How to Export Your Auction Catalog to Any Platform: AuctionFlex, Proxibid, LiveAuctioneers & More

Why Export Matters

Your auction catalog lives in Estimint, but your bidders live on platforms like Proxibid, LiveAuctioneers, and HiBid. The export step bridges that gap — it takes your catalog data and formats it exactly how each platform expects to receive it.

Estimint supports CSV export for seven major auction platforms, plus a generic format that works with most systems. Each platform has different field requirements, column naming conventions, and image handling expectations. This guide covers all of them.

Before You Export

Make sure your catalog is ready:

• All items have titles and descriptions — AI-generated or manually entered
• Lot numbers are assigned — Sequential or custom, with optional suffixes (100A, 100B)
• Images are uploaded — Most platforms require at least one image per lot
• Values and reserves are set — If your platform uses them
• Consignors are assigned — If you track consignment

You don't need to finalize everything before your first export. Export early and often — it's a CSV file, not a commitment.

Platform-Specific Guides

AuctionFlex

AuctionFlex expects specific column headers and formatting. Estimint's AuctionFlex export preset handles the mapping automatically.

Key fields:

• Lot number, title, description, estimate low/high
• Category and condition
• Images (URLs or filenames depending on your AuctionFlex configuration)

Steps:

1. Go to your catalog and click Export
2. Select AuctionFlex from the platform dropdown
3. Review the field mapping — Estimint maps its fields to AuctionFlex column headers automatically
4. Choose whether to include images
5. Click Export and upload the CSV to AuctionFlex

For a detailed walkthrough with screenshots, see our AuctionFlex export guide.

Proxibid

Proxibid uses a specific CSV template with required columns for lot data and image URLs.

Key fields:

• Lot number, title, description
• Starting bid, reserve (if applicable)
• Image URLs (Proxibid downloads images from the URLs you provide)

Steps:

1. Open your catalog and click Export
2. Select Proxibid as the platform
3. Verify the field mapping matches your Proxibid auction setup
4. Export with image URLs included
5. Upload to Proxibid's lot import tool

For the full Proxibid walkthrough, see our Proxibid export guide.

LiveAuctioneers

LiveAuctioneers accepts CSV uploads with their specific column format.

Key fields:

• Lot number, title, description, estimate low/high
• Category
• Images

Steps:

1. From your catalog, click Export
2. Select LiveAuctioneers
3. Review field mapping
4. Export and upload to LiveAuctioneers' catalog management

See our LiveAuctioneers export guide for the full walkthrough.

BidWrangler

BidWrangler's import format is straightforward — Estimint maps fields to match their expected columns.

Steps:

1. Select BidWrangler from the export platform dropdown
2. Review the mapping
3. Export and upload to your BidWrangler auction

HiBid

If you're listing on HiBid (whether through their platform directly or via an Auction Flex integration), Estimint can format your export accordingly.

Steps:

1. Select HiBid as the export platform
2. Estimint maps lot data to HiBid's expected format
3. Export and upload through HiBid's lot management interface

Invaluable

Invaluable has specific requirements for fine art and antiques auctions. Estimint's Invaluable preset maps fields to match.

Steps:

1. Select Invaluable from the platform list
2. Review field mapping — pay attention to estimate fields, as Invaluable uses these prominently
3. Export and upload to your Invaluable auction listing

Generic CSV

If your platform isn't listed above, or you need a custom format, the generic CSV export gives you full control:

• Choose which fields to include
• Set custom column headers
• Reorder columns to match your platform's template
• Include or exclude images

This works for most auction management systems that accept CSV imports.

Custom Field Mapping

Estimint lets you customize the field mapping for any export platform:

• Add fields — Include custom fields you've defined (Auction Pro and above)
• Remove fields — Exclude columns your platform doesn't use
• Rename columns — Match your platform's expected header names exactly
• Reorder — Drag columns into the order your platform expects

You can save custom mappings as presets so you don't have to reconfigure every time.

Image Export Options

Depending on your platform, images can be handled in two ways:

1. Image URLs — The CSV contains URLs pointing to your images hosted on Estimint. The platform downloads them during import. This is the default for most platforms.

1. Image files — For platforms that need actual image files (or for printed catalog production), Auction Pro users can export a ZIP file with both the CSV and all associated images organized by lot number.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

"Column not found" errors on import

Your platform expects a specific column header name that doesn't match. Open the export settings, find the field in question, and rename the column header to match exactly what your platform expects.

Images not loading after import

Check that your image URLs are publicly accessible. If you're using Estimint-hosted images, they should work automatically. If images were uploaded from a private network, the platform may not be able to reach them.

Lot numbers out of order

Make sure you've set lot numbers in your catalog before exporting. If lots are unnumbered, Estimint assigns sequential numbers based on catalog order. You can manually assign or reorder lots using drag-and-drop in the catalog view.

Special characters in descriptions

Some platforms struggle with certain characters in CSV fields (curly quotes, em dashes, etc.). Estimint's export sanitizes content for CSV compatibility, but if you see garbled text after import, check that your platform is reading the file as UTF-8.

Export Workflow Tips

• Export a test batch first. Don't wait until you've cataloged 300 lots to discover a formatting issue. Export 5-10 lots, upload to your platform, verify everything looks right, then export the full catalog.
• Save your presets. If you always export to the same platform with the same field mapping, save it as a preset. One-click exports from that point forward.
• Re-export after edits. If you update lot descriptions or values after your initial export, just re-export. The CSV overwrites cleanly.

Start your free trial and test an export with your first catalog — 200 listings, 30 days, no credit card.