Reading list Switch to dark mode

    Rev up your revenue by creating an online auction website

    Updated 10 December 2019

    Putting auctions on your products rather than just displaying them for a simple purchase can give you the opportunity to score big savings.

    In the course of a recent couple of years, masses of new auction sites have come to the field. From DealDash to AuctionKing, everyone is up to exploit this road to boost their revenue. Even the eCommerce giant like eBay is up with their eBay Auction services.

    Let’s dive into this article where we are about to discuss how starting an online auction service on your eCommerce platform can pump up your selling experience & overall revenue. Moreover, at the end of this article, I am going to share a suitable solution to create an online auction website with ease.

    Auction (A Latin word meaning ‘I increase‘) is an old approach of selling products/services by putting them up for bidding & ultimately the product goes to the highest bidder. Before, the auctions usually occur in auction houses on products as land, fields, heavy machines or even the ornaments.
    But today, the whole auction scenario is turned upside-down keeping the roots intact.
    The online or virtual auction has taken place of the old-school auction method. There are strong reasons behind them; dropping a few of them down:

    • When it comes to ‘live auction’ the major drawback is location constraint. Holding a live auction will only let you reach a specific audience whereas, an online auction can cover a large audience globally.
    • Nobody actually has the time to attend an auction physically. Chances are you would be stuck in traffic & the item goes out.
    • Moreover, if you won an auction online, you don’t need to take care of the delivery of the item yourself. It will get delivered to you well-packed on your doorstep.
    • On online auction, you’ll get a number of choices to bid for with a huge margin.
    • Nowadays, you can display anything & everything on an online auction from your old sofa to a wall painting.
    How to create an online auction website

    Online auctions are exciting as they let the participants make bids at the moment with the pressure from a seller/auctioneer, their companions, and their own urge to win the auction.

    Searching for a Shopify
    Headless solution ?
    Find out More

    Putting slow products up for auction

    For merchants who are not using drop shipping as their selling method and instead are managing their own inventory know the pain of the products that are stocked and are not doing well or simply not being sold out.
    Here, the auction comes into the play to cure that pain. Merchants can put their overstocked products up for auction at lower prices. Since something is better than nothing, they’ll earn something from those products rather than just letting them rust in the warehouse.

    The trick to increasing your revenue with an auction joining fee

    In an auction, you get both the head & the tail. Kind of a win-win situation!

    Merchants can put their products on auction with the least prices just to tempt their customers, but what benefits them is the ‘joining fee’.
    Let’s understand this with an instance:

    A merchant puts up a product of actual worth of $100 on auction for $10. He has also applied an auction joining fee of $5.
    Now, even if 20 people joined the auction, the merchant will receive the actual amount of product, i.e., $100. He is already in profit even if the product goes for $10 with the auction.

    Thus, the joining fee is a factor that will profit you in every sense.

    Mark these points to keep your online auction game strong

    What if the merchant puts a product up for auction and it doesn’t receive a good number of bids. Thus, resulting in a sell on a very bitter price.
    Here are a few things you must jot down before putting the product on auction:

    • Notify your customers about the upcoming online auctions on your website & the email content should be persuasive enough to make them participate. Make your website look good & announce the auctions taking place with banners on your storefront.
    • Be consistent and try to put as much range of products on auction as you can. Customers love choices and moreover, they’ll have the hope that if not this then maybe they’ll win the other one. But make sure to not go overboard with it as it will reduce the zeal of the competition.
    • Make sure that the platform and application you are using to start your auction website is user-friendly. This will not complicate your customers or make them run away even before participating.

    A Solution for Online Auction

    If you are running an eCommerce store using Shopify then the best solution to convert it into an auction website is the Product Auction app.

    How to build an online auction website

    Product Auction App for Shopify permits you to enable the feature of auction/bidding on your Shopify store and you can monitor all the happenings related to the auction from the app itself.

    Key features of the app:

    • Admin can create and manage auction for any product.
    • He can add a joining fee for participating in the auction.
    • The admin can notify his customers to participate in upcoming auctions in advance.
    • Proxy Bidding ( Automatic Bidding): Customers can set the maximum value and until the auction reaches that value, the bid will automatically take place.
    • Winners will automatically receive email notifications and can also view bidding history on the storefront.
    How to build an online auction website

    So, don’t wait & turn your Shopify eCommerce store into an auction website today!
    Install the app: Product Auction

    If you have suggestions to make something better, do let us know.

    In case of any issue or suggestion, create a ticket at Webkul UV desk.

    ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

    Until next time. 👋

    . . .

    Leave a Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*


    Be the first to comment.

    Back to Top

    Message Sent!

    If you have more details or questions, you can reply to the received confirmation email.

    Back to Home