Lot descriptions

A description screen shaped by your specialists

Describing is where most of a catalogue's time goes. Selloff's description screen shows, for each lot, the consignor data (receipt, consignor reference, price paid), the catalogue it is assigned to, the texts, the categories and tags, the packaging, the prices and the images. Administrators choose which fields appear in the main and secondary panels, set default currency, packaging, catalogue image size and VAT type, and decide which fields are left out when a lot is duplicated.

Texts and custom fields

Every lot has a heading and a description, and an alternative heading and alternative description, for example for a second language. Eight single-line fields and two multi-line texts cover the details your speciality needs, such as dimensions, provenance, grade or literature, and their labels can be renamed for each interface language. If the heading is left empty, Selloff can build it from the start of the description. Notes for the auctioneer, a sort text and a reference catalogue with its number and value complete the record.

Field automations

Many descriptions follow patterns. A field automation assembles a heading or a description from text blocks, each added when a condition is met, for instance when a custom field is filled in or a taxonomy contains a value, with tokens such as @lot.addtl_field_1 or a taxonomy slug replaced by the lot's data. The result stays consistent across thousands of lots, can be disabled on a lot that needs hand-written text, and is regenerated when you change the rule.

Built for teams and volume

External experts can be given a describer role limited to describing lots and seeing their own work, with a count of lots they have described. Lots can be duplicated, labelled and traced through their sale history, and a spreadsheet import creates or updates up to 1,000 lots at a time. For the photos, see photo import; for categories, see taxonomies.