Auction Ops, End-to-End

Integrated end-to-end management of live auctions

Convention Auction is a web platform for fan-convention style auctions: public item intake, organisation tools, slide deck generation, live bid recording, payments and pickup management. It supports multiple auctions, multiple users, mobile-friendly flows, and SumUp payments.

Repository Deployment Guides User Manual

Typical flow

Attendees submit items before or during the event.
Live auction runs from a slide deck with paddle bidding.
Cashier settles winners and records payments.
Items are collected by winning bidders.

Overview

Core features

Multiple simultaneous auctions with managed lifecycle states.
Public item submission with photos upload and QR support.
Admin tools for editing, photos, moving/copying items, and exports.
Automatic PowerPoint slide deck and item card / slip generation with customisable templates
Live bid recording with undo and running totals.
Automatic collation of bidders' items; payment and refund handling
Auto-updating slideshow for in-venue displays.
Comprehensive maintenance panel for data management, diagnostics, and auction control.
Support for multiple user accounts with configurable permissions
SumUp payment integration (web checkout and card reader).

New in Version 3

New responsive menu-driven UI with light/dark themes.
Enhanced item management & photo tools.
New item assembly & collection workflow.
New report generation functions.
Support for donations & receipt printing.
Single login portal with finer user access controls.

Stack

Node.js + Express backend.
SQLite via better-sqlite3.
Plain HTML, CSS, JS frontend.

Requirements

Linux server with sudo access for setup
Domain name pointing to your server.
SumUp merchant account for card payments.

Description

Public Submission

Intake form for attendees. Supports QR short-name routing.

Public submission form

Use ?auction=shortname to auto-select an auction.
Item description and contributor are required.
Optional photo upload
Mobile-friendly capture or gallery upload.

Item Management Panel

Manage items, record bids, and generate exports for the live auction.

Create, edit, reorder, delete and restore items.
Rotate, crop, and replace item photos.
Move/Copy items between auctions
Record bids with undo support.
Generate auction slides and item cards/slips
Manage optional bidder names.

Admin panel overview

Payment Management Panel

Close out balances, manage refunds, and track payment methods.

Cashier overview

List bidders, totals due, and settlement status.
Supports cash, PayPal, manual card, or SumUp payments.
Payment methods can be enabled/disabled in server setup
Supports pop-out buyer-facing view
View detailed payment history and issue refunds.
Export CSV summaries by bidder and payment method.

Collection Management Panel

Real-time view of finalized bids to help organize winning lots.

Shows paddle number, lot, title, and hammer price.
Custom filter and sort options with automatic change highlighting
Updates automatically as bids are taken.
Allows tracking of which items have been collected
Export uncollected item lists

Live feed overview

Auction Management Panel

Full control over auctions, data management, templates, and diagnostics.

Maintenance overview

Create and manage auctions and states.
Import/export CSV, back up or restore database and files
Automatically generate test items and bids.
Manage export templates and image resources.
Review audit and backend logs.
Manage users, permissions and passwords

Slideshow

Unattended full-screen slideshow with live updates from the server.

Configurable overlays for description, contributor, creator.
Keyboard and touch controls for pause, resume, and settings.
Auto-refreshes items as new photos are added.
No stored credentials - Safe to leave unattended

Slideshow view

Auction lifecycle