How do I launch ahead of taking bids?

And other visibility settings questions

Bidding for your auction will begin at the start time that you set. You can share your auction page before bidding starts.

Potential bidders will see the details of the auction items, but not be able to bid. 

Essentially, all you have to do is change the visibility setting from Private to Public (or Restricted).

Once you do that, the auction will then be visible to the public, but, again, it. won’t accept bids until the auction start time.

When the auction is Private, it's only visible to you and to logged-in team members.

When the auction is Public, it will be visible to anyone that visits your profile page or has the link. Note: bidding won't begin until the auction start date, so this can be a great way to preview your items.

When the auction is Restricted, it will be visible to anyone that has the link but won't be accessible from the main profile page.