AuctionELF

An auction is a process of buying and selling goods by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the winning bidder. In economic theory, an auction may refer to any mechanism or set of trading rules for exchange.

There are several variations on the basic auction form, including time limits, minimum or maximum limits on bid prices, and special rules for determining the winning bidder(s) and sale price(s). Participants in an auction may or may not know the identities or actions of other participants. Depending on the auction, bidders may participate in person or remotely through a variety of means, including telephone and the internet. Auctions are generally funded by a fee paid by the seller to the auctioneer or auction company.

Auctioning can be traced as far back as 500 B.C. According to ancient Greek scribes, the more generally accepted auction occurred first in Babylon in 500 B.C. During this period, auctions were held annually, and women were sold on the condition of marriage. It was considered illegal to allow a daughter to be sold outside the auction method. Women with “beauty” engendered higher bidding, women without “beauty” had to pay a dowry to be accepted into the auction, and thus the price would be negative.

During the Roman Empire, following military victory, Roman soldiers would often spear the ground to mark the location of spoils in which goods and property were seized. Roman business agents were said to have accompanied warriors into battle to help facilitate expected sales. The Romans also used the auction to liquidate their own property. For example, Marcus Aurelius is said to have auctioned prized heirlooms and furniture, (an auction that, as legend has it, lasted over two months). The most legendary auction occurred in the year 193 A.D. when the entire Roman Empire was put on the auction block by the Praetorian Guard. On March 23rd, The Praetorian Guard first killed Pertinax the emperor, and then announced that the highest bidder could claim the entire Empire. Didius Julianus outbid everyone else for the price of 6,250 drachmas per Guard, an act that initiated a brief civil war. Didius was then beheaded two months later when Septimus Severus conquered Rome.

There will always be some kind of (rough) estimate as to what the object will fetch. In an ascending open auction it is considered important that there should be at least a 50 percent increase in the bids from start to finish. To accomplish this the auctioneer must start the auction by announcing a Suggested Opening Bid, SOB, that is low enough to be immediately accepted by one of the bidders. Once there is an Opening Bid there will quickly be several other higher bids submitted. Experienced auctioneers will often select an SOB that is about 45 percent of the (lowest) estimate. Thus there is a certain margin of safety to ensure that there will indeed be a lively auction with many bids submitted. Several observations indicate, that the lower the SOB, the higher the final winning bid will be. This is due to the increase in number of bidders attracted by the low SOB. When 50 bidders compete with each other the winning bid will be about twice as high as when only two bidders compete. Often with Swedish auction and sometimes with English auction there will be more than 50 bidders.