1. From the React admin pages login to the Main Marketplace store and go to the Marketplace > Auctions page located on the Menu.
   • URL: https://admindev.open4business.io/
   • User: Marketplace admin
   • Role: Marketplace Admin

2. The Auction admin page will open in the same window. Click on the plus icon to create a new Auction Event.

3. A pop-up window will open on the same page, showing the required field to create the new Auction:

4. Filled out the fields as follows:
   • Auction Code: This code is used as a unique identifier of the Auction per store. Enter the desired Auction Code without spaces and special characters. Only letters, numbers, and dashes are allowed.
   • Auction Name: The customer will see this Auction Name on the product detail page and the winner’s email.  
   • Start Date and Time: The initial date and time of the auction in the store. When the auction is opened and the start date and time are reached, the Auction tile will be displayed on the product details page to allow people to create an account and bid.
   • End Date and Time: The date and time the auction finish. When this date and time are reached, the auction will automatically change status to Closed and an email will be sent to all winners based on the amount of the highest bid.
   • Status:
     1. New: When the auction is newly created and it hasn’t started yet and it is not open for bids yet. When the auction is in New state, the Auction tile will not be displayed on the product details page and shoppers will not be able to bid.
     2. Open: When the auction is open for bids and available for shoppers to bid. A countdown will be displayed on the Auction tile to show how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds the bidder has until the bid ends.
     3. Closed: Change to this state when the auction needs to be closed manually before the end time OR wait until the bid is closed automatically when it reaches the end date and time.

5. Click on Save when the form is completed.

The ‘Sucess’ message will be displayed in the right top corner of the page and a new record will be added to the Auction table.

Note: The changes in this admin page only affect the preview instance. Publish the main marketplace store to update the bid table and push the changes to the shop instance.

STEP 2: Setup the Auction Products #

1. From the React admin pages login to the Supplier store. The supplier store needs to be enabled as a distributor of the Main Marketplace and the MCW.
   • URL: https://admindev.open4business.io/
   • Log in as a Supplier admin
   • Role: Supplier Catalog Admin

2. After login in, verify the user settings are correct by going to User (located in the top right corner of the page) > Settings > Application Settings > Edit Product page> Select Advanced> Click on Save

4. Go to Catalog > Products > Click on the + button to create a new product.

The ‘Create new product’ pop-up window will be displayed on the same page.

5. Fill out the form accordingly using the following information:

Field	Description
Product Type	Product types or Entity types identify the products that fulfill a similar need in the marketplace. Each product type has its own fields, properties, and characteristics. The dropdown menu shows ONLY the product types that are enabled for the main marketplace attached to this supplier store. The main marketplace administrator can disable and enable the product types ad needed. For the products in the Auction event, we will be using the Auction Entity. If this option is not available for you, please contact the marketplace administrator.
Auction	Once the Auction product type is selected, this field will be displayed. This is a required field. Used for admin and search purposes, this code is a unique identifier of the item. Enter the desired Product Code for the item that is being created.
Auction Title	The title of the product. The customer will see this title on the product details page, the basket, and in the Auction catalog.

6. Click on Save to create the new auction product. Once the product is created the edit product page will be opened in the same window.

Field	Description
Auction Title	The product title will be displayed in the catalog, product details page, basked, and order emails.
Short Description	A short description of the item will be displayed on the product details page and will help the shopper decide whether to get the product or not.
Description	The description of the item with more detail. The description will be displayed on the item page underneath the images.  This description will be saved
Main Image	The main image of the product that the shopper sees when browsing for products, as well as in the item and basket pages. The permitted format is .jpg. To add an image, click the camera icon and browse for the desired image file. Once the image file is selected, double-click on the image to upload it.
Additional Images	Add additional images for the item. An image carousel will be generated on the item page displaying the thumbnails of the additional images. The process to add additional images is the same as the main image. Click on the box underneath Additional images and select the desired image file. After the images are selected, double-click on the image to upload it.
Your Product is shared to the following Marketplaces	This is a required section and it is used to select from the dropdown menu which categories the product belongs to. If the supplier store supplies the same product to different marketplaces, a dropdown menu will be displayed per marketplace showing the marketplace’s categories.
Price	Enter the minimum STARTING bid price of the product. When the option opens the first price the shopper can bid would be what you specify here.
Unit	This is an optional field and it is to inform the shopper of the amount of product he/she can expect. For example, for a box of latex gloves, specify how many globes come in the box. In this case, the unit would be “150 gloves”. Another example would be when you are selling a bag of apples, the unit could “per kilo” or “per lb”
Auction Code	Select from the dropdown menu the Auction Code that has been previously setup in Step 1 of this guide. If the dropdown is empty, it could mean that the supplier is not enabled as a distributor of the Main Marketplace where the auction was configured. Consult it with the marketplace administrator.
Market value	Specify the actual price of the product. This price will be displayed in the product detail page to inform the shopper how much this product actually cost.
Min Bid Increment	Enter the value that will determine the minimum increment between the subsequent bid and the next bid. The bid increment will be displayed on the product detail page as a dropdown menu and the shopper will be able to choose the next value they would like to bid for the product.
Block	Select from the dropdown menu which block the product belongs to. Choose the number from 1 to 4 to divide products into separate blocks with different closing times. For example: If the auction bidding closes on Saturday, November 26, 2022, at 9:00pm, the block will close at the following times: Items In Block 1 Will Close At 8:15 Pm – 45 minutes before the Auction closes Items In Block 2 Will Close At 8:30 Pm – 30 minutes before the Auction closes Items In Block 3 Will Close At 8:45 Pm – 15 minutes before the Auction closes Items In Block 4 Will Close At 9:00 Pm – 0 minutes before the Auction closes This was implemented to allow customers to have a chance to check products from different blocks after another block has ended.
Taxable	Select from the dropdown if the product requires to have tax calculated or not.
Track Inventory	This switch needs to be enabled to allow the product to track the inventory quantity. If this is disabled, the product will be considered to have an infinite qty in stock.
Inventory	Specify the qty of the product. This field will be available only if the Trach Inventory field is enabled.
Sponsor Details / Sponsor Name	The sponsor’s name will be displayed on the product detail page for the shopper to see. It will be located under the title “Thank you to our sponsor” and it is a way to give publicity to the sponsor that donated the product. The sponsor name could be the Company Name or a person’s name.
Sponsor Website URL	Enter the URL of the sponsor website in the correct format including the http:// or https:// extension. An error message will be displayed after saving the page to warn the user the extension is needed.
Sponsor Company Description	Describe here some details about the sponsor company and information the company would like the shopper to know about them.
Sponsor Logo	Click on the camera icon to open the image’s folder and double-click on the logo of the sponsor you would like to show on the product details page. Only one sponsor can be added per product.
Pickup Contact Name	Enter the name of the place where the winner of the product will be picking it up. This is important because it will be displayed on the product detail page AFTER the auction is over and the winner is announced. It will also be displayed on the order confirmation page as additional information.
Pickup Details	Enter the pickup details of the location where the winner will be picking up the product. You can include the time and phone number of the person in charge.
Collection	Use the mouse, enter key, or tab key to select a collection. You can also enter a new collection by tapping it in the field. The Collection helps the shopper filter the products and refine the catalog depending on what the shopper is looking for.
Tag	The tags are the second level of the filters that can be used on the category page to help the shopper find the products more easily. Use the mouse, enter key, or tab key to select a collection. You can also enter a new tag by tapping it in the field. Make sure not to have many tags because it will become more complicated to the shopper to find the correct tab.
Available	Use the switch to enable or disable the product. When the Available switch is ON, it means the product is accessible for the shopper to bid on. When it’s OFF, the product would be unavailable and hidden from the store. The product page will display an error when trying to view that product “Product not found” message.
Product Status	Select from the dropdown menu the present state of the item. The product can have the following statuses: Draft: The product is just created and it is not ready to be displayed on the marketplace and on the category page. Published: This status code can be used when the item’s data (such as the descriptions and options) have been approved and the product is ready to be displayed on the marketplace and the category pages. When changing the product status to published, a task will be triggered and the product’s information, such as details, prices, and inventory will be copied to the MCW. The price will be copied to the marketplace. Validation Errors Found: The product changes to this status automatically when there were errors in the copy to the MCW. Some of the errors could be related to missing titles, descriptions, page titles, images, or prices set to 0. It is recommended that each item is validated at least once before publishing it to live. Remove from Marketplace: Set the product to be removed from the marketplace if you don’t want to show the product anymore in the marketplace or if the product has been discontinued. The process of removing the product from the Marketplace is complex, but all you need to know is that the prices and inventory records are removed from the MCW and from the Marketplace. After the product is removed from the marketplace it still exists in the supplier store. To remove the product from the supplier store go to the Manage Products page > Select the product > Click on the delete icon on the top right corner of the page. Note: Only products that are set to ‘Remove from Marketplace’ can be deleted from the supplier store.

Refer to the following image to observe how the elements previously discussed will be displayed on the product details page:

8. After the product edit page is saved. Verify the product properties and other product information has been correctly attached to the products. You can do this by going to the System Admin Pages or asking the sys admin to do it for you.

NOTE: Steps 8, 9, and 10 refer to the Sys Admin Pages. If you don’t have access to them, please contact the sys admin and work together to complete the steps.

Verify the properties are attached correctly and their values after saving the product:
(*Required Value)

• auction_code – required value *
• Block – only value (1,2,3,4)
• earlycloseminutes – value (45,30,15,0)  *
• entity_type – auction
• IS_AUCTION – true  *
• MARKET_VALUE – actual price of the product
• MinBidAmt – Min bid increments *
• pickup_address – Pickup Contact Name
• pickup_location – Pickup Details
• Sponsor – Sponsor name (not hidden)
• sponsor_image – {productcode}+6.jpg *
• Website – Website URL

Other information that needs to be verified in the items table:

• Short Descriptio – Description 1
• Sponsor Name –  Description 3
• Sponsor Company Description – Description 4
• Brand – Save as the Brand property and Brand MVP
• Category – Block {no.} (1,2,3,4}
  • Automatically attached the block category to the Category MVP according to the block number selected by the user when creating the auction entity
  • – Block 1
  • – Block 2
  • – Block 3
  • – Block 4
  • Before setting the product to Complete, verify the Block categories exist in the MCW and Main marketplace stores.

After the product is set to complete and is copied to the MCW store verify this information is correct in the MCW:

• SEO URL – The SEO URL is automatically generated when a product is copied from the supplier store to the MCW, however, the SEO needs to be verified to make sure it was correctly generated according to the category the product is attached to. Correct it if needed. The SEO URL can be modified in bulk by using the import products_ml spreadsheet.
• Sys_Merchandising_Priority – This property needs to be added to the products in the MCW directly and will sort the products in the category from largest to smallest. The property can be added using the import properties spreadsheet.

9. After all products were set to ‘Published’ from the supplier store and copied to the MCW. Publish the store or as the sys admin to publish the store. This step is critical for the products to appear on the live marketplace.

10. Rebuild Solr items and categories.

11. Build the site using Jenkins at https://jenkins.avetti.ca/ – Skip this step if the site is no longer made using Gastby.

Now it’s time to verify the products were correctly created and are showing the Auction section on the product detail page and that the correct countdown time is displayed.

The Auction for this case has been set up as follows:

• AUCTION CODE: BR22
• STORE VID: 20200929200
• End Date: 2022-11-21 at 6:00 pm
• Marketplace: https://rtpreview.avetti.io/
• Category: BARRIE ROTARY AUCTION

• Go to the Product Details page in the Main Marketplace store and confirm these settings:
  • MCW code: AIN1K26RW2
  • Market Value: 132.00
  • Min Starting Bid: 40
  • Early Close Minutes: 45
  • Time remaining: 10 min 17 sec

• Go to the Product Details page in the Main Marketplace store and confirm these settings:
  • MCW code: AINM9WM9Q0
  • Market Value: 50.00
  • Min Starting Bid: 20
  • Early Close Minutes: 30
  • Time remaining: 25 min 13 sec

• Go to the Product Details page in the Main Marketplace store and confirm these settings:
  • MCW code: AIN7WMHX33
  • Market Value: 185
  • Min Starting Bid: 40
  • Early Close Minutes: 15
  • Time remaining: 40 min 4 sec

• Go to the Product Details page in the Main Marketplace store and confirm these settings:
  • MCW code: AINHM65YM0
  • Market Value: 340.00
  • Min Starting Bid: 100
  • Early Close Minutes: 0
  • Time remaining: 55 min

There are different countdowns that will be displayed determined by the status of the Auction event.

Let’s take a look at the combinations that we can have, today is 10-25-2022

1. Status: NEW
Date: Irrelevan

No information will be displayed about the Auction on the product details page.

2. Status: OPEN
Date: FUTURE

The following information will be displayed about the auction
– Countdown to show when the Auction will START in a future time:

3. Status: OPEN
Date: Past date

1. Not logged-in user – The auction for this item has ended
   • No countdown

2. Winner –
   • You have the highest bid at ${x}
   • You were the highest bidder. Please add this item to your basket and pay for your purchase.
   • The auction for this item has ended

• 3. Not winner –
  • {user} has the Highest bid at ${x} ({time} ago)
  • The winner is {use}
  • The auction for this item has ended

4. Status: OPEN
Date: Current

The following information will be displayed about the auction

• The countdown for the auction’s remaining time minus the early closing minutes

1. Not logged-in user & nonbids –

• Be the first to bid
• Create an account
• The auction for this item ends in: Countdown

• 2. Winner (highest bid) –
  • You have the highest bid at ${x}
  • Bid button and bid increment dropdown
  • The auction for this item ends in: Countdown

• 3. Not winner –
  • {user} has the Highest bid at ${x} ({time} ago)
  • Bid button and bid increment dropdown
  • The auction for this item ends in: Countdown

5. Status: OPEN
Date: Current
Block 1: Closed 45 min earlier

The following information will be displayed about the auction

• No countdown
  1. For not logged-in users & nonbids –
  • {user} has the Highest bid at ${x} ({time} ago)
  • Bidding is closed for this item

• 2. Winner (highest bid) –
  • You have the highest bid at ${x}
  • Congratulations! You had the highest bid. Please come back in
  • The countdown for when the auction closes
  • Bidding is closed for this item

• 3. Not winner –
  • {user} has the Highest bid at ${x} ({time} ago)
  • Bidding is closed for this item

6. Status: CLOSED
Date: PAST

The following information will be displayed about the auction

• No Countdown

1. Not logged-in user & nonbids –
   • Be the first to bid
   • The auction for this item has ended

• 2. Winner (highest bid) –
  • You have the highest bid at ${x}
  • You were the highest bidder. Please add this item to your basket and pay for your purchase.
  • Add to cart button
  • The auction for this item has ended.

• 3. Not winner –
  • {user} has the Highest bid at ${x} ({time} ago)
  • The Winner is {user}
  • The auction for this item has ended

7. Status: CLOSED
Date: Current

The following information will be displayed about the auction

• The countdown for the auction’s remaining time minus the early closing minutes

1. Not logged-in user & nonbids –

• The auction for this item has ended

• 2. Winner (highest bid) –
  • You have the highest bid at ${x}
  • You were the highest bidder. Please add this item to your basket and pay for your purchase.
  • Add to cart button
  • The auction for this item has ended.

3. Non-winner –

• {user} has the Highest bid at ${x} ({time} ago)
• The winner is {user}
• The auction for this item has ended

8. Status: Open
Date: FUTURE blocks

The following information will be displayed about the auction

• The countdown for the auction remaining time minus the early closing minutes
• 1. Not logged-in user –
  • Be the first to bid
  • Create an account
  • Timer

• 2. Winner (highest bid) –
  • Congratulations! You had the highest bid. Please come back in
  • The countdown for when the auction ends
  • to purchase your product
  • The auction for this item has ended

• 3. Non-winner –
  • The auction for this item has ended

Every time the bidder is outbid, an outbid email notification will be triggered from the Main Marketplace store to the bidder.

The outbid email will have the necessary information to let the bidder know who outbid him/her and the product details, such as the product title, outbid price, and direct link to the product website.

Make sure the Outbid email is enabled by logging in as the marketplace admin and going to Orders > Email Settings > Auction Out Bid Email > Enabled

To edit the email content go to the Sys admin pages > Template > Search for emailauctionoutbid.vm > Edit

This is how the email looks:

After the Auction is closed, the Winner email notification will be triggered from the Main Marketplace store to all winners.

The winners are determined by the highest bid of the product and the email will have the necessary information to let the winner it’s time to add the winning products to the cart.

Only one winner email will be sent to the bidder with a list of all the winning products.

Make sure the Winner email is enabled by logging in as the marketplace admin and going to Orders > Email Settings > Auction Winners Email > Enabled

To edit the email content go to the Sys admin pages > Template > Search for auctionwinnersemail.vm > Edit

This is how the email looks:

The Winner’s email will have a link to the Winner’s page. On that page, the winner will have a grid view of the products he/she won, the title, and the price of the product.

An Add to Cart button will also be available for that bidder to start the checkout process of the product.