An auction is the process of buying and selling things by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder. In economic theory, an auction is a method for determining the value of a commodity that has an undetermined or variable price. Auctions can be with reserve or minimum, or without minimums, or absolute or no reserve. In reserve auctions, there is a minimum bid or reserve price; if the bidding does not reach the minimum, there is no sale (but the person who puts the item up for auction may still owe a fee to the auctioneer or auction company). In absolute or no reserve auctions, the sale is guaranteed, with only the price left to be determined. In the context of auctions, a bid is an offered price.
Auctions are publicly seen in several contexts and almost anything can be sold at auction. Some typical auction arenas include the following:
the antique business, where besides being an opportunity for trade they also serve as social occasions and entertainment
in the sale of collectibles such as stamps, coins, classic cars (by Kruse International for example), fine art, and luxury real estate
in the sale of all types of real property including residential and commercial real estate, farms, vacant lots and land
for the sale of second-hand goods of all kinds, particularly house clearances and online auctions
in commodities auctions, like the fish wholesale auctions
in thoroughbred horseracing, where yearling horses are commonly auctioned off; and
in legal contexts where forced auctions occur, as when one's farm or house is sold at auction on the courthouse steps.
Although less publicly visible, the most economically important auctions are the commodities auctions in which the bidders are businesses even up to corporation level. Examples of this type of auction include:
sales of businesses
spectrum auctions, in which companies purchase licenses to use portions of the electromagnetic spectrum for communications (for cell phone networks, for example)
timber auctions, in which companies purchase licenses to log on government land
electricity auctions, in which large-scale generators and consumers of electricity bid on generating contracts
environmental auctions, in which companies bid for licenses to avoid being required to decrease their environmental impact
debt auctions, in which governments sell debt instruments, such as bonds, to investors. The auction is usually sealed and the uniform price paid by the investors is typically the best non-winning bid. In most cases, investors can also place so called non-competitive bids which indicates an interest to purchase the debt instrument at the resulting price, whatever it may be.
Television Review: A New Detective in the Drawing Room By MIKE HALE Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:19:21 -0000 Julia McKenzie will have some convincing to do in the new season of “Miss Marple,” which begins on Sunday on PBS’s “Masterpiece Mystery!”
Arts, Briefly: ‘Mentalist’ Wins for CBS By BENJAMIN TOFF; Compiled by BEN SISARIO Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:49:43 -0000 A rerun of “The Mentalist” at 10 p.m. delivered CBS the largest audience in prime time on Thursday as 9.7 million viewers tuned in to the crime show.
Arts, Briefly: Leno Wins Web Ruling Compiled by BEN SISARIO Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:50:09 -0000 Jay Leno has won a cybersquatting case against a Texas real estate agent who was found to have misused the domain name thejaylenoshow.com to direct people to his own Web site.
L.A. Times - Movie News
'Harry Potter': Dan Radcliffe talks about life at Hogwarts Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:07:48 -0700 An exclusive interview with the world s richest working teen.
At Outfest, redefining gay film Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700 This year's festival includes movies by LBGT filmmakers who are broadening the milieu of their stories.
In "La Mission," screening Thursday as the opening night film of Outfest, Benjamin Bratt plays a tough San Francisco ex-con grappling with acceptance of his gay son. Written and directed by the star's brother, Peter Bratt, the film had its premiere this year at the Sundance Film Festival and is indicative of a growing shift at Outfest away from pro forma coming-out stories and toward programming that locates gay themes and issues within a broader social landscape.
Can 'Half-Blood Prince' break Oscars curse? Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:00:47 -0700 Somehow, "Potter" just can't enchant Oscar voters.
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Veteran Malayalam film maker Lohithadas passes away