Subject:
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Proxy ratcheting: How do auction systems work?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.auction
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Date:
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Mon, 19 Apr 1999 19:13:21 GMT
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Reply-To:
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(lpien@)AvoidSpam(iwantnospam.ctp.com)
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Viewed:
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839 times
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I (as well as all other participants) got a note from Ian Bishop in
early March about a proxy quandary that had arisen.
Seems he had a bidder that had bid 285 (a winning bid at the time) with
proxy cap of 300. Someone else subsequently bid 300. Ian awarded
(rightly, to my way of thinking) the winning bid to the first bidder,
since that bidder had bid 300 "first".
Makes sense to me.
But consider many auctions run by software. I suspect, but can't
confirm, that the outcome might be different, at least in some. This is
based on my interpretation of how I believe they work.
In particular, if you look at bidding history, I think this is how
AucZILLA works. But I could be wrong, which is why I am asking.
Consider this scenario. 1 dollar minimum bump.
Item starting bid is 10.
Bidder A puts in a bid of 10 with a proxy cap of 13.
Bidder B puts in a bid of 11. This exceeds A's current bid, and B gets
the item "temporarily".
The auction software ratchets A's bid to 12, taking the item back.
Bidder B puts in a bid of 13. This exceeds A's current bid. B gets the
item.
No further bids ensue
For the software to allow A to overbid B, A would have to have a proxy
cap of 14. But A does not. His cap is 13, so the software cannot bid him
to 14, nor should it. So B retains the item.
Yet A had signaled willingness to go to 13, and had done so well before
B bid that amount. By rights, the item should have been won by A. He
"bid 13" first. Had he put in a hard bid of 13, he would clearly have
been there first under AucZILLA rules, right?
Am I all wet? Does AucZILLA work this way? Do other auction systems? Do
any work the other way? (that is, when a new bid comes in, the current
proxy bid is first raised to the new bid level, if possible, to see if
it was there "first")
Are there examples where that would be less fair?
--
Larry Pieniazek http://my.voyager.net/lar
FDIC Know your Customer is wounded, thanks to you, but not dead...
See http://www.defendyourprivacy.com for details
For me: No voyager e-mail please. All snail-mail to Ada, please.
- Posting Binaries to RTL causes flamage... Don't do it, please.
- Stick to the facts when posting about others, please.
- This is a family newsgroup, thanks.
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Message has 6 Replies:
 | | Re: Proxy ratcheting: How do auction systems work?
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| (...) I think AucZILLA works differently (but I can't recall for certain - that's Todd's baby) I know e-bay does it differently(1), which implies, at least, that Everyauction and similar servers would follow suit. I know that on most e-bay bids I (...) (26 years ago, 19-Apr-99, to lugnet.market.auction)
| | | Re: Proxy ratcheting: How do auction systems work?
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| Larry, We pulled our hair out over this one too. In an attempt to be fair - in an environment that allows both firm and proxy bids - we arrived at the following, which acts in favor of the existing high bidder in 2 of 3 cases:: Starting bid $100. (...) (26 years ago, 19-Apr-99, to lugnet.market.auction)
| | | Re: Proxy ratcheting: How do auction systems work?
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| (...) In the AucZILLA system, the lot is awarded to A (not B) for 13, because A's bid of 13 came in first. (...) Yes. (...) AucZILLA gives priority to the earlier of two equal bids, regardless of automatic increments. It would go to A for 13, not to (...) (26 years ago, 19-Apr-99, to lugnet.market.auction)
| | | Re: Proxy ratcheting: How do auction systems work?
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| Here's a real example of why you should have to beat the top of a proxy by the min increment. On serious collector, check out lot A 1382: (URL) Lego Dacta Bonanza: Controller, P/S, ISA Card, Lab Kits (2) maico $55.50 $55.00 $55.00 I bid this with a (...) (26 years ago, 27-Apr-99, to lugnet.market.auction)
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