Auction

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 some cases, there is a minimum or reserve price, not announced until the auction is over; if the bidding does not reach the minimum, there is no sale (but the person who puts the item up for auction still owes a fee to the auctioneer). In the context of auctions, a bid is an offered price.

Auctions are commonly seen in several contexts: in the antiques[?] business; in rural areas such as Colorado's San Luis Valley, 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, and fine art; 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.

Internet auctions, dominated by the wildly successful eBay, have become very popular.