Strategy

Timed vs Live Event Auctions on Mobile

August 5, 2026 · 6 min read

Auctions take different shapes depending on how your business operates. Some auction houses run timed auctions where lots stay open for days. Others hold live events where bidding happens in real time over a few hours. AuctionWorx Mobile supports both models, and the mobile experience adapts to each.

Timed auctions on mobile

Timed auctions are listings that stay open continuously, often for a week or more. Bidders place offers whenever they want. The lot closes at a specific time, and the high bidder wins.

On the app, bidders browse your timed listings in a grid or list view. They tap a listing to see photos, description, current bid, time remaining, and bidding history. If they’re interested, they place a bid and can add the listing to their watchlist for quick access later.

The app shows time remaining in a clear format so bidders know exactly when the lot closes. Some buyers refresh repeatedly as a deadline approaches. Others check once and forget about it until the last day. We display the countdown prominently either way.

When a bidder places a bid on a timed listing, they get an outbid notification if someone tops it later. That notification is what brings bidders back. A bidder who gets outbid tends to return and bid again, and that back-and-forth is what gives timed auctions their rhythm.

The daily watchlist summary (Pro plan only) helps with timed auctions specifically. A bidder might be watching several listings across different closing dates. Instead of a notification every time something changes, the Pro app bundles the day’s watchlist activity, new bids, price changes, items closing soon, into one summary. It’s less noisy than individual alerts but still keeps engaged bidders in the loop.

For sellers running timed listings, the app has a My Listings view for managing drafts, active listings, scheduled listings, successful sales, and unsuccessful lots. If a listing doesn’t meet reserve or draws no bids, a seller can relist it without starting over.

Live event auctions on mobile

Live events work differently. You’re selling dozens or hundreds of lots in a single session, usually a few hours long. Bidders gather, in person or online, for one concentrated burst of activity.

When you publish an event, new event published notifications (Pro plan only) alert registered bidders so they don’t miss it. That’s how your community finds out a big event is live.

Once the event starts, bidders use a browse events and lots view to find your live event and see every lot inside it. The app shows lots in a grid or list, and tapping any lot brings up its description, opening bid, photos, and current bid status.

Moving through lots in a live event

During a live event, lots move through in sequence. A lot opens, bidding happens (sometimes intensely), it closes, and the next one begins.

Previous and next lot navigation means bidders don’t have to scroll back to the lot list every time. Say they’re watching lot 47 and bidding is active. When it closes, they tap “next” and land on lot 48 without hunting for it.

For events with many lots, the swipe gesture (Pro plan only) lets bidders move between lots by swiping left or right. It’s quicker than tapping, which matters for bidders on the floor who are moving fast between items.

Following auctions live

The Follow Auctions Live feature matters most during live events. Bidders tap follow and get real-time updates as the auctioneer calls out prices, extends lots, or moves to the next item.

That’s how remote bidders, watching from a phone at home or the office, stay in sync with what’s happening on the floor. They see the current lot, the current bid, and any announcements as they come in. An auction house running an on-the-floor auctioneer keeps that same energy reaching bidders who aren’t physically there.

When bidding is competitive during a live event, every second counts, and Follow Auctions Live is built for exactly that.

Auto-extending lots and closing reminders

Live events often use auto-extend groups, a setting that pushes back the closing time if bids land near the end. If a lot is set to close in five minutes and someone bids in the last minute, it extends. This keeps bidding open and cuts down on last-second sniping.

Bidders can see the current lot group and whether auto-extend is active, so they know a lot might extend if another bid comes in right before it closes.

Closing soon notifications (Pro plan only) alert bidders when a lot is nearing its close. For high-value or competitive items, these often trigger last-minute bids. You configure the time threshold, so the alert goes out while there’s still time to act on it.

Admin controls for live events

From the admin dashboard, you monitor event activity in real time: active bidders, bid volume, which lots are moving fast. You can also send bidder reminders to all users (Pro plan only) as the event winds down, giving stragglers a final nudge.

The app records a complete bid history for every lot: who bid, how much, and when. That log matters for transparency and for resolving disputes.

Notification history (Pro plan only) shows every notification sent during the event, so if a bidder says they never got a closing alert, you can check the record.

Event reporting and seller insights

After the event closes, sellers get event sales reports showing which lots sold, at what prices, and which fell short of reserve. They can also review lot orders, check auto-extend group activity, and generate invoices for buyers.

That data tells sellers what worked: which categories drew the most bidding, which opening bids performed, which reserve prices scared people off. Over time, it shapes how they price and present future auctions.

Which model fits your business

If you sell a steady stream of items, estate auctions, consignments, ongoing inventory, timed listings are your backbone. Bidders browse at their own pace, bid over days, and you handle everything asynchronously.

If you run scheduled events, monthly sales, seasonal drops, special promotions, live events bring energy and urgency. Bidders show up at a set time, compete in real time, and the event ends decisively.

Plenty of auction houses run both: timed listings every day, live events once or twice a month. The app handles either format, and you’re not locked into one model.

Testing the experience

Our demo apps run the Buyer + Seller build and cover both timed and live event functionality. You can create a test event, add lots, and step through the bidding flow to see how Previous/Next Lot navigation feels and how auto-extend groups behave in practice.

The demo won’t show Pro-only features like the swipe gesture or daily watchlist summaries, since those ship on the Buyer + Seller Pro plan. But you’ll get a good sense of core bidding, listing management, and how Follow Auctions Live keeps remote bidders connected during an event.

If you’re deciding between timed and live formats, our post on choosing between AuctionWorx Events and Enterprise editions walks through which edition fits which kind of auction house. Check our pricing plans to see which features come with each tier.