Guide · 6 August 2026 · 5 min read
Running hybrid auctions: room, phone, absentee and online bids
A practical guide to hybrid auctions: registering bidders by channel, aligning bid increments, clerking a sale with room, phone, absentee and online bids, and reconciling the results afterwards.
A hybrid auction runs several sales at once. The auctioneer calls one lot, but bids come from the room, from staff on the telephones, from absentee bids in the book and from online bidders on one or more live platforms. Done well, it widens the audience without slowing the sale. Done badly, it produces disputed lots, missed bids and a long evening of reconciliation.
This guide covers the preparation, the sale itself and what happens after the hammer falls.
01
Before the sale: prepare each channel
Register bidders by channel
Every bidder needs a paddle number linked to a known client before the sale. Reserving number ranges by channel (for example room, telephone and online) lets the clerk and the auctioneer see at a glance where a bid comes from.
In Selloff, each bidder type has its own first number, so numbers are allocated automatically within the right range. Each bidder can have a purchase limit, taken from the client's default or set for this sale. Tags flagged as important, such as an unpaid balance or an identity still to check, appear on the sale dashboard. See bidder registration & tracking.
Agree one set of bid increments
Bid increments must be the same whatever the channel. If an online platform accepts a bid of 1,150 when your scheme jumps from 1,100 to 1,200, the auctioneer faces a bid that cannot be called.
Selloff assigns a bid increment scheme to each sale. Manually entered bids can be validated against it, and bids imported from platforms or XLSX files can be rounded up to the next valid step automatically. The table below shows what a scheme might look like; each house sets its own.
| Up to (CHF) | Increment (CHF) |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | 50 |
| 2,000 | 100 |
| 5,000 | 200 |
| 10,000 | 500 |
| 20,000 | 1,000 |
Record absentee bids carefully
Absentee bids should be entered as soon as they arrive, with the time of receipt, because most conditions of sale give priority to the earlier of two identical bids. OR bids, such as "lot 112 or lot 113", need particular care.
In Selloff, absentee and OR bids are entered on the bidder's record or imported. For extra safety, a sale can require every manually created bid to be confirmed by a second user, and every imported bid to be confirmed by someone other than the person who imported it. See absentee & phone bids.
Plan the phone bank
Telephone bids need staff, lines and a schedule. Group bookings by session and lot range so that each member of staff knows which clients to call and when. Ask phone bidders for a cover bid in case the call cannot be connected.
Selloff's phone bid summary groups phone bids by session, a bidder sheet can be printed for each caller, and bookings can be reassigned between staff when the plan changes.
Set up online bidding
Decide which platforms will carry the sale, check that the catalogue and lot numbers are identical everywhere, and set the closing time for pre-bids. In Selloff, each session has its own internet bid closing time, and live online bidding is available through Selloff Live Auction or the Redpoint Live Auction integration. Bids and results from platforms such as Drouot, Sixbid, Numisbids, Biddr and Philasearch come back through their integrations. See live auctions & online bidding.
Print the book at the last moment
The auctioneer's book must include every absentee bid received, so print it as late as possible. Selloff generates it for a whole sale, one session or a range of lots.
02
During the sale: clerking a hybrid auction
Roles
A hybrid sale needs clear roles:
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The auctioneer
calls the lots and takes bids from every channel.
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The clerk
records each hammer price and buyer number, as well as unsold and withdrawn lots.
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The phone team
each member with a list of clients and lots.
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An online operator
watches the live platform, announces online bids to the auctioneer and makes sure the platform shows the correct lot.
Rhythm and fairness
Online bids arrive with a slight delay. The auctioneer should look at the online operator before bringing down the hammer, and give a clear final warning. When the room and an online bidder offer the same amount at the same moment, the auctioneer decides, and the conditions of sale should say so.
One console
Selloff's auctioneer's console shows the current lot and the bids from the room and online, and records hammer prices as the sale proceeds. Every bid keeps its origin (room, phone, absentee or a named platform), which matters later for statistics and fees. The clerk can correct a bid assigned to the wrong bidder in the view/change sale screen without leaving the sale.
03
After the hammer: reconcile
The sale is not closed until every lot has exactly one result: sold to one bidder at one price, unsold or withdrawn.
-
01
Import platform results
Winning online bids are imported into the sale and matched to clients.
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02
Check against the clerk's record
Selloff's results checklist compares catalogue lots with recorded results, and the hammer price reconciliation report cross-checks the buyer and seller figures.
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03
Resolve disputes quickly
while the auctioneer and the clerk still remember the lot.
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04
Invoice
Once results are clean, invoices are created for all buyers at once. Platform fees are calculated from each bid's origin.
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05
Open the after-sale
Unsold lots can accept offers after the live sale, often at or near the reserve. See offers & after-sale.
04
Measure each channel
Because every bid keeps its origin, you can see after each sale how many lots each channel won, how much it contributed and what it cost in platform fees. That is the basis for deciding where to publish the next sale. See results & statistics.
05
A short checklist
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Bidder number ranges per channel, and every bidder linked to a known client
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One bid increment scheme, applied everywhere
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Absentee bids entered with their time of receipt and checked by a second person
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Phone bookings grouped by session, cover bids collected
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Catalogue and lot numbers identical on every platform
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Auctioneer's book printed at the last moment
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Online operator in the room, beside the rostrum
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Results imported, checked and reconciled before invoicing
Frequently asked questions
What is a hybrid auction?
A hybrid auction is a live sale in which bids come from several channels at once: the saleroom, telephone lines, absentee bids left in advance and online bidders following the sale on a live platform. All channels compete on the same lot in real time, under the same bid increments and conditions of sale.
How does the auctioneer execute absentee bids during a live sale?
The auctioneer bids on behalf of the absentee bidder, one increment at a time, only as far as needed to beat competing bids or reach the reserve, and never above the stated maximum. When two absentee bids are identical, most conditions of sale give priority to the one received first.
How do you reconcile online platform results with the saleroom?
Import the platform's results into your sale, check that every lot has exactly one result with one bidder and one price, and compare against the clerk's record. In Selloff, the results checklist and the hammer price reconciliation report highlight discrepancies, and each bid keeps its origin so platform fees are calculated correctly.