Many renowned online auction houses like Ebay use the English auction. The different customers offer higher and higher amount against each other, with each bid being higher than the previous one. The auction completes when the bid reaches its maximum value and no participant is willing to offer a higher amount. In some cases, when the reserve price is not revealed, the bid ends if no one is willing to bid an amount higher than the reserve price. The item, in this case, remains unsold. The most traditional type of English auction includes the use of a candle. In this type, the winning bid was the last one which was offered just before a candle died out.

The biggest disadvantage of the English auction, which makes it a little unpopular is something known as “winner's curse”. The buyers sometimes, in the heat of the moment, due to competition and various other reasons such as inexperience and absence of level headedness, offer a price that is way higher than the true net worth of the good. It is indeed profitable for the seller but many a times it creates a problem for the bidder when he realizes his mistake, but nothing can be undone. The second disadvantage of the English auction is the requirement of constant and proper communication which sometimes can be a little difficult and expensive. You have to attempt to put information on it in a manner that it gives the much required incentive to the casual or interested visitors to actually bid for your item. For example some people do not give enough importance to the accompanying picture they have posted on eBay. A professionally shot picture with proper lighting and un-intrusive background is as vital as the description of your item. Most of the bidders are apprehensive about disputes and the hassles that they might get into after they pay up. To allay such fears the best policy is to sign up at Square Trade and get permission to display their logo on your auctions which will assure the bidders that they will be not be shortchanged in any eventuality.

English auctions are often complicated and most interesting because of strategies like snipping and proxy bidding. In snipping, a bidder observes the bidding of a couple of days and waits for the bidding to almost end. He then offers a higher bid. He refrains from participating in the bid actively as he is not willing to create interest and thereby driving up the price. In proxy bidding, as the name suggests, a person is able to set a maximum price to continue bidding even without active participation.