Here are the types of auctions you will encounter on this site.
Sell a Single Item (Standard)
Users bid the highest
price they are willing to pay for an item and bidding activity stops when
the auction duration is complete. The item is sold to the highest bidder at their bid price.
The seller has the option to specify a reserve price below
which the item will not be sold.
Sell Multiple Identical Items
"Sell Multiple Identical Items" can be used when a seller has a number of identical items to sell. The seller should specify the minimum price (starting bid) and the exact number of items that are available. The bidders bid for the number of items that they are interested in buying. At the end of the auction, the highest bidders earn the right to purchase those items.
Now, let's say that a bidder bids the highest for one item. Since his bid is the highest than all the others, he will certainly be one of the bidders to get the merchandise.
In a case where a bidder bids for multiple quantities, the bidder who bid the lowest will not always get the merchandise that he/she bid on. If the bidder who made the lowest bid requested 4 items, he/she may not even be entitled to one. For instance, if there are 25 items, and 12 other higher bidders each bought two items, there would only be 1 item left. In this case, the original bidder would only be entitled to one item, even though he originally bid for four. The way around this is to ensure that you are not the lowest successful bidder.
Reverse Auction (Advertise to Purchase)
Prospective buyers (advertisers) can list any items that they wish to buy,
and then sellers bid to provide the best price. The buyer decides the exact
specifications of each item, instead of the specifications being dictated by the seller.
Sellers bid the lowest price they are willing to sell an item for and bidding
activity stops when the auction duration is complete. The items is bought from the lowest
bidder at their bid price.
Buyers (advertisers) are allowed to specify a reserve price above which the item will not be bought.