What is Bid Decrement?
The minimum amount by which a supplier must lower their bid compared to the current lowest bid in a reverse auction.
Definition
The bid decrement is the minimum improvement a supplier must make to place a new leading bid in a descending auction. It can be set as an absolute value or a percentage of the current best bid, and it is one of the few settings that materially changes how an event behaves.
How it works in practice
On a large steel lot, a 0.1% decrement produces dozens of tiny improvements and a long event; a 1% decrement produces fewer, larger steps and closes faster but may stop short of the true floor. Buyers typically set it small enough to allow genuine competition and large enough that the event does not stall on rounding.
Why it matters
Getting it wrong is a common cause of disappointing auction outcomes. Too large and suppliers stop bidding early because the next step is uneconomic; too small and the event drags without meaningful price movement.
Guide to digital reverse auctions · Back to the full glossary
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