combinatorial auction

A combinatorial auction is a type of auction where bidders can place bids on combinations of items rather than just individual items. This is useful because the value of items can increase when they are owned together. For example, in a real estate auction, someone might want to bid on an entire block of properties instead of just one. This auction format allows bidders to express their preferences more accurately, leading to efficient resource allocation. It’s an effective way to maximize the overall value received from the auctioned items by considering the relationships between them.