Store-wide rules live under WooCommerce → Auctions → Settings. The defaults work out of the box, so you only need to change what you want different. Settings that apply to a single auction (prices, dates, reserve) are on the product’s Auction tab.
Catalog
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Auctions page | The page that lists your auctions — the one holding the [bafw_auctions] shortcode. |
| Finished auctions | Show closed auctions in the shop and category pages. When off, auctions disappear from the catalog once they close (they stay reachable by their URL, so winners can still pay). |
| Scheduled auctions | Show auctions that haven’t started yet, so shoppers can preview and watch them before bidding opens. |
| Shop page | Keep auctions off the main shop page so they aren’t mixed with regular products. They stay on their own page, on category pages, and in shortcodes. |
Bidding
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Maximum bid amount | The highest amount a single bid may be. Leave empty for no limit. Useful to catch mistyped bids. |
| Buy It Now | Keep Buy It Now available after bidding has started. When off, the option disappears with the first bid. |
| Raising your own bid | Allow the current highest bidder to bid against themselves. When off, a bidder who is already winning is told there’s no need to bid again. |
| Bidder privacy | Mask bidder names in the public bid history — first and last character only, e.g. B*******e. |
| Watchlist | Let customers save auctions to a watchlist under My Account. |
Bidder experience (1.3.0)
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Watchlist → Show how many people are watching | Prints the watcher count on the auction page. | Off |
| Quick bids | Shows three one-click bid amounts under the bid field. | On |
| Bid confirmation | Asks the bidder to confirm the amount, inside the bid form, before a bid is placed. | On |
| Auction terms | Choose a page. Bidders must agree to it before their first bid; the consent date is stored with their account. | No page |
Display
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Countdown in product lists | Show the countdown timer on shop and category pages, not just on the product page. |
| Live bid updates | Refresh the current bid without reloading the page. Pauses automatically in background tabs. |
| Update interval | How often the browser checks for a new bid, in seconds (minimum 5). Longer intervals mean less server load. |
Badges, urgency and local time (1.3.0)
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Badges in product lists | Which badges appear on auctions in the shop, category pages and auction grids: Live, Starts soon, Ending soon, Ended, Sold, No reserve, Reserve met. | All on |
| Ending soon | Minutes before the end at which the countdown turns red and the “Ending soon” badge appears. Enter 0 to switch it off. | 60 |
| Local time | Shows auction times in the visitor’s timezone (when it differs from the store’s) and an “Add to calendar” link. | On |
Advanced
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Remove data on uninstall | Delete all auction data — bid history, settings, and auction product data — when the plugin is deleted. Off by default. Can’t be undone. |
Deactivating the plugin never deletes data; only deleting it with this option enabled does.
Setup wizard
The Setup wizard box in the settings sidebar opens a one-screen wizard: it creates the Auctions page (an Auction grid with a status filter), sets the main storefront options and can add a sample auction as a draft. It opens by itself once after a first-time install and never after an update.
Site Health
Tools → Site Health gains four auction checks: the scheduler that opens and closes auctions, the site timezone (a city is recommended over a fixed UTC offset, so daylight saving time is followed), the auctions page, and whether the live update endpoint answers without a cache in the way.
Pro Settings
With Bidra Auctions Pro active, a Pro Settings tab appears next to Settings with sections for Bidding, Bidder rules, Automation, and Notifications, and a Reports tab is added too. Every Pro option is documented on the Pro Features page.
Auction emails
Auction emails use the native WooCommerce email system, so they inherit your store’s email branding. Manage them with your other store emails under WooCommerce → Settings → Emails, where each one can be enabled or disabled and have its subject, heading, and recipients edited.
| Sent to | When | |
|---|---|---|
| New bid | Admin | A bid is placed. |
| Outbid | Previous highest bidder | Someone outbids them. |
| Auction won | Winner | The auction closes with a winner — includes a payment link. |
| Auction finished | Admin | An auction closes with a winner. |
| Auction failed | Admin | An auction closes unsold — no bids, or reserve not met. |
Each email has HTML and plain-text templates you can override from your theme (yourtheme/woocommerce/emails/bafw-*.php — see Template overrides).
Pro emails
Pro adds seven more, managed in the same place: Closing soon, Payment reminder, Reserve not met (to the highest bidder), Relisted, Bought now (to the store when an auction ends through Buy It Now or a Dutch purchase), New bidder application (to the store) and Bidder application reviewed (to the applicant) — see Pro Features → Extra emails.
Emails not arriving?
Auction emails go out through WordPress’s mailer like your order emails. If order emails work but auction emails don’t, check the email is enabled in WooCommerce → Settings → Emails. If no store emails arrive at all, install an SMTP plugin — most hosts’ default mail delivery is unreliable.