/snip/ > can you tell us if you've ever been to one where the > auctioneer used a timer and whoever placed the last bid before the > bell rang won the item? Even if other people were bidding? /snip/
Charitable organizations have run "silent auctions" -- items are displayed on tables while people mingle and browse, bids for an item are written down sequentially by individual participants, and bidding closes at a fixed time, typically for a category of items. Only the last valid bid on each item counts. As time counts down for a popular item, there may be a struggle for the pencil!
Also, Wikipedia's entry on auctions describes some types/variations. -Andy ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
