Live auctions
One auction. The room, and everyone watching from home. Same bid, same moment.
Joinlah runs a live or silent auction where every attendee bids from their own phone — whether they're sitting at a table or tuned into the livestream. Stream the auctioneer, show the current lot, and watch bids land in real time, all on one fullscreen display.
Every bid, from every device, the instant it lands.
Requires the Live bidding module
List as many items as your event needs, each with its own starting price and minimum increment. Attendees bid straight from their phone — no app, just a link — and see the current bid and countdown update live as others bid. Two bids landing at the same instant are resolved fairly by the server, never silently dropped.
- Bid from any device — phone, tablet, or laptop
- Minimum-increment enforcement, no under-bidding
- Auto-close a lot after a countdown with no new bids
- Pause bidding mid-auction and resume exactly where it left off
- Decide per item, at close: no-payment win, or collect payment
- Optional eligibility rules — restrict bidding to checked-in guests, specific sessions, or groups
Stream the auctioneer. Show the lot right next to them.
Included with Live bidding — no separate module
Go live from the phone remote and your camera streams straight to that auction's own page — self-hosted, sub-second latency, no third-party platform or link to share. Each auction has its own camera, so if you're running more than one at once, every auctioneer streams independently. A remote bidder on that auction's own page sees the stream and the current lot together, at the same time.
- Self-hosted stream — no external account or platform
- Toggle the camera on/off from the phone remote, mid-event
- Each auction streams independently — run more than one at once
- Optionally mirror one auction's feed to the venue's fullscreen display too
- Works for fully online events too — no physical venue required
Live auctions, answered.
What do I need to turn on to run a live auction?
Just the Live bidding module — items, bids, minimum increments, settlement, and a self-hosted video stream of the auctioneer are all included. Toggle the camera on when you want remote attendees watching the auctioneer and current lot on their own screen; leave it off for an in-person-only event. See the pricing page for current rates.
Can attendees who aren't at the venue actually bid?
Yes. Bidding happens from each attendee's own device over the internet, not over Bluetooth or anything venue-local — someone watching the livestream from home bids the exact same way as someone sitting in the room. There's no separate "remote bidder" mode.
Do attendees need to install an app to bid or watch?
No. Bidding and watching the stream both work in the phone or laptop's web browser. Attendees open a link (from their confirmation, a QR code, or the public event page), and that's it.
Does the auction still work without the camera turned on?
Yes — video is entirely optional. For an in-person-only event, most organizers run bidding alone: each lot shows on the venue's fullscreen display as normal, attendees bid from their own phones, and there's no camera involved.
What happens when an item closes — does the winner have to pay?
You decide per item, at the moment it closes: 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). Nothing is configured upfront — it's a choice you make lot by lot.
Is the video stream hosted by a third party?
No — it's self-hosted, streamed directly from the organizer's camera to that auction's own page with sub-second latency. There's no external platform, account, or link to share, and each auction's camera is independent, so running more than one auction at once never mixes up their feeds.
Can two people bid the same amount at the same instant?
The server resolves it — whichever bid lands first wins that amount, and the other bidder is immediately told the new minimum and can bid again. You'll never see two "winning" bids for the same lot.
Run your first hybrid auction.
Live bidding works on its own for an in-person auction — the camera is built in, so turn it on whenever you want remote guests bidding alongside the room. Check pricing for current module rates.