The David Duggleby auction platform is one of our flagship systems and represents many years of continuous development, refinement and real-world operational integration.
What began as a simple requirement to upload large auction catalogues has evolved into a fully integrated auction ecosystem that now drives every core part of the business — from catalogue production and bidding, through to invoicing, payment, dispatch and post-sale management.
The original challenge was scale. Each auction typically contains between 600 and 1,500 lots, with constant late changes, additional photography, withdrawals and amendments in the days leading up to sale. Legacy software could only export CSV data, which quickly proved inefficient and fragile.
We engineered a direct integration with the internal auction database, allowing our platform to synchronise lots, images, client records, invoices and bidding data automatically. Today, the system updates catalogues continuously without staff intervention and manages complex image sets for every lot.
Our platform now writes commissioned bids, payments, invoices and buyer data directly back into the internal auction software, eliminating hours of manual administration every day and significantly reducing the risk of human error.
With the introduction of live bidding, the system now also controls the auction floor itself. Bidders participate live directly through the David Duggleby website, without third-party platforms, commission fees or duplicate logins.
Clerks and auctioneers operate from dedicated live control screens showing real-time bid data, commission bids, bidder information and lot details. The system also drives multi-screen displays around the auction house, presenting the current lot on large TV screens in real time.
Beyond live bidding, the platform delivers a complete post-sale workflow:
-
Automatic invoice generation and instant email delivery when an auction closes
-
Automated invoice reminders to improve payment turnaround
-
Online payment processing with secure checkout
-
Automatic delivery cost calculation at payment
-
Stock control and dispatch management with custom label printing
-
QR code and lot label systems
-
Client data management and cleansing
-
Automatic bid result notifications
-
“Lots for Me” personalised alerts
-
“Make an Offer” system for unsold lots, increasing post-auction sales
Security has been a core priority throughout, with enterprise-grade server hardening, strict protocol control and security practices comparable to online banking platforms.
This platform continues to evolve alongside the auction house, with new functionality added regularly as business needs, technology and customer expectations change.