The Commission Killer: How to Fire the Middleman & Keep 100% Profits

How to Fire the Middleman and Keep 100% of Your Auction Profits

If you hired a cashier at your business, and they demanded 5% of every sale you made, plus charged your customers an extra 10% just for walking through the door, you would fire them immediately.

You would call the police. You would call them a thief.

Yet, thousands of auctioneers and dealers voluntarily sign contracts with software providers who do exactly this.

In the auction industry, we have normalized the “Success Tax.” We have accepted that if we work hard to source, photograph, and market an asset, the software company—who did none of the physical work—deserves a cut of the action.

It is time to kill the commission.

The “Silent Partner” You Never Hired

Legacy auction platforms operate on a “Partnership Model.” They argue that because they bring the bidders (the “marketplace”), they deserve a percentage of the hammer price.

But in 2026, the internet is the marketplace.

You drive the traffic via social media.
You build the email list.
You own the inventory or the consignment contract.

When you use a commission-based platform (like HiBid, Proxibid, or others), you are renting an audience you should own. You are paying a “Silent Partner” who takes no risk but skims the cream off the top of every single lot.

The “Buyer Premium” Lie)

The biggest trick the industry ever pulled was convincing sellers that “The Buyer Pays the Fee.”

“Don’t worry,” the software rep tells you. “We charge a 5% internet premium to the bidder. It doesn’t cost you a dime.”

This is a lie. Professional buyers calculate their “All-In” price. If a bidder is willing to spend $10,000 on a tractor, and they know there is a 5% internet fee ($500), they will simply bid $9,500.

That $500 didn’t come from a magical pot of money. It came directly out of your seller proceeds. The software company reached into your pocket, took $500, and thanked the buyer for it.

The Utility Model (The Fix)

At Selling Lane, we believe auction software is a Utility, not a Partner.

The electric company doesn’t ask for 1% of your revenue because they powered the lights.
Your internet provider doesn’t ask for a cut of your sales because they transmitted the data.

Your auction software should be no different. You should pay a flat, predictable monthly fee for the tool. Whether you sell a $50 vase or a $500,000 excavator, your software bill should not change.

(Conclusion) When you switch to a zero-commission model, two things happen instantly: