Auctions and Dating

I always get confused which auction is which. So here is my attempt to memorize them by comparing them to dating.

The Sealed Reverse Auction

The sealed auction is used for construction contracts by governments. Here the government describes what kind of project they are planning to build. The construction companies then come back with what they can do and how much it will cost. Once everyone put in their bid, the lowest price for quality wins. Typically there is one buyer and many sellers.

In the dating world, this reminds me of primary school yearbook notes. I used to hand a blank yearbook page to about 3-6 girls, they would write nice things about me (for the most part). During the summer I could read which one wrote the nicest thing about me, and I’d ask the winner for a date at beginning of the next school year.

Ascending Open Auctions

There are 3 main types of ascending open auctions.

The Absolute Auction

The absolute auction is an auction with no minimum bid. This is associated with pledge auctions or auctioning out collateral. Here the seller (who isn’t the owner of the good) wants to make a non-zero amount for the collateral.

In dating terms, this would be a horny night out. You just broke up with you GF, although you present yourself to all the girls in the club, only this one girl goes for you. She is way below your standards but you take what you get. There is no minimum.

Min Bid Auction

The min bid auction differentiates itself from the absolute auction by having a minimum price. This can be associated with eBay, where the seller reveals a minimum price under which one cannot bid.

As well as this being the classical auction type, it seems to be the classical clubbing scenario as well. Since most people don’t go home with a potential mate every night out I assume that they didn’t meet their minimum bid.

The Reserve Auction

The reserve auction is a type of absolute auction, where the seller can reject the highest offer, and not sell the good. This auction is practiced when dealing with rarities that cannot be priced, thus the seller gets to decide whether the highest bid is appropriate.

I equivocate this type of auction to mate-shopping while in a relationship. Although I put myself out there into the dating world I reserve the right to retract at any time and revert to my GF.

Descending Open Auctions

This type of auction also called the tulip auction or the dutch auction is where the seller starts at a high price, then descends until someone is willing to buy.

I have seen this strategy being pursued at sex-positive parties. People signal their craziest kinks by clothing or accessories. It is quite unlikely that someone will go for that fetish straight away. They offer their services for a high price at first. Once no one bites they lower their signals, drop the accessories, and integrate into the vibe until they find someone willing to interact. I would argue that this is a descending open auction.

Double Auction

This type of auction sees a lot of sellers and buyers coming to agreements. The supermarket is a good example of this. There are ten brands of cereal and 1000s of buyers choosing among them.

Bumble might be a good example of this. You enter the seller’s market as a guy. Women can then decide whether to buy you by sending you a message.

Feel free to share your examples.

I wrote this from my perspective as a straight guy, so would love to hear some examples from a gay or female perspective.