English auction
Bidders see the current offer and can raise it. The highest bidder at closing wins and pays that amount.
Auction formats
An auction’s rules decide how people bid and what they pay. A live bidding contest, a falling price and private offers give people different decisions to make.
Planning a sale? Get help choosing a format during setup.
Start a roomBid together
Everyone follows a changing price at the same time.
Japanese auction
The price rises automatically while bidders stay in. Drop out when it becomes too expensive; you cannot rejoin. The last bidder remaining wins and pays the current price.
Dutch auction
The asking price falls until a bidder accepts it. That bidder buys the item at the displayed price, and the auction ends immediately.
Send private offers
People submit without seeing the other offers.
First-price sealed-bid auction
Bidders submit offers privately. At closing, the highest bidder wins and pays their own offer.
Second-price (Vickrey) auction
Bidders submit offers privately. The highest bidder wins but pays the second-highest offer, subject to the seller’s minimum price.
All-pay auction
The highest private offer wins the item. Every bidder pays their own offer, including those who lose.
What if nobody knows the value?
Imagine bidding for a jar of money without being able to count it. The highest estimate can win the auction and still lose money. Find out why.
Common values & the winner’s curse