WhatsApp group auctions · South Africa
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.
Free forever on the Free plan — see pricing.
Sold to Thandi for R650 — ruled on server time. Invoice on its way. 🔨
The problem
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.
How it works
Buyers bid the way they already do — R550, 600. No app to download, no signup, no leaving WhatsApp.
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.
Soft-close stops snipers: late bids extend the clock. When the lot closes, the winner is @mentioned in the group — decided, stamped, logged.
The winner gets a PDF invoice in their DMs the second the hammer falls — your details, their lot, the final price.
The fairness engine
Two bids in the same second used to mean a fight. Now it means a ruling.
Winners are decided on WhatsApp's server timestamp, to the millisecond — never on when the bot saw the message.
Every bid, every rejection, every extension is written to a log that can't be edited. Not by you, not by us.
Any bidder can request the audit trail for any lot. One message. No arguing.
A bid in the final 60 seconds extends the clock by 60 more. Snipers lose their favourite trick.
Shipped
Everything between the first bid and the paid invoice runs itself — fifty lots take the same effort as five.
Lots open, close, and hand over to the next one without you touching a thing.
Set Thursday 19:00 and the floor opens itself — same night, every week, so buyers know exactly when to show up.
Late bids extend the clock. Every buyer gets a fair last word.
Winner's PDF invoice lands in their DMs the moment the lot closes.
Longer auctions DM bidders the moment they lose the lead.
Buyers who don't pay get flagged — and can be blocked from your next auction.
Pricing
Real launch prices — no dollar billing, no surprises, cancel any month. Pay yearly and get two months free.
Run a real auction, free forever.
R0/mo
free forever — no card required
On the roadmap
WhatsApp support
Start free★ Most popular
For sellers who auction every week.
R299/mo
or R2,990/yr — 2 months free
On the roadmap
Priority support
Start on ProYour auction floor, branded yours.
R699/mo
or R6,990/yr — 2 months free
On the roadmap
Same-day support
Start on Auction HouseFree 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sign up on the Free plan — free forever, no card required.
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