At a glance
- Download one ZIP with your lots, every photo, and import instructions.
- Low and high estimates and starting bids are worked out from your price.
- Every photo is named by lot, so Auction Flex attaches it to the right lot.
- Each lot carries its category, the client as consignor, and your EstateFlow SKU.
- Titles are kept within Auction Flex's 50-character import limit.
Step by step
- 01
Price your items
Only priced items export, since every lot needs an estimate. Unpriced items are left out and EstateFlow tells you how many.
- 02
Export from EstateFlow
Open the estate, click Export inventory, and choose HiBid. Export the whole estate or a single room, and pick Conservative, Recommended, or Aggressive pricing.
- 03
Unzip the download
You get lots.csv, an images folder with every photo named by lot, and a README with these steps.
- 04
Import your lots
In Auction Flex 360, go to Lots, then Import Lots, and choose lots.csv. Map the columns the first time and save the layout so you never map them again.
- 05
Upload the photos
Go to Lot Images, then Select Lot Images. Open the images folder, select all, click Open, then Upload. Each photo lands on its lot by file name.
- 06
Review and publish
Set reserves or anything else you want in Auction Flex, then publish your catalog to HiBid.
Why export instead of retyping
Running an online-only estate auction on HiBid means building every lot in Auction Flex 360: a title, description, estimates, a starting bid, and photos. Then the photos have to be matched to the right lots one at a time. For a few hundred lots, that is most of a day.
You already photographed, described, and priced everything in EstateFlow. The export packages that catalog the way Auction Flex imports it, with photos already named so they attach to the right lot on their own.
What's in the ZIP
- lots.csv: one row per lot with lot number, title, description, quantity, low and high estimates, starting bid, category, consignor, and SKU.
- images folder: every photo of every lot, named by lot and position. 1-1.jpg is lot 1's first photo, 1-2.jpg is its second.
- README.txt: the import steps and column mapping, so whoever runs the import has them in hand.
Lots are numbered from 1 in catalog order. Titles longer than 50 characters are shortened at a word boundary, and EstateFlow tells you how many were.
Pricing
Your EstateFlow price is the anchor for the estimates and starting bid. HiBid uses the same three approaches as the LiveAuctioneers export. Here is what a $100 item becomes with each:
- Recommended: estimate $75 to $125, starting bid $38.
- Conservative: estimate $65 to $110, starting bid $33.
- Aggressive: estimate $85 to $150, starting bid $43.
Starting bids are half the low estimate, rounded to whole dollars. Reserves and buy-now prices aren't part of the Auction Flex import, so set those in Auction Flex on the lots that need them.
Mapping the columns
The first time you import, Auction Flex asks which field each column goes to.
Map them once and save the layout:
- LotNumber to Lot #, Title to Title, Description to Description, Quantity to Quantity
- LowEstimate to Presale Estimate Min (or Low Estimate), HighEstimate to Presale Estimate Max (or High Estimate)
- StartingBid to Start Bid
- Category, Consignor, and SKU to their matching fields, or No Mapping
Leave Seller Code unmapped unless you use Auction Flex customer codes.
Good to know
- This is a file you export and import. No HiBid or Auction Flex account connection is needed.
- Auction Flex imports the lots and the photos as two separate steps. Import lots.csv first, so the lots exist when the photos arrive.
- Lot numbers restart at 1 in each export. If you export room by room into one auction, renumber in Auction Flex or export the whole estate at once.
- If a photo can't be downloaded while the ZIP is built, EstateFlow tells you how many were missed.
- Your pricing approach is shared with the LiveAuctioneers export and remembered for next time.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work with HiBid directly?
HiBid catalogs are built in Auction Flex 360. The export is made for Auction Flex's lot and image import, and you publish to HiBid from there.
Do I need to connect my HiBid or Auction Flex account?
No. EstateFlow gives you a ZIP. You import the lots file and the photos yourself in Auction Flex 360.
Why aren't reserves or buy-now prices included?
The Auction Flex import doesn't take them from this file. Set reserves or buy-now in Auction Flex on the lots that need them.
How many photos come with each lot?
All of them: the main photo plus every extra angle taken in the EstateFlow mobile app, each named so it attaches to the right lot.
What happens to items without a price?
They're left out, since every lot needs an estimate. EstateFlow tells you how many were skipped so you can price them and export again.
Which plans include it?
Starter and Pro, and it's available during the free trial.
