Would you like to sell some of your Shopify products at auction?
Selling to the highest bidder through an auction can maximise the profit from your products.
Shopify has no built-in feature for running auctions in your store.
You can still hold them: several Shopify apps let you set up auctions on your store quickly and easily.
With an app, you can create an auction that looks like this:
Want to try one?
Start with the apps below.
Best Apps to Set Up a Shopify Auction
- Product Auction
- Tipo Product Auction
These apps also let you adjust themes and colours, along with labels and other details, so the auction page matches your store’s style.
An auction service lets you set bid increments for each product, as well as its reserve and buyout prices.
At the end of an auction, you receive the winner’s details and successful bid amount so you can ship the order.
Product Auction
Use the Product Auction app to run auctions within your usual Shopify store.
Select the products to auction, then enter the auction details in the app.
Set a base price and auction duration. When time runs out, the highest bidder wins and receives an email notification.
Product Auction includes several additional features to make auctions more interesting for customers.
You can offer proxy or popcorn bidding, charge a joining fee and allow multiple winners.
With proxy bidding, customers choose their maximum bid. The computer then bids incrementally on their behalf until another customer bids higher.
Popcorn bidding prevents last-minute auction losses for customers.
A bid placed in the last five minutes extends the auction by three minutes, so bidding can continue.
These features can give your Shopify auctions a professional finish.
Pros
- Try the app with a 7-day free trial.
- Run unlimited auctions without additional charges.
- Offer proxy and popcorn bidding, joining fees or multiple winners.
- Choose rules and gaps for bid increments.
- Bids update the product page in real time.
Cons
- The Product Auction subscription is relatively expensive at $30 per month.
Tipo Product Auction
The Tipo product auction app costs slightly less and shares many features with Product Auction.
Merchants can customise an auction to suit their preferences and enter its details.
Options include bid increments and a reserve or minimum price, along with a buyout price and dynamic closing.
Each new bid triggers an email notification to everyone involved. This helps drive the bidding price higher.
The app lets you set a minimum bid increment. An increment of $1 is useful for a $10,000 piece of art, for example.
Pros
- Start with a 7-day free trial or the available free plan.
- Customers receive an email about each new bid; the auction admin receives one when someone wins.
- The interface is easy to use, and an admin can set up an auction in a few minutes.
- Monitor bidding and sales from the app dashboard.
- Set a buyout price to close the auction automatically when a bid reaches that maximum amount.
Cons
- Some customers report that the support team does not respond.
Final Thoughts
The Shopify App Store offers plenty of auction apps to use despite Shopify lacking its own auction features.
With the free trial available in most apps, you can test each one and choose what meets your needs.
