Understanding Auction Types

Hoicko Dealer Portal supports seven distinct auction formats under Live Auction → Create Auction, each designed for a different procurement scenario. Choosing the right format is one of the highest-impact decisions a purchaser makes.

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1. Reverse Auction (tagged "Most Popular") Lowest bid wins; vendors compete directly on price. Best for: standard procurement and bulk orders. Benefits: maximum price competition, transparent results, best suited when specifications are already well-known and standardized.

2. Timed Auction (tagged "Deadline-Based") Bids are accepted until a fixed countdown timer ends. Best for: fixed-window procurement events. Benefits: a simple fixed timer, no complex rules, and a clear deadline for all vendors — ideal when you want a predictable close time regardless of bidding activity.

3. Sealed Bid Auction (tagged "Confidential") Bids remain hidden from other vendors — no competitor visibility at all. Best for: high-stakes or sensitive procurement. Benefits: maximum confidentiality, eliminates price anchoring (where vendors simply undercut a visible competitor by a token amount), and produces a genuine one-shot best offer from each vendor.

4. English Auction (tagged "Transparent") Fully open bidding where all bids are visible to all participants, and the highest bid wins. Best for: asset-based or competitive buying (more common in disposal/sale scenarios, but available for specific competitive buying needs). Benefits: fully open bidding, real-time visibility, and market-driven pricing.

5. Multi-Round Auction (tagged "Advanced") Multiple structured rounds with configurable shortlisting between rounds. Best for: complex sourcing with progressive shortlisting — useful when you want to narrow down from many vendors to a final few over several rounds.

6. Dutch Auction (tagged "Urgent Buy") Price starts high and drops progressively until the first vendor accepts. Best for: time-sensitive or urgent procurement, where speed of closure matters more than extracting the absolute lowest price through prolonged negotiation.

7. Japanese Auction (tagged "Structured") A round-by-round format where, at each price level, vendors must actively choose to accept or exit. Best for: strategic and multi-round evaluation, giving the buyer clear visibility into exactly which vendors are willing to go how low.

Direct answer: For most everyday bulk purchases with clear specifications, choose Reverse Auction. For sensitive, high-value, or confidential deals where you don't want vendors seeing each other's bids, choose Sealed Bid Auction. For urgent, time-critical purchases, choose Dutch Auction.

How to configure an auction once you've chosen a type:

1. Click View Details on your chosen auction type card, or click the card directly to select it.
2. Proceed to Configuration — set pricing rules (starting price, decrement/increment rules depending on type) and timing rules (duration, start/end time).
3. Move to Invite Vendors — choose which of your assigned/approved vendors can participate in this specific auction.
4. Finish at Review & Launch — confirm all settings, then go live.
5. Click Continue at the bottom-right to proceed through each stage.

A decision framework for choosing between the seven types: 

(1) How sensitive is this deal? If very sensitive, choose Sealed Bid.

(2) How urgent is this purchase? If very urgent, choose Dutch.

(3) How complex is the sourcing decision?

If it involves narrowing down many vendors over multiple criteria, choose Multi-Round or Japanese. For everything else — the majority of routine, standardized procurement — Reverse Auction or Timed Auction will serve you well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch auction types after vendors have already been invited? 

Generally no — auction type should be finalized during Configuration, before moving to Invite Vendors, since the bidding mechanics differ fundamentally between types.

Which auction type gives vendors the least visibility into competitor pricing? 

Sealed Bid Auction — bids remain completely hidden from other participants throughout.

Is Reverse Auction always the cheapest outcome? 

Not necessarily always the absolute cheapest, but it's generally the most effective for maximizing price competition on standardized, well-specified goods.

What's the practical difference between Multi-Round Auction and Japanese Auction? 

Multi-Round Auction focuses on shortlisting vendors progressively across rounds, while Japanese Auction focuses on a structured price-descent where vendors explicitly accept or exit at each level.

Can I use Dutch Auction for a non-urgent purchase? 

You can, but it's specifically optimized for time-sensitive buying — for routine, non-urgent purchases, Reverse or Timed Auction typically gives better competitive results.

Do all auction types require the same number of invited vendors to work well? 

No — Sealed Bid and Reverse Auctions work well with just 2–3 vendors, while Multi-Round and Japanese Auctions benefit from a larger initial vendor pool since participants get progressively filtered out.

What does the "Review & Launch" stage let me check before going live? 

It's your final checkpoint to confirm auction type, configured pricing/timing rules, and the invited vendor list all match your intent before the auction becomes active and visible to vendors.