Notice that while a second-price auction makes it safe for bidders to bid the true value to them, it doesn’t necessarily impose a cost on the seller, even though the seller receives only the amount of the second-highest bid. That’s because in a first-price sealed bid auction, for example, it isn’t safe for bidders to bid their true value; they have to bid less than that if they are going to make any profit, since if they win the auction, they will have to pay the full amount of their bid. So the seller in a first-price auction receives the amount of the highest bid, which is, however, less
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