An auction website builder for timed online auctions.
Yclas is online auction software for a site of your own: sellers list a lot with a starting price, an optional hidden reserve and a buy-now price, bidders set a maximum and the system bids for them, late bids extend the clock, and the winner gets a Pay now link. It runs on your domain, next to fixed-price listings if you want both.
Free for 15 days · No credit card · Auctions on Professional and Marketplace
Timed auctions for lots that deserve a price contest.
Auctions suit items whose value is hard to fix: a classic car, a used tractor, an oil painting, a donated weekend away. Yclas runs timed online auctions; each lot closes at its own end time.
An auction site made with Yclas, lot by lot.
Real screenshots of Gavel & Gate, our demo auction site for Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. The sellers, lots and bids are made up; the bids were placed through the real bidding code.
Any listing can be an auction.
On the post form a seller ticks "List this as an auction instead of a fixed price" and sets a starting price, an optional reserve, an optional buy-now price and the date and time it ends, from one hour to 90 days away. Everything else is a normal listing: photos, description, your own fields, location and map, and questions answered in public.
- Changes until the first bid: after that, the terms are fixed for every bidder.
- Cancel only while nobody has bid; the listing then sells at a fixed price.
- Fixed-price listings sit beside auctions on the same site.
Bidders set a maximum, the site bids for them.
A bidder enters the most they will pay. The price shown only moves one increment above the next-best maximum, and rises on its own when someone else bids, up to that maximum. Ties go to the earlier bidder, and a leader can raise their own maximum without bidding against themselves. The box always says the smallest bid that will lead.
- Increments grow with the price: $1 under $50, up to $1,000 above $50,000. Or set one flat step.
- Hidden reserve: bidders see "Reserve met" or "Reserve not met yet", never the amount.
- Buy it now ends the auction at once while bidding is below that price.
No lot is lost to a bid in the last second.
A bid in the last five minutes moves the end to five minutes after it, so others can answer. You set both numbers, or switch it off. You also decide who may bid: anyone signed in, or only users with a verified badge. Bidders must sign in, and nobody can bid on their own lot.
- Site-wide settings in Settings › Auctions, copied onto each new auction.
- Bid history with first name and last initial, amount and time; maximums stay hidden.
The winner gets a Pay now link.
When the clock runs out, the auction closes, even on a quiet site: a job runs every minute and anyone opening the lot closes it too. If the reserve is met, the winner gets an email with a Pay now link to an order at the winning price, paid through your site's checkout, and the seller hears who won. Below the reserve, both are told and can still talk.
- Outbid emails with a Bid again button, and all auction emails are editable.
- Unpaid after 14 days, or no sale: the seller relists it or sells it at a fixed price.
- Payouts follow your payment setup: to you, or to sellers through Stripe Connect on Marketplace.
The countdown ticks live; a new bid by someone else shows when the page reloads.
Online auction software comes in two kinds.
Live auction software streams a sale with an auctioneer. Timed auction software, like Yclas, runs lots that close on a clock, with no one at a rostrum. Here is what that means in practice.
| Feature | Live auction platforms | Yclas |
|---|---|---|
| Timed lots with a countdown | Often as well | Included |
| Proxy bidding, reserve, buy-now | Usually | Included |
| Anti-sniping | Usually | Included, 5 minutes by default |
| Live video and an auctioneer console | Included | Not included |
| Absentee and phone bids | Often | Not included |
| Catalogues with lot numbers and sale days | Included | Not included: each lot is a listing with its own end time |
| Buyer's premium | Included | Not included; charge sellers instead |
| Bidder deposits or card holds | Often | Not included |
| Your own site, fixed-price listings too | Rarely | Included |
If you run live sales with an auctioneer, a dedicated live auction platform is the better fit. Our guide to the best auction software compares them.
Everything in the auction website builder.
Auctions come with Professional ($99 a month) and Marketplace ($149), on the Nova theme. The rest of Yclas comes with them.
For bidders
- Countdown and current bid on every card
- Proxy bidding with a maximum
- Reserve met or not met
- Buy it now
- Bid history
- Outbid and won emails
- Favourites to follow lots
For sellers
- Auction or fixed price, per listing
- Start, reserve, buy-now, end time
- Photos, fields and public questions
- Winner email with who won
- Relist or sell at a fixed price
- Messages with bidders
For you, the owner
- Who may bid: anyone or verified only
- Increment ladder or a flat step
- Anti-sniping minutes
- Pay now orders through your checkout
- Editable auction emails
- Moderation and reports
- Your domain, SSL and backups
How an auction site makes money.
There is no buyer's premium, so most auction sites charge sellers. Mix these.
Prices are examples: you set your own, in your currency. Yclas takes no commission on what you earn. All the ways to make money →
From sign-up to your first auction.
- Describe the siteTell the setup wizard what you auction; it writes the categories.
- Switch on auctionsSettings › General › Listing types, then set the rules in Settings › Auctions.
- Pick a lookStart from the Gavel auction look or any of the 109 others.
- Set up paymentsConnect Stripe or PayPal so winners can pay their Pay now order.
- List the first lotsPost them yourself or invite sellers, with end times a week out.
Where each part is switched on.
Auctions are off until you switch them on (new sites have them on), and they need the Nova theme.
| Feature | Where to switch it on | Works with |
|---|---|---|
| Auctions as a listing type | Settings › General › Listing types | Nova |
| Who may bid, increments, anti-sniping | Settings › Auctions | Every auction on the site |
| Verified bidders | Trust & safety › verification requests | With "Verified users only" |
| Winner payments | Payment settings: Stripe, PayPal and others | The Pay now order |
| Auction emails | Settings › Email templates | Outbid, won, reserve not met |
| Listing fees and featured lots | The Make money page in your admin | Every listing |
Auctions FAQ
What is online auction software?
Software that runs a website where people bid on items until a set time, with rules for increments, reserves and the end of the auction, and a way for the winner to pay. Yclas runs timed online auctions on your own site.
What does the auction website builder include?
Proxy bidding, a hidden reserve, buy-now, anti-sniping, a countdown on every lot, bid history, outbid and winner emails, and a Pay now order for the winner, plus everything else a Yclas site has: categories, fields, search, messages and payments.
Which plan do I need?
Auctions are part of Professional at $99 a month and Marketplace at $149, on the Nova theme. Both start with a free 15-day trial.
Does the winner pay automatically?
No card is held while bidding. The winner gets a Pay now link to an order at the winning price and pays through your checkout. If they have not paid after 14 days, the seller can relist the item.
Can I run live auctions?
No. Yclas runs timed auctions that close on a clock. There is no video stream, auctioneer console or phone bidding.
Can several lots end at the same time?
Yes, by giving them the same end time. There is no catalogue or sale event that groups them, and anti-sniping can move each lot's end separately.
Can I charge a buyer's premium?
No. Charge sellers instead: a fee per lot, featured lots, memberships, or a commission on each sale on the Marketplace plan.
Can anyone bid?
Anyone with an account, or only users with a verified badge if you choose. Bidders must sign in.
Can a site have auctions and fixed-price listings?
Yes. Each listing is one or the other, and an auction that ends without a sale can go back to a fixed price.
Is my auction site on my own domain?
Yes, with SSL included and no Yclas branding on paid plans.
More pages on this topic.
The parts of Yclas this leans on.
Your auction site, taking bids this week.
Switch on auctions, set your rules and list the first lots. Free for 15 days, no credit card.
Start my auction site
Photo credits
The screenshots show demo sites with made-up sellers. Their photos come from Wikimedia Commons, some cropped or with signs and plates blurred; these ones are under Creative Commons licences:
- Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8 Litre 1961 by DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Caterpillar 330 excavator on a pile of dirt by Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Seth Thomas tambour mantel clock ca. 1930 by Smerdis of Tlön, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Persian Rug Khorrasan 1 by Carpetbeggers, CC BY 2.0
- 3D illustration image of a gavel by Quince Media, CC BY-SA 4.0