Frequently asked questions

LotCircle brings recurring auctions and their bidders together in public or private Rooms. Organizers publish Auctions containing Lots. Bidders browse an Auction catalogue and bid on individual Lots. The Room and its community stay together for the next Auction.

A Lot is everything offered together as one auction unit: one watch, 20 tools, a furniture bundle, or a mixed pallet. Every bid is for the whole Lot. A bid of USD 100 on a Lot containing 20 tools means USD 100 for all 20, not USD 100 per tool. Each Lot has its own bids, timer, and result, with at most one winner.

A Room is a lasting community with its organizer, bidders, Auctions, and chat. The same Room can host daily, weekly, monthly, or occasional Auctions. Join a private Room through an invitation, or request organizer approval in a public Room. Each Room keeps its own access rules.

There are no commission, listing, joining, or bidding fees. Free organizing includes 1 Room, 1 active Auction, 10 active Lots, and 20 accepted bidders per Room, excluding the organizer. Archived Rooms do not count toward the Room limit. Organizer Pro is an optional paid subscription for unlimited standard capacity. You still pay for Lots you win and any agreed delivery or other costs. Room approval and bidding eligibility still apply.

Create or open a Room you organize, choose Create Auction, and enter its title and description. Add Lots directly to that catalogue, with a Lot number, contents, quantity, media, bid settings, and timing. Check the catalogue, then choose Publish Auction for timed bidding or Publish and Start Auction Night for a live session. You choose one publishing action.

Each Lot keeps its own result and bid history. When a winner is recorded, the winner and organizer continue through that Lot’s handoff. A Lot may also close without a winner. Closed Lots are read only. Reauction creates a new numbered Lot with fresh bidding; the original result and history remain.

Eligible, verified Room bidders can bid when a Lot is open and their bidding access is active. Invited guests may also bid in the Auction Night they are authorized to attend. Organizers cannot bid on their own Lots and can pause a bidder’s bidding access without removing Room or chat access.

A direct bid submits the amount you choose. A private maximum lets LotCircle bid automatically up to your limit. Only you can see that maximum. You can cancel future automatic bidding, but bids already accepted remain in the auction.

Place a bid shows your last accepted bid, whether you are leading, your bidding history, and the live leaderboard. Choose View gallery to inspect the auction photos and videos before you bid. If you are not eligible, request room access or follow the approval message first.

Auction Night is an optional live session for one active, published Auction in a Room. If several Auctions are active, the organizer selects one, chooses eligible Lots, and prepares their run order. Start now or schedule the session. Bidders follow one active Lot at a time, with the next Lots in the queue. Regular Room bidding pauses while the session runs, and each Lot retains its own result. You can also publish an Auction without Auction Night.

An organizer can invite a bidder from their connections or share a guest link. After signing in, an invited guest can join and bid in that Auction Night without joining the room. Guest access expires when the event ends. A separate room invitation, valid for three days, is needed for ongoing room access.

Room chat is for authorized bidders and the organizer. Direct chats stay between their participants. Hold a message or use its menu to reply or copy; Forward lets you choose an eligible private-chat contact. On Place a bid, the room chat stream is read-only. Alerts open the relevant auction, room, request, or conversation.

The auction organizer and winning bidder arrange payment and delivery outside LotCircle. Review the auction terms before bidding, then use winner handoff to agree on the next steps. LotCircle does not collect auction payments or hold funds.

Organizer Pro removes LotCircle’s standard organizer limits for owned rooms, active Auctions, active Lots, and accepted bidders while the subscription is active. It does not change room access, bidding, privacy, or safety. Billing shows verified status and the correct store-management action.

Open More in the website navigation for Account, Billing, Calendar, Alerts, Chats, Favorites, and other tools. On a phone or tablet, open the navigation menu.

Open LotCircle Support for a private chat, or email [email protected]. Use Report a bug to include details and screenshots.

Open More, then Account to choose an avatar, save alert preferences, review mobile-alert devices, or delete your account. You can create a room from Rooms without switching account modes. Deletion keeps required auction and safety history and does not cancel an Apple or Google subscription.

Use the sun or moon button at the bottom right. In a chat, it appears in the fixed header. Your choice is saved in this browser.