A Multiple Unit Auction Algorithm: Some Theory and a Web Implementation

The paper discusses an electronic multiple unit discriminative auction and its implementation on the world wide web. The algorithm is designed to reduce the level of price discrimination and provide a useful and easy-to-use electronic auction mechanism. The decision of the bid price is suggested to the bidder, making the auction less cumbersome than traditional multiple unit auctions. We discuss the special cases of auction owner specified reservation prices for different quantity levels and bidder acceptance of partial quantities or not. Implications of the four resulting cases are explored and discussed. Images from the web-site, providing a prototype implementation of the auction algorithm, are displayed.