The main alternatives to selling through a traditional auction house are running your own auction with white-label auction software, listing on an online auction marketplace, selling through a dealer marketplace, consigning to a gallery or dealer, arranging a private sale, and selling directly to your own audience. Each suits a different kind of seller, a different kind of lot, and a different appetite for control.
This guide compares 9 of those alternatives for sellers of art, design, watches, collectibles, fashion, and other auctionable goods.
A traditional auction house offers specialist expertise, an established buyer base, and a sale room with a long track record. For some lots, that is exactly what you need. But sellers often look elsewhere for a few reasons:
| Option | Best for | How you pay |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Indy.auction | Running your own branded auction and keeping the bidder data | Fee on sold lots only, can be passed to buyers |
| 2. Catawiki | Individual collectibles and special objects, mainly in Europe | Seller fee on sold lots |
| 3. eBay | Everyday and mid-value goods with a broad audience | Fees on sold items, varying by category |
| 4. Whatnot | Collectibles sold through live-stream auctions | Commission and processing fees on sold items |
| 5. 1stDibs | Established dealers in design, antiques, jewellery, and art | Commission on sales, for approved dealers |
| 6. Dealers and galleries | Sellers who want an expert to find a buyer | Commission on consignment, or an outright offer |
| 7. Private sale | High-value works where discretion matters | Negotiated fee or commission |
| 8. Your own channels | Artists, makers, and brands with an audience | Your own costs, plus any shop or payment fees |
| 9. Fairs and shows | Dealers and collectors in specialist categories | Stand or table fees |
Indy.auction lets you run your own auction, on your own branded site, without an auction house in the middle. You set it up yourself in minutes, upload your lots, choose your rules, and invite your audience to bid. Brands, artists, galleries, museums, charities, and collectors use it for anything from a single headline lot to a multi-lot sale.
Who it suits: sellers with an audience of their own, whether that's a client list, a following on social media, a mailing list, or a community of collectors, who want to keep their brand and their buyer relationships.
Key features:
How it charges: no setup or subscription fees. Indy.auction charges a percentage only on lots that sell, and you can pass that fee to buyers as a buyer's fee. See the pricing page for plan details.
In practice: H. Moser & Cie. sold a unique timepiece through its own Indy.auction site for CHF 150,000, and the winning bidder was a collector previously unknown to the brand. The artist Nick Gentry raised over £20,000 in a studio sale, freeing up studio space and finding several new high-value buyers.
Consider: you bring the audience. Indy.auction is not a marketplace with its own crowd of browsing buyers, so it works best when you can promote the auction to people who already know you. If you need help with lot sourcing, marketing, or bidder checks, The Auction Collective offers auction management services on top of the platform.
Catawiki is an online auction marketplace for special objects, with weekly curated auctions across categories including art, design, jewellery, watches, classic cars, and collectibles. Sellers submit lots, which Catawiki's experts review before they go into an auction.
Who it suits: collectors and dealers with individual pieces who want access to a large, mostly European audience of bidders without consigning to a traditional house.
How it charges: listing is free, and sellers pay a seller fee only when a lot sells. Buyers also pay a fee.
Consider: your lots appear under Catawiki's brand, alongside other sellers, and buyer relationships stay on the platform.
eBay offers auction-style listings alongside fixed-price sales, with one of the largest buyer audiences online.
Who it suits: sellers of everyday, mid-value, and collectible goods who want reach and are comfortable with an open marketplace.
How it charges: fees on sold items, which vary by category and seller type. Check eBay's current fee pages for your category.
Consider: high-value or significant pieces can be hard to present well in a general marketplace, and your listings sit under eBay's brand.
Whatnot is a live-stream shopping marketplace where sellers host video shows and buyers bid in real time. It's strongest in trading cards, collectibles, and other categories with active communities.
Who it suits: sellers who are comfortable presenting on camera regularly and have a steady supply of lots.
How it charges: a commission and a payment processing fee on sold items, with no listing fees. Whatnot moved to tiered commission rates in 2026, so check its current fee schedule.
Consider: the format rewards volume and regular shows, and it's built around Whatnot's own audience and brand rather than yours.
1stDibs is an online marketplace for antiques, design, jewellery, fashion, and art, where vetted dealers and galleries list pieces at set prices.
Who it suits: established dealers and galleries with inventory suited to an affluent, design-led audience.
How it charges: dealers pay a commission on each sale, and agree to complete sales through the platform.
Consider: selling is by application, so private individuals usually can't list directly, and it's a fixed-price model rather than an auction.
A specialist dealer or gallery can sell your piece on consignment, taking a commission when it sells, or make you an offer and buy it outright.
Who it suits: sellers who want an expert to set the price and find the buyer, and who are willing to wait for the right sale.
How it charges: a negotiated commission on consignment, or the dealer's margin when they buy outright.
Consider: an outright sale is quick but usually below retail value, and consignment can take months. Agree the price, the commission, the exclusivity period, and insurance in writing.
In a private sale, an adviser, dealer, or auction house's private sales team finds a buyer without a public auction. The price is agreed between the parties, and the result isn't published.
Who it suits: owners of high-value works who value discretion, or who want to avoid the risk of a lot going unsold in public.
How it charges: a negotiated fee or commission.
Consider: there's no competitive bidding, so the price depends on negotiation rather than demand on the day.
Artists, makers, and brands with a following can sell directly through their own website, mailing list, or social media accounts, at set prices or through drops and releases.
Who it suits: sellers with an engaged audience and a regular supply of work.
How it charges: your own time and marketing costs, plus any shop platform or payment processing fees.
Consider: fixed prices don't capture what your most interested buyers would pay. Combining your channels with an auction format solves this, and the artists and creators page shows how creators do it.
Art fairs, antiques fairs, collectibles conventions, and trade shows put sellers in front of buyers in person.
Who it suits: dealers and collectors in specialist categories where buyers like to see pieces before they commit.
How it charges: stand or table fees, plus travel, shipping, and staffing.
Consider: sales are limited to the people in the room. Running an online auction alongside the event extends your reach to buyers who can't attend, and keeps their details for next time.
An auction house can be the right route for works that need specialist cataloguing, authentication, or research, for pieces with an established international market, and for sellers who have no audience of their own and want the house to provide one. Many sellers use both: an auction house for some lots, and their own auction for others.
It depends on what you're selling and who you're selling to. If you have an audience of your own, running your own auction gives you the competitive bidding of an auction house while keeping your brand and your buyer data. If you don't, an online auction marketplace or a specialist dealer may suit you better.
Auction houses usually charge sellers a commission on the hammer price, which varies by house and is often negotiable for high-value lots. Some add charges for insurance, photography, catalogue entries, or lots that don't sell. Ask for a full breakdown before you consign.
Yes. White-label auction software such as Indy.auction lets you create a branded auction site, upload lots, set your rules, and take bids online, without an auction house or a developer.
With a traditional auction house or a marketplace, the buyer relationship usually stays with the house or platform. On Indy.auction, the seller keeps the contact details of every winning bidder and underbidder, with GDPR-compliant exports.
With a private sale, yes. On Indy.auction, you can also choose not to publish final sale prices after an auction closes, which helps protect the future value of an artist's or brand's work.
On Indy.auction, a lot's starting price is also its reserve, and it's visible to bidders. Set it at the lowest amount you'd accept. Low starting prices tend to attract more bidders.
If you have something worth bidding on and people who want it, you don't need an auction house to run a sale. Indy.auction lets you run your auction on your own branded site, keep the data for every bidder and underbidder, choose whether final prices are published, and pay nothing upfront.
Run your next auction on Indy.auction. Create your auction in minutes, or explore a demo auction to try the bidder experience first.