The file
LiveAuctioneers imports a catalog from a spreadsheet saved as CSV or tab-delimited text. It doesn't take .xlsx files. Its help pages say not to save the file as CSV UTF-8, so Cataloger writes Windows-1252 with Windows line endings. Characters outside that code page, such as Chinese text, go in as numeric references, which is what LiveAuctioneers suggests for them.
Headers are case-sensitive and must be spelled exactly. Column order doesn't matter, and optional columns can be left out. A catalog needs between 50 and 1,250 lots.
Columns
These are the columns Cataloger writes, straight from its exporter. LiveAuctioneers accepts more optional columns, such as dimensions and shipping, which Cataloger leaves out.
| Column | Required | Cataloger fills it from | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
LotNum | Yes | The drafted lot | Up to 10 characters. One letter may follow the number (27A). |
Title | Yes | The drafted lot | At most 100 characters. |
Description | Yes | The drafted lot | No website or YouTube links. Line breaks become <br>. |
LowEst | Yes | The drafted lot | Whole number, no currency symbol. |
HighEst | Yes | The drafted lot | Must be above LowEst. |
StartPrice | Yes | Your starting bid rule | Blank means LiveAuctioneers sets 50% of LowEst. |
Condition | No | The drafted lot | |
Reserve Price | No | Your reserve rule | Must be above StartPrice. Used for automated sales and the Online Seller plan. |
Quantity | No | Left blank unless you map it | Pieces in the lot, for display only. |
ImageFile.1 to ImageFile.20 | No | Photo links | One column per photo with its public URL, up to 20. |
What stops the download
These would get a row rejected, so Cataloger blocks the download until they're fixed:
- LotNum is blank or longer than 10 characters. One letter may follow the number, as in 27A.
- Title is blank or longer than 100 characters.
- Description is blank or contains a link to a website or YouTube.
- LowEst or HighEst is missing, or HighEst isn't above LowEst.
- StartPrice is above LowEst.
- An amount has more than 9 digits.
- A lot has more than 20 photos.
These are warnings only:
- A title over 55 characters, which LiveAuctioneers recommends against.
- A LotNum that starts with a letter or contains a period, hyphen or underscore. That blocks cross-listing to The Saleroom, Lot-tissimo and EstateSales.NET.
- A catalog outside 50 to 1,250 lots.
- <strong> or <em> tags in a description. They don't render on LiveAuctioneers, so use <b> and <i>.
- A reserve that isn't above the starting bid.
Starting bids and reserves
A blank StartPrice means LiveAuctioneers sets it to 50% of LowEst. Cataloger fills StartPrice and Reserve Price from your house rule instead, such as half the low estimate rounded down to the nearest $50. It never picks either figure itself.
Photos
Each ImageFile column holds the public link to one photo, up to 20 per lot. LiveAuctioneers fetches the photos from those links, so keep them public until the upload finishes. Dropbox preview links are rejected unless they point straight at the image file.
A sample file
The first rows of the file Cataloger writes for two demo lots, under a house rule of half the low estimate rounded down to $50. The blank template has the same header row and no lots.
LotNum | Title | Description | LowEst | HighEst | StartPrice | Condition | Reserve Price | Quantity | ImageFile.1 | ImageFile.2 | ImageFile.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Rolex Submariner 14060 No-Date Dive Wristwatch, Stainless Steel, Black Dial | Rolex Submariner no-date dive watch, identified as reference 14060 from its dia… | 8000 | 10500 | 4000 | Visible wear includes fine surface scratches on the case flanks and bracelet li… | https://cataloger.ai/catalogger/rolex.jpg | https://cataloger.ai/catalogger/rolex-detail-1.jpg | https://cataloger.ai/catalogger/rolex-detail-2.jpg | ||
| 107 | Vase by Rookwood Pottery, Decorated by Lorinda Epply, Shape 80C, 1930 | Rookwood Pottery vase decorated by Lorinda Epply and dated 1930, with a tapered… | 450 | 1000 | 200 | The foot ring shows tan staining and several small flecks or possible chips alo… | https://cataloger.ai/catalogger/rookwood-vase.jpg | https://cataloger.ai/catalogger/rookwood-vase-marks.jpg |
Uploading it
The same notes Cataloger shows next to the download:
- Seller Dashboard > Items > Upload Items File, fix any red rows, then Save Items.
- Catalogs need 50 to 1,250 lots. The Images tab unlocks at 50 lots.
- Photos are fetched from the ImageFile URLs, so keep them public until the upload is done.