Dutch auction clock
An auction method where the price starts high and falls until the first buyer stops it.
Also: Dutch auction, clock auction
In a Dutch auction, the price runs downwards. A large dial or screen, called the clock, starts at a high figure and drops quickly. The first buyer to press the button stops the clock and buys at the price shown, choosing how much of the lot to take. Anything left goes round again. Each sale takes a few seconds, which suits perishable goods sold in thousands of lots a day. The method has been used at Dutch flower auctions for more than a century.