Ultimate Auction Pro

Since we have so much experience making WordPress websites, readers often ask us if they can use WordPress in very specific projects. One popular question is whether they can create an eBay-like auction platform.

The good news is, you can absolutely create an auction site using WordPress – the key is finding the right auction plugin! Manage that, and you’ll have no problem listing items, accepting bids, setting reserve prices, and much more.

Can Ultimate Auction Pro help you create an eBay style website? Let’s find out, in this detailed Ultimate Auction Pro review.

Ultimate Auction Pro Review: Why Use It in WordPress?

Ultimate Auction Pro lets you add auctions to your WordPress website or WooCommerce store. You can create as many product listings as you want, set the bidding time, and collect credit card payments using PayPal or Stripe.

This plugin has a ton of features that are designed to help your auctions run smoothly, such as adding a reserve price, specifying an incremental value, and setting an opening price.

If you’re using WooCommerce, then it even integrates with WCFM Marketplace so you can accept listings from other vendors. You can even charge additional fees, and make money by featuring these third-party listings on your site.

If you’re just getting started or have a limited budget, then you can download the lite version from WordPress.org. This Ultimate WordPress Auction Plugin lets you create an unlimited number of listings, and then accept payments via PayPal, wire transfer, cheque, or cash.

However, if you upgrade to the premium plugin then you can accept payments using Stripe, too.

You can also boost engagement by enabling proxy bidding, which allows buyers to enter the maximum amount they’re willing to pay. Ultimate Auction Pro will then place bids for them automatically, just like you see on popular auction sites such as eBay.

In addition, Ultimate Auction Pro comes with ready-made email notifications, supports silent billing, and can relist items for you automatically if they don’t sell.

Ultimate Auction Pro Review: Is It the Right Auction Plugin for You?

Want to turn your WordPress site or WooCommerce store into an auction platform?

In this in-depth Ultimate Auction Pro review we’ll look at this plugin’s features, support, and pricing to see whether it has everything you need to create an eBay clone.

1. User-Friendly Editor

Ultimate Auction Pro has a user-friendly editor where you can create as many listings as you want. Simply enter some information about the item you want to sell such as its title, product description, and short product description.

You can also upload product images and videos, so potential customers can see the item they’re bidding on.

With that done, you can add pricing information, set a deadline, and then go ahead and publish the listing.

Are you using WooCommerce? Then Ultimate Auction Pro integrates seamlessly with this popular eCommerce plugin.

This means you can create auctions directly in the WooCommerce product editor.

2. Multiple Auction Widgets

Want to promote the latest auctions across your site? In that case, Ultimate Auction Pro has sidebar widgets that can show your upcoming, live, ending, and expired auctions.

Alternatively, you can use these sidebar widgets to show dynamic content, like the auctions the visitor has previously viewed. In this way, you can encourage users to engage with content they’ve already shown an interest in.

3. Easily Create Auction Pages

As already mentioned, you can promote your auctions using a range of sidebar widgets. However, you can also create dedicated pages for live, expired, and upcoming auctions using shortcodes that Ultimate Auction Pro provides automatically.

When using these shortcodes, you can use parameters to fine-tune how the content looks. For example, you might limit how many auctions you show per page, or only include auctions from a particular product category.

These shortcodes can be especially useful if sidebar widgets make your site look too cluttered.

4. Set an Opening Price

To help you avoid losing money, Ultimate Auction Pro lets you set an opening price plus the lowest amount you’ll accept, also known as the reserve price.

By choosing the opening and reserve price carefully, you can avoid selling items at a loss while also making you auctions more attractive to bidders.

5. Variable Bidding Increments

Ultimate Auction Pro lets you specify a bid increment, which is the smallest amount that customers can increase their bids by. This can help you avoid a situation where visitors try to cheat the system, by increasing their pledge by very small amounts.

Even better, you can create incremental values for different bidding intervals. Typically, you’ll want to increase the increment as the price climbs higher.

6. Choose From Multiple Payment Gateways

Want an easy way to accept credit card payments online? Ultimate Auction Pro lets you collect payments using Stripe or PayPal.

Alternatively, it can send your wire transfer details to the highest bidder, or the mailing address where they should send a cheque.

Want to accept payment in cash instead? Then Ultimate Auction Pro has an area where you can type in a message that it’ll show to the winning bidder. This is perfect for sharing payment instructions with the customer.

No matter what payment methods you choose, Ultimate Auction Pro supports a wide range of different currencies.

Just be aware that the available currencies may vary, depending on your chosen payment gateways and methods.

7. Accept Bids From Non-Members

By default, Ultimate Auction Pro only accepts bids from registered users. If you prefer, then you can change these settings so non-registered users can participate, too.

Just be aware that you can’t use this feature in combination with any buy now buttons.

8. End Auctions Automatically or Manually

When creating a listing, you can set an end date. When Ultimate Auction Pro reaches this deadline, it’ll close the auction automatically and declare the highest bidder as the winner.

If you’ve specified an end date, then the Ultimate Auction Pro plugin will add a countdown timer to that product’s page.

This can get you more bids, by using FOMO to create a sense of urgency.

Alternatively, you can end the auction manually in the WordPress dashboard.

Simply click ‘End Auction’ and the highest bidder will become the winner.

9. ‘Buy It Now’ Buttons

Want to sell items quickly? Ultimate Auction Pro lets you add a ‘Buy it now’ price to your listings, for shoppers who are willing to pay more for convenience.

Alternatively, you can disable the bidding feature, so that visitors only see the ‘Buy it now’ button. In this way, you can use Ultimate Auction Pro as a traditional eCommerce plugin, which may be useful if you don’t have WooCommerce installed.

10. eBay-Style Proxy Bidding

Many popular auction sites let users specify the maximum amount they’re willing to pay for a product. If the customer gets outbid, then the website will place a new bid automatically, until it reaches the maximum amount.

You can add this feature to your WordPress blog or website, using the proxy bidding feature. Once enabled, Ultimate Auction Pro will automatically bid on the person’s behalf, so they don’t need to revisit your site and post manually every time they get outbid.

11. Protect Against Auction Snipers

Auction sniping is where someone places a bid as late as possible, in an attempt to outbid the current winner.

To help you avoid these snipers, Ultimate Auction Pro can extend the deadline every single time someone places a bid. This gives all participants a chance to bid again. In this way, you can protect your users against snipers and improve the customer experience.

12. Automated Emails

Ultimate Auction Pro comes with a range of ready-made emails that it will send to your users automatically. This includes outbid, ending soon, and item relisted notifications. This keeps users informed about events happening on your online store.

All these emails are fully customizable, so you can add your own content and messaging in the plugin’s settings.

When a customer wins an auction, the plugin will automatically send them an email containing their order information and a checkout link.

The customer can simply click this link to visit your site and complete their purchase.

13. Integrates With Twilio

Sending text messages can be a powerful way to bring visitors back to your site, while also keeping them engaged and informed. With that said, Ultimate Auction Pro has built-in support for Twilio so you can send SMS messages to your audience with ease.

14. Send Direct Messages

Ultimate Auction Pro lets visitors send private messages to the auction owner if they have any questions or concerns.

This improves the user experience by allowing visitors to get answers to their questions, while also reducing the workload for your help desk and customer support staff.

15. Relist Unsold Items

There’s no guarantee an item will sell at auction. Thankfully, Ultimate Auction Pro can relist unsold products automatically, so you have another chance to get a sale. This can save you a ton of time and effort, since you don’t need to relist every single unsold item manually.

You can also set some rules for relisting unsold items. For example, you might configure Ultimate Auction Pro so it only relists items that get zero bids, or relist all items where the reserve price isn’t met.

Going further, you can add a delay inbetween the auction closing and the item getting re-posted. This delay creates a sense of scarcity, which may make the auction more appealing when it does get re-published.

16. Automated Admin Notifications

Every time someone places a bid or completes an order, Ultimate Auction Pro can notify you via email. By default, it’ll use your WordPress admin email, but you can enter any email address you want in the plugin’s settings.

In this way, you can monitor everything that’s happening on your website, without even logging into the WordPress dashboard.

17. Manage Your Auctions With Ease

To help you keep everything organized, Ultimate Auction Pro provides a central dashboard where you can manage and monitor all your auctions.

If you need more information about a listing, then you can see its complete bid history. You can also make changes to the auction, or delete it entirely.

18. Block Unwanted Users

Sometimes, you may need to block someone from your auction website, such as a person who has a history of not paying. In that case, Ultimate Auction Pro makes it easy to block any registered user, so they can no longer bid on your website.

Going further, you can prevent all users from placing bids. Temporarily suspending bidding in this way may be a good option if you’re updating your site, fixing a WordPress error, or performing some other maintenance task.

19. Silent Bidding Feature

Ultimate Auction Pro supports silent bidding, where the participants cannot see what other people have bid.

This is designed to mimic a real-life silent auction, and can add a sense of excitement to your listings. Some participants might even bid higher than usual due to the uncertainty involved.

20. Supports Reverse Auctions

Unlike traditional auctions, in a reverse auction the price decreases every single time someone places a bid. These unusual auctions can create a sense of excitement and urgency, and are great when you want to sell an item quickly.

Ultimate Auction Pro has full support for these reverse auctions. You can even use the reserve price to stop the total from falling too low.

21. Accept Third-Party Listings

Want to let users submit their own listings on your website?

Ultimate Auction Pro integrates with the popular WCFM Marketplace plugin, which allows visitors to create vendor accounts on your website. With that done, they can go ahead and publish their own listings, track their orders, and private message potential customers.

If you do use WCFM Marketplace with Ultimate Auction Pro, then we recommend enabling the buyer’s fee feature. This allows you to claim a flat rate or percentage fee from every third-party sale, so you can make money online.

22. Charge Additional Fees

Ultimate Auction Pro lets you charge a buyer’s premium, which is an additional fee that the winner pays on top of their bid. If you publish third-party listings on your site, then this allows you to earn money from these third-party sales.

23. AJAX Instant Bidding

Ultimate Auction Pro has an AJAX implementation so visitors can see the latest bids in real time without having to refresh the page, including the bidder’s name, the bidding time, and the amount. They can also place bids without needing to reload.

This feature works out of the box, but getting the latest information can sometimes affect your website’s performance, depending on factors such as your WordPress hosting. If that happens, then you can change how frequently Ultimate Auction Pro fetches new information, in the plugin’s settings.

Often, this is enough to boost your website’s speed and performance.

24. Integrates with WooCommerce

Although it isn’t required, where available Ultimate Auction Pro integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce. As you’ve already seen, you can create auctions directly inside the WooCommerce product editor.

You can also display your auctions in WooCommerce’s various pages, including the shop page, product category page, and product search page.

25. Bulk Import Products

Want to add multiple products to your website at once?

Ultimate Auction Pro lets you upload unlimited products as a CSV file, in exactly the same way you use the WooCommerce bulk upload feature.

26. Export User and Auction Information

Sometimes, you may want to share auction information with other people, such as your co-workers. Creating a new WordPress account just so that person can check your Ultimate Auction Pro information isn’t good for WordPress security.

Instead, you can export all the information from your website as a CSV file. This includes the bidder’s name and email address, along with the highest bid, auction name, and expiry date.

This is also helpful if you need to import information into another program, such as the customer relationship management (CRM) app you’re using to manage your auction website.

27. Supports Multiple Languages

Do you run a multilingual website, or sell to a large audience who speak multiple languages?

Then you’ll be happy to learn that Ultimate Auction Pro is compatible with WPML, LocoTranslate and My WP Translate. This lets you translate your content into many different languages, including right-to-left languages.

28. Add a Currency Switcher

Are you using the Aelia Currency Switcher? Then you’ll be happy to learn that Ultimate Auction Pro has an add-on that integrates with this plugin, so you can display bids in multiple currencies.

29. Community and Professional Support

With its code-free editor and well-organized dashboard, Ultimate Auction Pro is designed with ease of use in mind. However, if you’re going to create a successful auction site, then you may need some extra help.

To start, there’s online documentation that you can access 24/7. This explores all the plugin’s major features and how to use them with some of the must have WordPress plugins.

If you prefer one-on-one assistance, then all the premium plans come with professional support. Simply submit a ticket and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Using the free plugin? Then you can post to the Ultimate WordPress Auction Plugin forum on WordPress.org, and get answers to basic questions.

When posting to public support forums, it’s always a good idea to include as much detail as possible, so the experts can understand your problem fully and post a helpful response. For more on this topic, check out our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support.

Ultimate Auction Pro Review: Pricing and Plans

If you’re just getting started or have a limited budget, then you can download the Ultimate WordPress Auction plugin from WordPress.org. This lets you add auctions to your WordPress website or online marketplace, accept bids, and manage all your listings from a convenient, central dashboard.

However, if you want to accept third-party listings, send SMS notifications, set up variable increments, or unlock other advanced features, then you’ll need to upgrade.

There are 3 plans to choose from:

• Starter. For $79 annually, this plugin unlocks proxy and silent biddings, while also relisting unsold items automatically. It also integrates with WCFM Marketplace so you can accept listings from third-parties. That said, this is a feature-packed plan that’s a great starting point for all kinds of business websites.
• Business. Priced at $119 per year, this plan integrates with the Aelia Currency Switcher and lets you send SMS notifications. You can also add a buyer’s fee to your auctions. This is ideal if you want to make money by letting third-parties sell items on your site.
• Unlimited. For $199 annually, you can install Ultimate Auction Pro on as many websites as you want. That said, Unlimited is the perfect plan for WordPress development agencies, or anyone who manages a portfolio of client sites.

Ultimate Auction Pro Review: The Right Auction Plugin for You?

To sum up this Ultimate Auction Pro review, we’re confident that it’s a great auction plugin. It lets you list as many items as you want, and even accept listings from third-parties. If you do set up a multi-vendor site, then this plugin can collect a flat rate or percentage buyer’s fee for you.

It also lets you create all kinds of auctions, including silent auctions and reverse auctions, and can protect your listings from snipers.

With that said, this is a great choice if you want to add eBay-like features to an existing WooCommerce store, or even set up a stand-alone auction website without necessarily having to use WooCommerce.

We hope this Ultimate Auction Pro review helped you decide whether it’s the right auction plugin for you. Next, you may want to see our guide on how to create a WooCommerce popup, or check out our expert pick of the best WooCommerce plugins for your store.

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