AUCTIONS

Online auctions. Auctioned items. Auction information. Worldwide sale.

Australian auctions
New Zealand auctions
United Kingdom auctions
United States auctions

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Auction Types

English auction.
Participants bid openly against one another, with each bid being higher than the previous bid. The auction ends when no participant is willing to bid further, or when a pre-determined "buy-out" price is reached, at which point the highest bidder pays the price. The seller may set a 'reserve' price and if the auction fails to have a bid equal to or higher than the reserve, the item remains unsold.

Chinese auction.
A type of raffle.

Dutch auction.
Traditionally in Dutch auctions the auctioneer begins with a high asking price, which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer's price, or a predetermined minimum price is reached. The winning participant pays the last announced price.
Dutch auction is also used to describe online auctions where several identical goods are sold simultaneously to an equal number of high bidders. Economists call this a multi-unit English ascending auction.

Sealed-bid first-price auction. (Sealed High-Bid Auction, First-Price Sealed-Bid Auction)
In this type of auction all bidders simultaneously submit bids so that no bidder knows the bid of any other participant. The highest bidder pays the price they submitted.

Sealed-bid second-price auction. (Vickrey auction)
This is identical to the sealed first-price auction, except the winning bidder pays the second highest bid rather than their own.

All-pay auction.
An auction in which all bidders must pay their bids regardless of whether they win the prize. The highest bidder wins the prize. The all-pay auction is often used for competitions.

Silent auction.
A variant of an English auction, where bids are written on a sheet of paper, and at the predetermined end of the auction, the highest listed bidder wins the prize. Often used in charity events, and many items may be auctioned simultaneously. Participants submit bids normally on paper, near the item. Other variations of this type of auction may include sealed bids. The highest bidder pays the price they submitted.

Digital art auction.
Designed for unreleased works that can be reproduced at zero cost. Bidders openly submit their maximum bids, which may be adjusted or withdrawn at any time. The seller may review the bids and close with a price of their choosing at any time. The successful bidders that pay this price are those whose bid meets or exceeds it, and these are the only bidders who receive a copy of the item.

Open outcry auction.
Any auction where the auction is conducted orally for people to hear. This type of auction also refers to what is used in stock exchanges and commodity exchanges, where trading occurs on a trading floor and traders may enter verbal bids and offers simultaneously. Transactions may take place simultaneously at different places in the trading pit or ring. This type of auction is being replaced by electronic trading platforms.

Unique bid auction.
Users post blind bids and are given a range of prices they can place a bid in, often a capped limit. The highest, or lowest, unique bid wins. For instance an auction is given a maximum bid of 15. If the top four bids are 15, 15, 14, 13 then 14 would be the winner being the highest unique bid. This a popular online type of auction.

Buy-out auction. (Buy it now)
This auction has a predetermined buy-out price in which the bidder can end the auction by accepting the buy-out price. The buy-out price is set by the seller. The bidder can choose to bid or use the buy-out option. If no bidder chooses to utilize the buy-out option, the auction ends with the highest bidder winning the auction.

Combinatorial auction.
Bidders can place bids on combinations of items, rather than just individual items.

Absolute auction. (Unreserved Auction, No-reserve Auction, Auction Without Reserve)
An auction with no minimum bid amount, no set starting bid, no seller confirmation of the high bid price, and no buybacks of the property being offered by the seller. The highest bidder will purchase the property no matter the high bid price. This type of auction is designed to attract the maximum participation from the buying public as the seller has committed to convey their property to the highest bidder without limitation.

Private auction.
The identities of the bidders are hidden, so anyone that buys the item can remain anonymous. This is normally done for either security reasons or to avoid embarrassment.

Public auction.
The bidders identities are not hidden and anyone is welcome to attend the auction.

Exchange auction. (Commodity auctions, Exchange-commodity auctions)
These are the most closed to new participants. The participants include a number of core professional buyers, who monitor each other to ensure that no one is cheating on the community

Sale auction.
For art and one of a kind items.

Dealer auction.
For collectibles, cars or machinery.

Reverse auction.
A type of auction in which the role of the buyer and seller are reversed, with the primary objective to drive purchase prices downward. In an ordinary auction, a forward auction, buyers compete to obtain a good or service. In a reverse auction, sellers compete to obtain business.