it's simple. basically you set a SB (starting bid) minimum increments (how much the bid should be increased by in a bid) and the AB (auto buy) after that's done you give like a description of the what is shown in the pic and maybe prices for if the pic reaches it then it'll be sketched, shaded, cell etc. then separate the comments by how many spots are up for bid from the normal comments

It really depends on how the auctioneer wants to run things. It usually is run with just a reply chain of bids, though.

Some folks enact anti-sniping catches. Others have autobuy prices, others still tier the pictures based on how much money they actually sell for (IE, someone's not getting a full color, shaded, detailed piece if they're the only one bidding on something and only the starting bid of $5 was reached).

I'm usually not one for bidding, but they do seem to be pretty popular; they give commissioners a good idea of what they can expect beforehand. :P

The auctioner sets a starting bid for each character and minimum increase for each bet (I.e: if $5 were the minimum increment and the last guy bid $50, you couldn't outbid him with $50.01 you'd have to bid $55 or more). Some auctioners will also deisgnate an extension time after the last bid, so for instance the bidding for a particular slot doesnt end until 10 minutes have passed since the last bid. This is to prevent people from sniping a spot by bidding at the absolute last second.

An auctioner may also set up price tiers, and sometimes also a buyout amount. So for instance, "if the bidding hits x amount it'll receive color, y amount and I'll add shading, w amount and I'll make it into a three pic series", and buyouts are straightforward with "if you pay z amount it's yours, auction over."

The top bidder usually has a set period of time to pay up, usually a day or two, and if they do not in that time then the next highest bidder will get it, and so on and so on down the chain.

Usually the auctioner will post a comment saying something to the effect of "Bidding for slot X goes here" and people will respond to that with their bids in an orderly chain. People who make unrelated comments, joke bids, or otherwise branch off of that chain get their comments removed, it should just be a straight 1 comment at a time line. The auctioner will make however many of these comments as they have slots, and then usually one at the bottom dedicated to questions specifically regarding the auction itself. All other various comments that aren't questions or bids get posted as usual, piling up below the ones for bids and the one for questions.

Oh and yeah, the auction itself has a set duration, usually a few days long. As mentioned before though, extension times after the last bid can make it longer.

Hope I could clear some stuff up!

I would definitely be interested in snagging a YCH from you in the future, your work is adorable <3