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TopAn Overview Of Auctions
The main participants and decision makers in any auction are the buyer(s), the seller(s) and the auctioneer; the latter is typically an independent entity. Buyers and sellers, depending on the environment an auction is conducted, may either have the role of an initiator (the one who initiates the auction in order to buy or sell a good) or that of a bidder (the one who makes an offer). In the so-called forward auctions, the seller acts as the initiator while a buyer is the bidder; in reverse auctions in the contrary, a buyer acts as the initiator while a seller is the bidder.
Auctions may be distinguished between single-good and combinatorial auctions, depending on the nature of the object of trade. An auction is called a single-good auction if the object of the trade is of the same type. An auction is called combinatorial if the object of the trade concerns (positively or negatively) inter-related goods of different types, characteristics or functionalities. In both cases, the number of units for the good(s) under auction helps in characterizing the auction as single-unit or multi-unit.
Auctions may further be distinguished between single-attribute and multi-attribute auctions, depending on the number of attributes (or criteria) used for the evaluation of a bid. In single-attribute auctions, a unique criterion is used to evaluate the bid; typically, this criterion is the bid price. In multi-attribute auctions, on the other hand, several criteria may be used for the evaluation of the bid, which are often combined to produce a value for the bid.