Auction Cataloging ROI Calculator
If each lot takes 3–6 minutes of staff time by hand, a 1,000-lot sale costs roughly $1,100–$2,200 in labor at $22/hour. AI cataloging replaces the writing but not the judgment: honest math includes review time.According to Gavelist production data, 88% of lots across Gavelist clients shipped with no client edit to the AI title or description (96% including Gavelist's largest client), through September 2026. This calculator counts your review hours per 1,000 lots and adds hands-on time for every edited lot on top. Adjust every assumption below to fit your operation.
Your numbers
Cataloging only — titles, descriptions, condition. Photography excluded from both sides.
Gavelist is $0.15/lot PAYG — but enter any tool's price.
Example input: set the hours your team spends reviewing 1,000 AI-written lots.
Default 11.8%: Gavelist clients except the largest shipped 88.2% of lots with no edit to the AI title or description (through Sep 2026).
Manual cataloging
$1,467
66.7 hrs of staff writing
AI cataloging (all-in)
$292
$150 AI + $142 review labor (6.4 hrs)
You save per sale
$1,175
90% less staff time
Staff hours back
60.2 hrs
Redeploy to consignor intake, marketing, pickup days
Where these defaults come from (the honest part)
- • Review time is included on the AI side — most ROI pitches skip it.
- • Edit rate: 88.2% of lots across Gavelist clients except the largest shipped with no client edit to the AI title or description through September 2026 (96.3% including the largest client, which supplied about 70% of lots). The default uses the lower figure.
- • Review hours per 1,000 lots is your own input; the default is an example, not a measurement.
- • Processing time is excluded from labor on both sides — it runs unattended. Most sales of up to 500 lots finish describing in under 10 minutes once describing starts.
- • Photography time is excluded from both sides; you shoot the same photos either way.
Cataloging Cost Questions
Does AI cataloging really eliminate the work?
No — it eliminates the writing. You still review, and this calculator charges for that honestly. According to Gavelist production data, 88% of lots across Gavelist clients shipped with no client edit to the AI title or description (96% including Gavelist's largest client), through September 2026. Enter your own review hours per 1,000 lots; the calculator adds time for the lots you edit.
Why exclude photography from the comparison?
You photograph lots the same way whether a human or an AI writes the description, so it cancels out. This tool compares only the cataloging labor that actually changes.
What if my catalogers are faster than 4 minutes a lot?
Drag the slider down. If each lot takes 2 minutes, 1,000 lots is 33 staff hours of writing — against the calculator's example review time plus $150 in AI fees.
Is there a percentage of sales fee?
Not with Gavelist — $0.15 per lot pay-as-you-go or flat monthly plans. Enter any competitor's per-lot price above to compare like-for-like.
Related tools: Buyer's Premium Calculator · Consignment Payout Calculator · How Gavelist works
See the math on your own sale
Upload your next sale's photos, let Gavelist describe them, then judge the review time for yourself. $0.15/lot, no percentage of sales.