Set up the auction
Turn on the Live bidding module (see pricing for current rates), then create an auction from your event dashboard. Give it a title, add as many items as you're selling, and set each item's starting price and minimum raise. You can run more than one auction on the same event — each one is entirely independent, with its own items, its own bidders, and its own camera if you turn that on.
Tip
Set an auto-close time (in seconds) if you want a lot to sell itself once bidding goes quiet — once the current item gets its first bid, it closes to the highest bidder automatically if nobody outbids it within that window. Leave it blank to close every item manually instead.
Open bidding and run the room
- 1
Start the auction
Tap Start on the auction once you're ready — this is what actually lets attendees place bids; before that, an attendee can see the items but can't bid yet.
- 2
Show an item on display
Tap the display icon on whichever item is currently up — this is what puts that item's current bid and countdown on the venue's fullscreen screen (if you're projecting one) and marks it as the "current lot" for that auction's own watch page. Attendees bid straight from their own phone, no app required.
- 3
Pause if you need to
Pausing freezes bidding on the whole auction without closing anything — every item's state, bids, and countdown pick up exactly where they left off once you resume.
- 4
Close each item as it sells
Closing a lot lets you mark it a no-payment engagement win, or collect payment from the winning bidder (cash, bank transfer, or DuitNow) with proof upload and your confirmation — decided per item, at the moment it closes, not configured upfront.
In-person, hybrid, or fully online bidders
Bidding happens over the internet from each attendee's own device, not anything venue-local — someone bidding from home works exactly the same way as someone sitting at a table. Turn on that auction's own camera if you want remote bidders watching the auctioneer alongside the current lot; leave it off for an in-person-only event where the room can already see the lot on a screen. See mirroring a live camera to your venue display if you also want that auction's stream on the room's projector.
- Two bids landing at the same instant are resolved fairly by the server — never silently dropped.
- Optional eligibility rules can restrict bidding to checked-in guests, specific sessions, or groups.
- Assign specific staff to run one auction without giving them access to every auction on the event.
Put the auction on your event's agenda
Link the auction to a slot on your agenda (Agenda needs to be turned on for the event) and it shows attendees the scheduled time, plus a "live now" badge and a direct link to that auction's own page the moment you open it — useful if bidding is one part of a longer program rather than the whole event.
Before your event
Test with a low-stakes item first if this is your first live auction on Joinlah — start it, place a bid from a second device or an incognito window, and close it, so you've seen the whole flow once before real bidders are watching.