GatorBid / Built from scratch
GatorBid. An auction platform built from scratch.
An auction platform built by Octo for bidders and auction teams, from searchable catalogs and live bidding to invoices and seller settlements. Deployed for acceptance testing.
- Platform
- GatorBid
- Prototype to test deployment
- 20 weeks · May 20–October 7, 2026
- Octo's role
- Product engineering, architecture & cloud delivery
Project status Deployed for user acceptance testing (UAT). Production launch, live payment processing, and external-provider acceptance remain separate milestones.
The challenge
Build for the bidders.
And the auction team.
GatorBid needed to bring the whole auction workflow into one product: publishing a sale, registering bidders, accepting bids, running the auction floor, and handling the work after a lot sells. Octo built the platform from scratch for both bidders and auction teams.
What made it complex
Timed auctions and live webcast sales follow different rules. A last-second bid may extend a timed sale; a webcast clerk must reconcile online and floor bids. Lost connections and simultaneous actions must not leave the team guessing which bid was accepted.
Our approach
We defined the auction rules first, then developed the bidder experience and staff tools together. The TypeScript application connects bidding to the records and post-sale workflows that auction teams need, with cloud delivery included in the engagement.
What it enables
The auction workflow, brought together.
The test deployment connects the bidder experience with the tools auction teams need before, during, and after a sale.
- Bidders can discover lots, register, place bids, and follow their account activity.
- Auction teams can prepare catalogs and manage timed sales and webcast auctions in one platform.
- Recorded sale decisions feed post-sale workflows, giving staff a connected basis for review and reconciliation.
The connected workflow
One sale.
A connected workflow.
The platform brings the public marketplace and the auction team's operational work into the same product.
Prepare the sale
Create catalogs, organize lots, and register bidders.
Take part
Discover lots, place bids, and follow auction activity.
Run the auction
Manage timed closes or reconcile online and floor bids during a webcast sale.
Handle what follows
Connect sale records to invoices, fulfillment, and seller settlement workflows.
Engineering for auction integrity
A clear record of every accepted bid.
The difficult cases shaped the implementation and its tests, from competing bids to interrupted connections.
- Handle the last-second bid
- Automated tests cover competing bids, maximum-bid rules, closing deadlines, and final sale decisions.
- Recover after a lost connection
- Accepted bids are recorded before live updates are sent. Repeated requests are recognized, and reconnecting bidders can recover the current auction state.
- Keep company and bidder records separate
- Access checks and tests cover auction-company responsibilities, bidder-owned information, and which updates are visible publicly.
- Make post-sale issues traceable
- Financial workflows retain records for review when an external response is delayed or uncertain. Tests exercise those recovery paths alongside the core auction workflows.
How the work evolved
From first prototype
to test deployment in 20 weeks.
May 20–October 7, 2026: 140 elapsed calendar days from the first recorded prototype to the verified UAT deployment. This measures elapsed time, not billable effort.
May 2026
Shape the bidding experience
Started with an interface prototype, then established the product rules and application foundation for timed and webcast auctions.
June–July 2026
Connect the bidder and staff workflows
Expanded buyer, seller, and staff tools, built auction-data integrations, and tested bidding, closing, and recovery behavior.
September–October 2026
Prepare and verify the test deployment
Completed release preparation and verified the cloud deployment on October 7, ready for user acceptance testing.