# Grays.com Auction Scraper (`shiftyllama/grays-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes live auction listings from Grays.com — Australia's largest auction platform. Covers electronics, cars, industrial, wine, and more. Fast HTTP-only scraper using Grays' public Typesense search API.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/shiftyllama/grays-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Jason Remnant](https://apify.com/shiftyllama) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, E-commerce, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Grays.com Auction Scraper 🏷️

Scrape live auction listings from [Grays.com](https://www.grays.com) — Australia's #1 online auction platform with thousands of items across cars, electronics, industrial equipment, wine, home goods, and more.

**No browser needed.** This Actor hits Grays' public Typesense search API directly, making it fast (HTTP-only), cheap to run, and reliable.

### What It Does

- Searches live Grays.com auctions by keyword, category, or custom filter
- Returns structured data: title, current bid, buy-now price, reserve status, condition, location, closing time, category, brand, image, and link
- Paginates through all matching results automatically
- Sorts by closing time (default), price, or relevance

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| `tqlCollection` | string | `items_live` | Typesense collection name (see Setup below) |
| `query` | string | `*` | Search query. `*` = all items. Try `laptop`, `wine`, `Land Rover` |
| `categories` | array | `[]` | Category slugs to filter. E.g. `["computers-and-electronics", "laptops"]` |
| `filterBy` | string | `""` | Raw Typesense filter expression. E.g. `price:<500 && condition:=New` |
| `sortBy` | enum | `closing_time:asc` | Sort: `closing_time:asc`, `price:asc`, `price:desc`, `_text_match:desc` |
| `maxResults` | integer | `500` | Max items to return (1–10000) |
| `perPage` | integer | `50` | Items per page (1–250) |

### ⚠️ Important: Finding the Collection Name

The Typesense collection name may change. To find the current one:

1. Open **grays.com/search** in Chrome/Firefox
2. Open **DevTools → Network** tab
3. Filter requests by `typesense`
4. Click any `multi_search` request
5. In the **Payload** tab, copy the value of `searches[0].collection`
6. Paste it into the `tqlCollection` input field

The default `items_live` is a best guess — update it if you get "Collection not found" errors.

### Output

Each item in the dataset:

```json
{
  "title": "APPLE IPAD AIR 2ND A1566 Laptop A8X 16GB Tablet",
  "price": 29,
  "reserve_status": "NoReserve",
  "condition": "Used",
  "location": "16 Artisan Rd, Seven Hills, 2147",
  "closing_time": "2026-08-12 20:00:00",
  "category": "Computers & IT Equipment",
  "parent_category": "Computers & Electronics",
  "all_categories": ["Computers & IT Equipment"],
  "image_urls": ["https://res0.grays.com/..."],
  "url": "https://www.grays.com/lot/0074-2586549/...",
  "bidder_count": 3,
  "bid_count": 5,
  "lot_id": 25880879,
  "sale_id": 2586549,
  "sale_name": "Assorted Speakers, Computer & IT Equipments...",
  "sale_state": "NSW",
  "listing_type": "Auction",
  "object_type": "LOT",
  "object_status": "Open"
}
```

### Example Inputs

#### All laptops

```json
{
  "query": "laptop",
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

#### Computers & IT Equipment under $50

```json
{
  "categories": ["Computers & IT Equipment"],
  "filterBy": "ObjectPrice:<50",
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

#### Wine in Victoria

```json
{
  "categories": ["Wine"],
  "filterBy": "SaleState:=VIC",
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-event (PPE) on the Apify Store. This Actor is HTTP-only — no browser, no proxy costs, compute usage is minimal.

### FAQ

**Q: Does this require login?**
A: No. The Typesense API key is public and read-only.

**Q: Will Grays block scraping?**
A: This uses Grays' own search API with their public key — it looks like normal site traffic. Rate limiting is handled by Typesense.

**Q: Can I scrape completed/sold auctions?**
A: The Typesense index only contains live listings. For historical data, you'd need a different approach.

**Q: How often is data updated?**
A: Real-time — Typesense reflects the current Grays.com search results.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Full-text search query. Use '\*' for all items. Examples: 'laptop', 'wine', 'Land Rover'.

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Filter by ObjectAllCategories. Examples: 'Computers & IT Equipment', 'Laptops', 'Wine'. Leave empty for all.

## `filterBy` (type: `string`):

Raw Typesense filter expression. Overrides categories. Example: 'ObjectPrice:<500 && CONDITION:=New'.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Optional sort expression. The Grays preset provides default relevance sorting. Examples to try: 'ObjectPrice:asc', 'ObjectPrice:desc'. Leave empty for default.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of results to return.

## `perPage` (type: `integer`):

Items per API request. Max: 250.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "*",
  "categories": [],
  "maxResults": 500,
  "perPage": 50
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("shiftyllama/grays-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("shiftyllama/grays-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call shiftyllama/grays-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,shiftyllama/grays-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/U59Ub8VPJsqNTh00z/builds/hOHF3j4BcYfj8o4CV/openapi.json