HiBid CSV import template
HiBid takes a CSV and photographs named after the lot numbers. HiBid's own import page is behind a login, so what follows is a catalog-software maker's published account of it, labeled as exactly that.
The detail that catches people is the column order: High Estimate comes before Low Estimate. The other is the lot number in a photograph's name, which has to match the CSV's lot number exactly, with no zero padding added.
How sure is this page. Part of this format is not published by the vendor, or comes from a third party. Each fact is labeled at the foot of the page. Per the vendor's published documentation; check against your own import screen.
The file, column by column
8 columns; the vendor does not publish these header names, so they are plain ones that its mapping screen matches. Per the vendor's published documentation; check against your own import screen.
| # | 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) |
Photographs
Photographs are named after the lot: 771_1.jpg is the first photograph of lot 771 and 771_2.jpg the second. A sublot keeps its letter (27A_1.jpg). The first photograph of a lot is its cover.
A sale with more than 1,000 photographs is split into numbered folders of up to 1,000 files, whole lots only, so a lot's photographs are never separated.
The rules the file has to meet
- No title limit is documented, so the full title is written.
- The description is read as simple HTML: a line break is written as <br>, and anything in a description that looks like markup is escaped so it shows as typed.
- dimensions and condition have no column of their own, so they are added to the description, one per line.
- Money is a plain figure in the sale's currency: no symbol, no thousands separator, and a trailing .00 is dropped (180, 180.5).
- The reserve is written into this file for the house's own use. Do not post the file where a bidder can read it.
The steps in HiBid
HiBid takes a CSV and photographs named after the lot numbers. HiBid's own import page is behind a login; this follows an account of it by a catalog-software maker, and says so.
- Unzip the file you downloaded. You will have hibid-lots.csv and a folder called images.
- The columns are, in this order: Lot Number, Lead, Description, Quantity, High Estimate, Low Estimate, Starting Bid, Reserve. Note that High Estimate comes before Low Estimate.
- Lead is the short title bidders see in search results and on thumbnails. Lotdesk writes the lot's title there.
- Description is basic HTML. Line breaks are written as <br>. Lotdesk escapes anything that looks like markup so it shows as typed.
- Photographs are named {lot}_{n}.jpg: 1_1.jpg is lot 1's first photograph and becomes its thumbnail. They are JPEG and should be under 5 MB each. The lot number in a file name has to match the lot number in the CSV exactly: no zero padding is added.
- Open the file in a text editor, not a spreadsheet, if you want to check it: every row has the same number of commas.
- Upload the CSV and the photographs as HiBid, or Auction Flex if you upload to HiBid through it, directs. Lotdesk could not read that screen, so it does not list its buttons.
- This format is checked against a third-party guide (Gavelist, 2026-03-25), not HiBid's own document.
- A photograph that is not a JPEG is listed in warnings.txt.
- The reserve is in the Reserve column; the house's own file, not to be posted where a bidder can read it.
What each fact 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.
Skip the typing: have Lotdesk write this file
Lotdesk writes this file from the lots you wrote at the piece, with the photographs named the way HiBid matches them and a list of anything to look at before you import. Here is the real output for the sample sale, so you can open it before you decide:
The first 25 lots are free; the export files come with the $79 a month plan. More on exporting from Lotdesk to HiBid.
Open a book — free for your first 25 lotsLook at the sample sale first