auction
Let an agent explain auctions and their formats, relay auction theory and practice from economics and market sources, describe major auction markets and rules, and distinguish auctions from fixed-price sales, tenders and negotiated sales.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain auctions and their formats, relay auction theory and practice from economics and market sources, describe major auction markets and rules, and distinguish auctions from fixed-price sales, tenders and negotiated sales.
A process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them for bids, taking bids and selling to the highest bidder or, in some formats, the lowest offer, in forms such as English ascending, Dutch descending, sealed-bid, Vickrey, silent, Calcutta and simultaneous multi-round auctions used for spectrum, together with specialised markets such as book auctions and the Swiss auction with no reserve; auctions are studied in game theory and used for art, property, commodities, spectrum, advertising and public procurement.
What it is for: Allocating goods by competitive bidding.
It can be explain formats; relay theory; describe markets and rules; distinguish from other sales.
Distinguishing features
Competitive bidding
Many formats
Price discovery
Game-theoretic design
What it looks like
Not a visible object; a bidding process in a room or online.
Physical character
major art auction houses: Christie s, Sotheby s, Phillips list
FCC spectrum auctions began: 1994 year
Nobel Prize for auction theory: 2020 year - Milgrom and Wilson
How it is recognised
Sale by competitive bidding
English, Dutch, sealed-bid, Vickrey, silent, Calcutta, simultaneous multi-round, book and Swiss auctions
A tender is a formal bid process; a fixed-price sale has no bidding
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms
is a kind of - in registry terms
is a kind of - in registry terms
is studied in - in economics
In practice
Families and kinds
English ascending auctions
Dutch descending auctions
sealed-bid first-price and Vickrey auctions
silent auctions for charity
Calcutta auctions in sports pools
simultaneous multi-round and combinatorial auctions for spectrum
specialised markets such as book, art, livestock and online auctions
Standards and regulation
Auction and consumer law including auctioneer licensing
Competition law against bid rigging
Spectrum auction regulations
Online marketplace rules
Failure modes and hazards
Bid rigging and shill bidding
Winner s curse
Confusing auction formats
Also called
+1
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Understand What an auction is.
Definition.
Definition
Definition and formats.
Definition
Definition.
- What is an auction, and how do English, Dutch, sealed-bid, Vickrey and silent auctions differ? definition
- Is the question about auctions in general, a format, a market or a specific sale? boundary
Special
Special formats.
Special
Special.
- What are Calcutta, Swiss, book and simultaneous multi-round auctions? definition
- Which entry fits the specific format? action
Theory Auction theory.
Attribution.
Economics
Economics.
Economics
Economics.
- What does auction theory say about bidding strategies, revenue equivalence and the winner s curse? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Design
Market design.
Design
Design.
- How are spectrum and procurement auctions designed, as economists such as Milgrom and Wilson describe? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Take part Taking part.
Practice.
Buyers
Bidding.
Buyers
Buyers.
- How do buyers register, bid and pay, and what are premiums and reserves? action
- Is the user asking for personal financial advice, which the model does not give? boundary
Sellers
Selling.
Sellers
Sellers.
- How do sellers consign items and set reserves? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific auction house? action
Context Markets and history.
Context.
Markets
Markets.
Markets
Markets.
- How do art, property, livestock, online and advertising auctions differ? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific market? action
History
History.
History
History.
- How did auctions develop from antiquity to online platforms? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of auctions? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should auction theory and art auction be separate primary entries?
- How should economics sources be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming formats and niche markets; should they be split off?