Tips & Tricks

Video conferencing auctions have become an established option for agencies looking to facilitate remote participation while maintaining the familiar interaction of a live auction environment.

Rather than placing bids through a dedicated online bidding platform, buyers participate through a controlled video conference where bidding is communicated verbally and managed by the auctioneer and sales team.

While this approach remains popular with some agencies and vendors, it can create significant administrative workload behind the scenes, particularly when managing multiple registered bidders across multiple campaigns.

To assist agencies who prefer this style of auction, Auctions Live now integrates directly with both Google Meet and Zoom, creating a more automated and scalable workflow for managing bidder invitations, registrations and communication.

The result is a streamlined process that reduces manual administration while allowing agencies to continue operating video conferencing auctions within a familiar environment.

Why Some Agencies Continue to Use Video Conferencing Auctions

Every agency approaches auction delivery differently.

Some prefer a dedicated online bidding platform where buyers submit bids directly into a structured digital environment. Others prefer a video conferencing format that allows bidders to communicate verbally throughout the auction process.

For many auctioneers, video conferencing can feel familiar because it closely replicates traditional verbal bidding practices.

Buyers can see and hear the auctioneer in real time, ask questions when required and participate in a controlled environment alongside other approved bidders.

For agencies already utilising platforms such as Google Meet or Zoom within their business operations, integrating these tools into their auction workflow can also provide operational consistency.

It is important to note that video conferencing auctions are not intended to replace dedicated online bidding platforms. Rather, they provide agencies with another option when a campaign, seller or office prefers a more conversational style of remote participation.

Reducing Administration Through Automation

The original purpose of the Google Calendar, Google Meet and Zoom integrations was simple.

To seamlessly coordinate bidder registration, invitation management and video conferencing into an automated and scalable process that significantly reduces administrative effort for agencies.

Traditionally, agency staff were required to manually:

• ●Approve bidder registrations;
• ●Create video conferencing meetings;
• ●Distribute meeting invitations;
• ●Manage attendee lists;
• ●Coordinate bidder communication leading up to auction day.

While manageable for a small number of auctions, these tasks can quickly become time consuming as auction volumes increase.

The Auctions Live integration removes much of this repetitive administration by connecting bidder registration, approval workflows, calendar scheduling and video conferencing into a single environment.

This allows agencies to focus less on logistics and more on managing buyers, vendors and the auction campaign itself.

How the Process Works

The workflow has been designed to remain simple for both agencies and buyers.

• ●The property is scheduled within Auctions Live and configured for video conferencing;
• ●An interested buyer completes the Auctions Live bidder registration form via the agency website;
• ●The registration is reviewed and approved by the agency;
• ●Once approved, the bidder automatically receives a calendar invitation containing the Google Meet or Zoom access details;
• ●The bidder joins the video conference and remains informed throughout the auction using the Auctions Live digital bid display.

By automating these steps, agencies can maintain a professional bidder experience while significantly reducing manual coordination and administration.

Combining Public Livestreaming With Controlled Bidding

The integration has been designed to operate alongside Auctions Live's high definition livestreaming technology.

This creates a separation between public viewing and active bidding participation.

Members of the public can watch the auction live through the agency's website, providing transparency, brand exposure and audience reach.

At the same time, approved bidders participate through a controlled Google Meet or Zoom environment where communication can be managed more effectively by the auctioneer and sales team.

This approach allows agencies to benefit from public auction visibility while maintaining a structured environment for registered bidders.

For many agencies, this creates a balance between open public access and controlled bidder participation, ensuring the auction remains organised while still benefiting from broad audience engagement.

Supporting Different Auction Delivery Models

At Auctions Live, we recognise that agencies operate differently and that no single auction format suits every campaign.

While we continue to believe dedicated online bidding environments provide significant advantages around transparency, bidder engagement, bid tracking, auditability and scalability, many agencies still prefer conducting auctions through video conferencing platforms.

Dedicated online bidding platforms create a structured environment where bids are captured digitally, displayed instantly and recorded automatically. This can provide greater transparency for buyers, stronger reporting for agencies and a more scalable framework when managing larger bidder volumes.

However, some agencies and auctioneers prefer the conversational nature of video conferencing auctions and the ability to communicate directly with bidders throughout the process.

For those agencies, the objective is not to replace their preferred process. It is to make that process more efficient.

The Google Meet and Zoom integrations allow agencies to continue operating video conferencing auctions while benefiting from automated bidder registration, invitation management and communication workflows.

This provides greater flexibility while reducing the operational burden often associated with video conferencing formats.

Technology should support the way agencies choose to operate. While dedicated online bidding platforms offer significant advantages for many campaigns, some agencies still prefer a video conferencing environment. Our role is to ensure whichever approach they choose can be delivered efficiently, professionally and at scale.

Anthony Nounnis, Director of RE Software - Auctions Live | Offers Live

Built for Growth

As agencies continue to adopt hybrid and remote auction models, the ability to automate administrative processes becomes increasingly important.

Whether managing a handful of campaigns each month or coordinating large auction volumes across multiple offices, automation helps improve consistency, reduce manual effort and deliver a more professional experience for buyers.

The Google Meet and Zoom integrations form part of Auctions Live's broader commitment to providing practical technology solutions that support modern auction workflows while maintaining transparency, professionalism and operational efficiency.

Ultimately, agencies should have the flexibility to choose the auction delivery model that best suits their business, their sellers and their buyers. By automating much of the administration associated with video conferencing auctions, Auctions Live helps ensure those choices remain practical, scalable and easy to manage.