Starting bids, reserves, Buy It Now, maximum bids, late-bid extensions and second-chance offers.
Set up an auction
Open Listings, choose a product, and set Sell as to Auction. Then set:
- Starting bid
- Reserve (optional). A hidden minimum. If bidding doesn’t reach it, the auction ends unsold.
- Buy It Now (optional). A price a shopper can pay to end the auction straight away.
- Start and end time
- Late-bid window and extension. A bid in the last few minutes adds time, so nobody wins by bidding at the last second.
Choose Start auction. The bid panel replaces your theme’s buy buttons on that product.
How maximum bids work
Every bid is a maximum. AuctionDesk bids for each shopper automatically, only as much as needed to keep them in the lead, up to their maximum. Shoppers and you see every bid, but never anyone’s maximum.
When a shopper is outbid, they get an email and their bid panel says so.
When the auction ends
- Reserve met, or no reserve: the highest bidder wins. They get a “You won” email and a Shopify invoice. Other bidders get an “Auction ended” email.
- Reserve not met: the auction ends unsold.
You can end an auction early with End now. Once an auction has bids, its settings can’t be changed.
Second-chance offers
On the Plus plan, you can offer an item to the next bidder at their highest bid, for example when the reserve wasn’t met or the winner didn’t pay. Open the ended listing, pick how long the offer stays open, and choose Offer to next bidder. The item stays off sale until they answer.
Plan limits
Free runs 1 live auction at a time, Pro 10, and Plus has no limit.
Last updated October 10, 2026