I was at an auction recently where three autograph signatures of Marilyn Monroe were up for auction, not as a single lot, but in three separate lots. The three lots were virtually identical, and all had the same opening bid amount ($1000). Assuming the number of interested bidders is unknown, but greater than three, what is the best bidding strategy for acquiring one of them at the lowest price?
2026-04-17 22:13:26.1776464006
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Strategy In auction bidding
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As Robert Israel points out, you'll need to specify the conditions. For example, let's say that all the other bidders have a maximum amount that they can bid per lot, and you know that the maximum among these is $B_{max}$. If you have unlimited money, and your goal is to acquire at least one of the lots at the "lowest price," then simply bid $B_{max}+2$ on the first two lots, then bid $B_{max}+1$ on the third lot. If this is not what you had in mind, then you should specify the conditions that you are thinking of.
No answer is possible without much more information. In particular, your objective is not well-defined, nor do we know the objectives of the other bidders.