Latest release: November 16th, 2023
Paloma now supports auction bidding on Instagram Live Sales! This new feature will continue to evolve, so we'll share how it works right now, and continue to provide updates as it improves.
In this guide you'll learn how auction bidding works, and how to set them up.
Table of contents
How it works
Claim items can now be set to Auction bidding, and customers can bid on them while the auction is actively running.
What you need to know:
Only one item can be running an active auction at a time
Bids will only be accepted if they are 1 above the last highest bid
Auctions end when the timer runs out, or you end the auction
When the auction ends, you'll be prompted to release the claim to the winner so that it's added to their cart, and they can complete the purchase
Auction items are added to carts just like fixed price Claim items, and Shop items
How to setup an item for auction bidding
In Paloma, navigate to Products to list an item for bidding:
Select Create new product
In the Claim section, select Single
Under Pricing, select Auction from the dropdown
Set a Starting price
Set a Duration for the auction
Once the form is complete, save to add the item to your inventory
NOTE: this will not activate the auction
How to run and manage an auction
Once your item is created, you can start the bidding anytime:
Select the item you'd like to start the auction for
Select the actions menu in the top right, and select Start auction
Now that the auction has started, monitor the bids:
From the item's page in Paloma, select the Bids tab
Bids will appear in realtime, in the order they come in
The winning bid will have a white background, and show a status of "Winning" on desktop
Once the auction time runs out, or you select End auction, you will be prompted to release the claim to the winner – this will add it to their cart, and notify them of their claim win.
How customers can bid
Customers can bid while an item's auction is active by commenting on a Live or Feed post, replying to a story, or DMing your page.
The comment or message must contain "BID" and the amount they are bidding.
Rule | Works | Does not work |
Enter "BID" followed by the amount | BID 40 | 40 |
Only currency punctuation between "BID" and the amount | Bid $40 | Bid ?? 40 |
"BID" must be followed by the amount, and not interrupted with other words | Bid 40 please! | BID PLEASE 40 |
Only whole dollar increments are accepted | Bid 40 | Bid 40.50 |
Commas are the only punctuation that can be entered in a bid | Bid 4,000 | 40-50 |
What's next
As we continue developing on this feature, we'll be improving the following:
Running multiple auctions at once
Letting customers know that their bid was accepted
Offering a BIN (buy it now) price
What else would you like to see? Give us a shout with the info below, or on Instagram @getpaloma.
Any trouble? Questions? We're here to help!
Use the Help button in the bottom right corner of app.getpaloma.com to start a chat, or email us at support@getpaloma.com.