Subject:
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Re: What makes an something an auction
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.admin.general
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Date:
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Wed, 1 Sep 1999 22:12:50 GMT
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Viewed:
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539 times
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In lugnet.admin.general, broller@NOSPAMclemson.edu (Ben Roller) writes:
> > > Disagree. A single round sealed bid auction is still an auction.
Grr. Hot button.
> > > http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=auction
That particular dictionary mentions the "sale of property to the highest
bidder" while neglecting to to define what a "bidder" is and while also
failing to mention the key notion of preemption or leapfrogging. That same
dictionary also defines "bid" (verb) in the context of trade as simply to
make an offer. That's a fine definition for "bid" but, unfortunately, an
incomplete definition for "auction," and, as it turns out, one which is far
too broad: There are many things which obviously -aren't- auctions but
which do fit into those M-W definitions...
For example, when you offer a chunk of stock for sale on the stock market,
and it sells to some party who happens to have placed the highest "bid,"
that is -not- an auction, even though the flawed dictionary definition above
would suggest that it were so.
Or, for example, when you sell a house, you may decide that the first offer
that comes along is good enough, or you may hold out, or you may get two
offers the same evening and choose the higher of the two. If you choose the
higher of two offers, you have -not- held an auction, even though the flawed
dictionary definition above would suggest that you had.
Or, if you're sitting on your front lawn sipping a lemonade and eating a
spamcake, with your motorcycle in the driveway and a sign attached to it
saying "best offer before 4:00pm takes it home," and some guy drives by and
offers you $350 for it at 2:30, leaving his name & phone number with you,
and another guy drives by and offers $400 for it at 3:55, and he's willing
to sit there for 5 minutes to see if anyone else shows up, and you never
bother to call the first guy back because you're plenty happy with $400, so
you sell it to the second guy for $400 at 4:00, then you have -not- held an
auction, -even though- you sold the property to the highest bidder (that is,
the person who made the highest offer).
No, to hold an auction, you must contact preempted bidders and solicit
counter-bids. If that's not part of your game plan, then you're not an
auction, and I don't care what any dictionary says because it's wrong if it
doesn't include that. The philosophy behind auctions is to pit people
against one another back and forth, not simply to take the highest offer
without playing people off one another.
BTW, Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961) -- an excellent
dead trees dictionary -- defines an "auction" as:
"The public sale of property to the highest bidder (as by successive
increased bids)."
and in the exemplary portion of the definition of "bid" it talks about
"surely you can afford to spend one more dollar." At least that's getting
closer. It still doesn't mention reverse auctions, but hey, it's a
dictionary, not an encyclopedia.
> I agree with Larry on this one. Though I think that "single round
> sealed bid auctions" should be allowed in bst. :)
Yes, they should be, they are, and they always have been -- as long as
they're not confusingly labeled as auctions.
--Todd
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: What makes an something an auction
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| (...) sealed bid auctions" should be allowed in bst. :) (...) (URL) would seem to fit my definition of a science. To me, something is a science if you use the scientific method (including things like Psychology, Sociology, Math and Computer Science) (...) (25 years ago, 1-Sep-99, to lugnet.admin.general)
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