Payasbid

Payasbid is a term used to describe an auction or bidding arrangement in which the price a winning participant pays is equal to the bid they submitted, rather than a single clearing price shared by all winners. The phrase is applied in two related contexts: as a general description of discriminatory or pay-as-bid auctions used in certain financial markets, and as the name of online platforms that market a pay-to-bid or pay-as-bid bidding model for consumer goods.

In a pay-as-bid auction, each successful bidder pays the exact price they bid, which can result in a distribution of payments that mirrors individual bids. This contrasts with uniform-price auctions, where all winners pay the same price determined by the market-clearing bid. In financial markets, pay-as-bid can appear in certain securities auctions, where bidders submit prices or yields and winners pay according to their own submitted terms. In consumer-oriented platforms that brand themselves as Payasbid, users place bids on items, and the winning bidder pays the price they bid for the item, often with additional participation fees or bid fees.

Online pay-to-bid platforms have faced scrutiny and regulatory attention in various jurisdictions due to concerns about gambling mechanics, consumer losses, and the volatility of winning probabilities. Supporters argue such formats can create engagement and transparency in bidding, while critics caution about risks and the potential for disproportionate costs.

See also: pay-as-bid auction, discriminatory price auction, pay-to-bid platforms.