[Passage
1]
An Introduction to
Auctions
Tim Newfields
There are basically two types of auctions: ascending-bid auctions and descending-bid auctions. Ascending-bid auctions start out with a low bid for an object. The price of the object is gradually raised until only one bidder remains. By contrast, descending-bid auctions start out with a high bid and the price is progressively lowered until a customer expresses a willingness to purchase the object. Both procedures have a number of variants. For example, in some types of auctions a professional auctioneer declares the suggested bids. In other types of auctions, however, the customers make their own bids. Another variant, used at places such as eBay or Yahoo Auction, is called a "buyout option". A high price for an item is declared. Anyone willing to pay that price is guaranteed a purchase. This variant seems to appeal consumers who dislike uncertainty: for a fixed price they are guaranteed an object. "Buyout options" are most commonly used if the seller has a stock of several copies of the same item.
Both ascending-bid and descending-bid auctions can be conducted in either open or closed formats. In open formats, all participants know what exactly how much an object is going for. For example, at many Japanese fish markets, wholesalers gather around the fish to be purchased and raise their hands as the auctioneer names progressively higher prices. In closed auctions, participants are unaware of how much other participants are willing to pay for an object. For example, a case in which participants used sealed envelopes to place their bids on a piece of real estate represents this type of auction. Though open auctions generally yield higher prices, closed formats are sometimes preferred in situations in which the privacy of the prospective buyers is considered paramount or the need to document precisely how much each party bid is high.