> No they are not. Yes they are. They encourage people to make the best bid they reasonably can based on their desire to ensure the purchase goes through. Ther

> No they are not. Yes they are. They encourage people to make the best bid they reasonably can based on their desire to ensure the purchase goes through. There's a reason they are the de facto standard for bidding on government contracts. > Technically nobody knows what someone might be willing to pay. This is correct. But what you don't seem to understand is that this also causes people to overbid. This is the reason why the vickrey method was created - to ensure that the highest bidder does not massively overpay against the second. > That is why public auctions are the default. Public auctions are the default for... what? Bankruptcy? In the US, yes. In Canada and other parts of the world, no. And default does not mean only option or best option. > The only reason an auction should be private is to protect the identity or interests of the bidders. They are frequently used explicitly because they often get the person selling the best offer. If the people bidding in auction have asymmetric purchasing power, in an open auction, the winning bid will be slightly over the purchasing power of the weaker party. In a sealed bid auction, the winning party will frequently have a bid with a larger delta than they would have in an open auction. > Taking one round of bids from private parties is not an auction. Nothing about the word 'auction' precludes a single round of bidding, sealed or otherwise.