Buyers bid blind; highest at close wins; the bid sheet goes public after.
Format
Sealed bids — logs & standing timber
Public auction — burls, figured & rare
Bids stay hidden until close. The format state forestry sales use, because it protects sellers when a few big buyers know each other.
Lot title
Species
black walnut
white oak
cherry
hard maple
red oak
ash
hickory
soft maple
birch
poplar
sycamore
pine
spruce
fir
cottonwood
mixed hardwood
walnut burl
maple burl
figured maple
spalted
live-edge slab
koa
bog oak
exotic (provenance required)
other
Est. board feet (optional)
Location (town, state)
Don't know the board feet? The log estimator reads it from a photo.
Description — the prospectus
Photos — up to 6
Shoot the end grain, the full length, and anything wrong with it. The first photo is what buyers see on the board and on a shared link. A lot with no photos is a lot buyers phone about instead of bidding on.
Could this timber contain metal? (yard trees, fence lines, old hardware)
No — forest-grown, no structures
Possibly — yard/urban origin
Disclosing metal risk does not kill a sale — hiding it kills the next ten. One nail ruins a mill blade; buyers price honestly around an honest answer.
Starting bid ($)
Reserve ($, optional)
Below the reserve, the lot simply doesn't sell — you owe nobody anything. Buyers see that a reserve exists, never the number.
Bidding window
7 days
14 days
21 days
Free to post. Fees apply only when a lot actually sells, at settlement on the funded rail — never for listing.