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WhatsApp group auctions · South Africa

Going… going…Sold.

LotMaster runs the whole sale inside your WhatsApp group — opens the lots on schedule, tracks every bid, rules winners on WhatsApp's own server clock, and invoices before the applause ends. You just sell.

Start freeSee the fairness engine

The problem

Run by hand, it doesn't scale.

Every group auctioneer knows the grind: scrolling back through hundreds of messages to find the real bids, tallying lots in a notebook, typing invoices at midnight. And then the fight — two bids in the same minute, one angry buyer, a wall of screenshots you can't rule on, because WhatsApp doesn't show you the order its servers saw. The admin caps how many lots you can run, and every dispute costs you a buyer.

Overlapping chat screenshots stamped DISPUTEDDISPUTED

How it works

From first bid to paid invoice.

  1. 01

    Bids land in your group

    Buyers bid the way they already do — R550, 600. No app to download, no signup, no leaving WhatsApp.

  2. 02

    The clock that counts is WhatsApp's

    Every bid is ranked by WhatsApp's own server timestamp — never by when your network happened to read it. Nobody's network speed decides a winner.

  3. 03

    The hammer falls on the record

    Soft-close stops snipers: late bids extend the clock. When the lot closes, the winner is @mentioned in the group — decided, stamped, logged.

  4. 04

    Invoice before the applause ends

    The winner gets a PDF invoice in their DMs the second the hammer falls — your details, their lot, the final price.

The fairness engine

The photo-finish, on the record.

Two bids in the same second used to mean a fight. Now it means a ruling.

  1. 01

    Server time rules

    Winners are decided on WhatsApp's server timestamp, to the millisecond — never on when the bot saw the message.

  2. 02

    Append-only audit log

    Every bid, every rejection, every extension is written to a log that can't be edited. Not by you, not by us.

  3. 03

    Anyone can ask

    Any bidder can request the audit trail for any lot. One message. No arguing.

  4. 04

    Soft-close anti-sniping

    A bid in the final 60 seconds extends the clock by 60 more. Snipers lose their favourite trick.

Two bids in the same second, resolved by server timestampTwo bids both stamped 19:42:07 approach a finish line. The millisecond readout separates them: Thandi at .311 wins, Piet at .642 is behind.THANDI · R650.311PIET · R650.642BOTH BIDS: 19:42:07RESOLVED: SERVER TIME → ARRIVAL SEQUENCE

Shipped

More auctions. Less admin.

Everything between the first bid and the paid invoice runs itself — fifty lots take the same effort as five.

  • Automatic lot flow

    Lots open, close, and hand over to the next one without you touching a thing.

  • Scheduled auctions

    Set Thursday 19:00 and the floor opens itself — same night, every week, so buyers know exactly when to show up.

  • Soft-close anti-sniping

    Late bids extend the clock. Every buyer gets a fair last word.

  • Invoices on the hammer

    Winner's PDF invoice lands in their DMs the moment the lot closes.

  • Outbid alerts

    Longer auctions DM bidders the moment they lose the lead.

  • Defaulter flagging

    Buyers who don't pay get flagged — and can be blocked from your next auction.

Pricing

Priced in rand. Paid for by one good lot.

Real launch prices — no dollar billing, no surprises, cancel any month. Pay yearly and get two months free.

Free

Run a real auction, free forever.

R0/mo

free forever — no card required

  • Provably fair — server-time bid ranking + audit log
  • Public results link for every auction
  • Invoice DM’d the moment the hammer falls
  • Anti-snipe: soft-close, hard stop, last call
  • Live web dashboard for your auctions
  • Smart message pacing protects your number
  • 1 group · 3 auctions/mo · 20 lots per auction
  • 1 photo per lot · unlimited bidders

On the roadmap

  • Afrikaans & isiZulu bot replies Coming soon

WhatsApp support

Start free

★ Most popular

Pro

For sellers who auction every week.

R299/mo

or R2,990/yr — 2 months free

  • Everything in Free
  • Unlimited auctions — no monthly wall
  • 3 WhatsApp groups · 100 lots per auction
  • 2 photos per lot
  • Reserve prices — never sell below your floor
  • Scheduled auctions — opens the lots without you
  • Outbid alerts DM’d to bidders
  • Auction insights — revenue, sell-through, top buyers
  • Defaulter flagging
  • 3 team members

On the roadmap

  • Afrikaans & isiZulu bot replies Coming soon
  • Proxy bidding — bidders set a max, the bot bids for them Coming soon
  • Bulk lot import — CSV + drag-drop photo batch Coming soon
  • Catalog preview link to share before the auction Coming soon

Priority support

Start on Pro

Auction House

Your auction floor, branded yours.

R699/mo

or R6,990/yr — 2 months free

  • Everything in Pro
  • Unlimited groups, lots & photos per lot
  • Dedicated WhatsApp number — yours stays private
  • White-label invoices
  • 10 team members
  • Onboarding call

On the roadmap

  • Afrikaans & isiZulu bot replies Coming soon
  • Proxy bidding — bidders set a max, the bot bids for them Coming soon
  • Bulk lot import — CSV + drag-drop photo batch Coming soon
  • Catalog preview link to share before the auction Coming soon
  • Cross-group defaulter blocklist Coming soon
  • White-label public results pages Coming soon
  • Broadcast one lot to multiple groups at once Coming soon

Same-day support

Start on Auction House

Free forever — no card, no trial clock. Upgrade when the features pay for themselves.

Every new account is approved by a human — usually within a business day. Paid plans are invoiced by us directly for now; unlimited bidders on every plan.

Straight answers

Asked before the hammer.

Is the Free plan really free?

Free forever — 1 group, 3 auctions a month, 20 lots each, with the same fairness engine, public results link and instant invoices as the paid plans. No card, no trial timer. You upgrade when you want reserves, scheduling or more photos — not because we switched anything off.

How does the bot read bids?

Buyers bid the way they already do: R550, R 550, or just 600. The parser accepts absolute amounts; anything ambiguous is ignored rather than guessed, and rejected bids are logged with a reason — never argued about in the group.

Is my group's data safe?

LotMaster only reads the groups you register, and only stores what an auction needs: bids, timestamps, and the audit trail. Your member list is never sold, shared, or used for anything else. Built with POPIA in mind.

Which payment methods do invoices support?

Today the winner gets a PDF invoice with your banking details the moment the hammer falls. Instant pay links (PayFast, Yoco, SnapScan) are on the roadmap for every plan.

Can WhatsApp ban the number?

Straight answer: automation like this isn't officially sanctioned by WhatsApp, so ban risk is never zero. We pace every message to stay well inside normal usage patterns, and Auction House plans run on a dedicated number so your personal number is never exposed. If a ban ever hits, we help you migrate the same day.

What happens if the bot disconnects mid-auction?

Nothing unfair. Winners are ranked by WhatsApp's own server timestamps, not by when our bot was online — so on reconnect it re-reads the group and every bid lands in exactly the right order. Lots pause rather than mis-award.

Run twice the auctions. Save time on all of them.

Sign up on the Free plan — free forever, no card required.

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