in PayPal, Stripe, Mollie, Square or Authorize.net, and Auctify, where new sites now start, uses Stripe and PayPal. A domain name is optional on Auctify, which offers a free myauctify.com subdomain.

How do I stop last-second sniping on my auction website?

Use anti-sniping settings. Easy.Auction includes configurable anti-sniping settings together with absentee bidding, where bids are placed automatically on a bidder's behalf. Combined, these reduce the advantage of waiting until the final seconds of an auction to place a bid.

What happens to items on my auction website that get no bids?

Easy.Auction can relist unsuccessful auctions automatically, so an unsold item returns for another round without being entered again. A reserve price on the listing also keeps an item from selling below the minimum amount you are willing to accept.