Posted by Robert Dilley on December 02, 2005 at 03:24:35 from 216.26.200.128 user rdilley.
In Reply to: Re: Dutch Auction (was Paradox) posted by John Nichols on December 02, 2005 at 02:46:04:
Ignoring John's suggestion that this topic be retired as irrelevant (irrelevant? -- that would exclude some 90% of the postings....) and in the interest of pedantry -- I found the original posting confusing.
I am not familiar with Electronic Reverse Auctions, but the little I can glean suggests they are used to simplify competitive tendering for work. It would make no sense for Mr Dixon to sell his sheep to the lowest bidder. However, if he wanted to hire someone to shear his flock he could set up an electronic reverse auction and hire the one with the lowest tender.
Dutch Auctions are not the same thing. Here the seller starts with the highest price he could hope to get. If no-one bites, he lowers the asking price until someone chirps up and the sale is concluded. Kind of sudden death, instead of the build-up of tension in a normal auction.