Adjustable Supply in Uniform-Price Auctions: The Value of Non-Commitment

Abstract

In uniform-price auctions, the seller sometimes retains flexibility to adjust the total quantity sold after receiving the bids, or simply lacks the ability to commit to a schedule of reserve prices (or supply curve). In this paper, I show that the seller raises more revenue in equilibrium given such adjustable supply than by committing to any supply curve.

Keywords: uniform-price auctions