Export your catalog from Lotdesk to HiBid
HiBid's import takes eight columns and photographs named after the lot. Lotdesk writes the columns in the order HiBid's own users report, the photographs under the names that match, and tells you plainly which parts rest on a third party's account.
What you click
- Open the sale and choose Export for your platform, with photographs.
- Find HiBid and choose Download with photographs (ZIP).
- Open
import-steps.txtin the ZIP. It is the vendor's own import screens, in order, with the field names this file uses.
What is in the ZIP
- The CSV:
hibid-lots.csv(8 columns), one row per lot in lot order. - An
imagesfolder: every photograph under the name the platform matches by, like771_1.jpg. warnings.txt: what to look at before you import, in plain sentences.import-steps.txt: the steps, ready to print.
What Lotdesk does to fit the format
- Order: High Estimate is written before Low Estimate, as HiBid users report it.
- Photographs: named with an underscore, like 1_1.jpg, with no zero padding added; a lot number in a name has to match the CSV exactly. A photograph that is not really a JPEG is listed.
- Descriptions: basic HTML with <br> for a line break; markup typed into a description is escaped.
The columns it writes
| # | Header in the file | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lot Number | the lot number (a sublot keeps its letter, like 27A) |
| 2 | Lead | the lot title |
| 3 | Description | the description |
| 4 | Quantity | the quantity |
| 5 | High Estimate | the high estimate |
| 6 | Low Estimate | the low estimate |
| 7 | Starting Bid | the start bid |
| 8 | Reserve | the reserve (private) |
Open the sample sale's file now
This is the real output for the sample sale, from the same code a house's own sale goes through. The reserve cell is always blank in a public file.
What the free lots include
Your first 25 lots are free, with their photographs and the printable catalog. The export files, CSV and ZIP, come with the $79 a month plan. A house whose plan has ended can still take its sale out.
The same files read back in: Lotdesk recognizes HiBid's headings when you bring a sale in, so a sale can go out and come back. See bringing a sale in from a spreadsheet, and the other direction, how HiBid reads the file.
What this format rests on
| Status | What it says | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party account | Columns, in this order: Lot Number, Lead, Description, Quantity, High Estimate, Low Estimate, Starting Bid, Reserve. High Estimate comes before Low Estimate. | Gavelist, a guide to HiBid CSV imports, dated 2026-03-25, a catalog-software maker's blog |
| Third-party account | Description takes basic HTML (<br> for a line break). Photographs are named like 001_1.jpg; the first is the thumbnail; JPEG, under 5 MB. | The same guide |
| Unverified | HiBid's own import page is behind a login and has not been read, so every point above is a third party's account. | Per the vendor's published documentation; check against your own import screen. |
Date these sources were read: 2026-10-01. A format can change without notice; if your import screen shows something different, trust your screen and tell us.
Open a book — free for your first 25 lotsLook at the sample sale first