What is a webcast auction?
A webcast auction is a live, auctioneer-led sale that is streamed online so remote bidders can watch and bid in real time, competing alongside the crowd in the room.
A webcast auction takes a traditional live auction and broadcasts it over the internet. A real auctioneer stands at the rostrum, calls each lot, and takes bids — but the audio and video are streamed to remote participants who can place bids online in real time. The result is one event with two audiences: the floor in the room and the bidders watching from anywhere in the world.
The key distinction is that a webcast auction is human-paced, not clock-paced. The auctioneer decides when the bidding has peaked and brings the gavel down, exactly as in a physical sale room. A clerk relays floor bids while the platform feeds online bids in instantly, so both audiences compete against the same live asking price. This is different from a timed online auction, which has no live auctioneer and simply closes when a countdown expires.
A concrete example: a heavy-equipment dealer runs a one-day sale of 300 lots — excavators, loaders, and trucks. Two hundred buyers fill the yard while another thousand watch the stream from other states and countries. As each machine is called, an online buyer in another time zone and a contractor standing in the yard trade bids within seconds of each other until the auctioneer says "sold". At Unovance Global, webcast is one of 22 auction formats you can run on a platform you own — keeping your brand, your bidder data, and your buyer relationships instead of renting a marketplace audience.
What defines a webcast auction.
Live auctioneer, broadcast online
A real auctioneer calls lots in real time. Audio and video stream to remote bidders, so the cadence, banter, and momentum of a physical sale reach a global audience.
Floor and online bid as one
On-site (floor) bidders and remote online bidders compete in the same live event. The clerk relays floor bids while online bids arrive instantly, all against the same asking price.
Real-time, not timed
Unlike a timed auction that closes on a clock, a webcast auction is paced by the auctioneer. A lot sells when the gavel falls, not when a countdown expires.
Best for high-value, fast-moving sales
Heavy equipment, vehicles, fine art, and estate sales often use webcast because the live energy and quick lot-to-lot pace move large catalogs efficiently.
Frequently asked questions
What is a webcast auction?+
A webcast auction is a live auction conducted by an auctioneer and broadcast over the internet in real time. Remote participants watch a video and audio stream of the event and place bids online, competing directly with bidders physically present on the floor.
How is a webcast auction different from a timed online auction?+
A webcast auction is live and human-paced: the auctioneer calls each lot and decides when it sells. A timed online auction has no live auctioneer and closes automatically on a countdown clock. Webcast preserves the speed and atmosphere of a sale room; timed auctions favor convenience and a longer bidding window.
Can people bid in person and online at the same webcast auction?+
Yes. That hybrid model is the defining feature. A clerk captures floor bids in the room while the platform accepts online bids simultaneously, and the auctioneer works both audiences against a single live asking price until the lot sells.
When should an auction house use a webcast format?+
Webcast suits high-value or time-sensitive catalogs — heavy equipment, vehicles, machinery, fine art, and estates — where live momentum drives competitive bidding and a large catalog needs to move quickly. It also lets a house keep its existing on-site crowd while opening the same event to remote buyers worldwide.
Run webcast auctions on a platform you own.
Unovance Global gives auctioneers live webcast bidding plus 21 other formats — with full ownership of your brand, your bidder data, and your buyer relationships. Get in touch at info@unovance.com.