Guide · 27 August 2026 · 5 min read
Selling on Drouot, Interenchères, Sixbid & co. from one catalogue
How to publish one auction catalogue on several online platforms (Drouot, Interenchères, Sixbid, Numisbids, Biddr, Philasearch) and bring bids and results back into a single system, with the pitfalls to avoid.
Few auction houses rely on a single channel. A fine art sale in Geneva may appear on Drouot and Interenchères to reach French buyers; a coin sale on Sixbid, Numisbids and Biddr, where numismatic collectors look first; a stamp sale on Philasearch. Each platform brings bidders you would not otherwise reach.
The price is complexity. Every platform has its own formats, its own bidder accounts and its own results. This guide explains how to distribute one catalogue to several platforms and bring everything back into one place.
01
Keep one master catalogue
The first rule: the catalogue lives in your management system, and the platforms receive copies of it. Lot numbers, titles, descriptions, estimates, images and withdrawals are edited in one place and pushed out. As soon as someone corrects a description directly in a platform's back office, the versions drift apart, and the buyer who relied on the platform's version may have a point.
In Selloff, the catalogue is built from lots described once in the inventory, ordered and numbered in the catalogue, then published on your website and exported for platforms such as Drouot and Interenchères. See online catalogue publishing.
02
Prepare a catalogue that travels well
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Numbers first
Finalise the order and numbering before exporting. Renumbering after publication means publishing again everywhere, and it risks bids landing on the wrong lot. Selloff's catalogue error check helps catch gaps before the catalogue is activated. See catalogue building & numbering.
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Descriptions and languages
Platforms display the fields you send them. Decide which text goes where: a short title for list pages, the full description for the lot page, and possibly a second language. In Selloff, export templates let you choose which fields make up the exported description (title, description, alternative title, alternative description), so a French text can go to one platform and an English text to another. See lot descriptions.
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Images
Online, images sell lots. Before exporting, check that every lot has its images, in the right order and at the right resolution. Selloff's image check flags lots with missing images, and a content delivery network can serve public images faster. See photo import & image checks.
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Estimates, currency and terms
Show the same estimates and currency everywhere, and make sure your conditions of sale (buyer's premium, payment, shipping) are consistent with each platform's own terms. Some platforms add their own fee for buyers who bid through them; state clearly who charges what.
03
Getting the catalogue out: files and APIs
Platforms accept catalogues in two ways: file uploads in their own format, or a direct connection through an API.
Selloff exports catalogues as a Drouot file, an Interenchères PV2 file, Excel, JPEG images, an InDesign file or an MA Shop file. For sales on Drouot, a synchronisation retrieves the lot links from Drouot so that each lot in Selloff points to its page on the platform. Connections to Drouot, Interenchères, Sixbid, Numisbids, Biddr and Philasearch are configured once in the settings, with the credentials each platform provides. Selloff does not send catalogues to Sixbid, Numisbids, Philasearch or Biddr: their integrations bring bids, and for Biddr results, back into the sale.
04
Bringing bids and results back
Distribution is the easy half. The harder half is getting every bid into one auctioneer's book before the sale, and every result into one set of invoices after it.
Pre-sale bids
Absentee bids placed on platforms must reach the auctioneer. In Selloff, bids from connected platforms are imported into the sale with:
- a bid origin identifying the platform, used for statistics and fees;
- a bidder type, so that platform bidders receive numbers in their own range;
- contact matching through an external reference, so that the platform's bidder ID is stored on your client record and the same person is recognised next time;
- optional rounding up to the next bid increment, when the platform accepted an amount that does not fit your scheme.
For platforms without a direct connection, or for bids received in bulk by email, the XLSX import uses a template and applies the same rules. See bid import from platforms.
Results
After a live sale, the lots won on platforms that provide results, such as Drouot and Biddr, are imported with their hammer price and buyer. Once all channels are in, the results checklist confirms that every lot has exactly one result, and invoices are created in a single pass.
05
Pitfalls to avoid
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Duplicate clients
The same collector often has accounts on several platforms as well as with you directly. Without matching, they become three clients with three purchase histories. Store platform IDs as external references and merge duplicates as soon as they appear.
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Misaligned increments
Platforms apply their own bid increments unless told otherwise. Use the same scheme everywhere, and round imported bids when needed.
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Late changes
A withdrawn lot or a corrected description must reach every platform, not only your website. Keep a short list of channels to update for every change after publication.
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Closing times and time zones
Pre-bid deadlines differ between platforms and time zones. Set one internet closing time per session and communicate it consistently.
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Unverified bids
Imported bids deserve the same scrutiny as bids taken by phone. Selloff can require a second user to confirm every imported bid before it counts.
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Platform fees
Some platforms apply a surcharge to lots won through them, which must appear on the buyer's invoice. In Selloff, each bid origin can carry a percentage per lot sold, a fixed fee per lot sold or a one-off fee, added automatically to the invoice with its own description.
06
Measure what each platform brings
Because every bid keeps its origin, you can compare platforms after each sale: number of bidders, lots won, amounts, new clients and fees. Selloff's bid origins exist precisely to help you judge the profitability of each platform. See results & statistics.
07
In short
Publish from one master catalogue, align numbers, increments and terms everywhere, bring every bid back with its origin, and match platform bidders to your own clients. The number of platforms you use then becomes a commercial decision rather than an administrative burden.
Frequently asked questions
Can I publish the same auction catalogue on several platforms?
Yes, and many houses do, because each platform reaches a different audience. The key is to keep one master catalogue in your own system and send it to each platform, rather than maintaining separate copies. Lot numbers, descriptions, estimates and images then stay identical everywhere.
How do bids from Sixbid or Numisbids get into my auction software?
Through the platform's integration or a file import. In Selloff, bids from connected platforms are imported into the sale, matched to existing clients through an external reference, assigned to the right bidder type and origin, and optionally rounded up to the next bid increment. Other sources can be imported with an XLSX template.
Which online auction platforms does Selloff connect to?
Selloff connects to Drouot, Interenchères, Sixbid, Numisbids, Biddr and Philasearch, and to Redpoint Live Auction for live online bidding. A WordPress plugin publishes catalogues on the auction house's own website.