A seller's perspective is different from that of a buyer. Some auctions types decrease the incentives to cheat while others provide ample room for mischief. Sometimes speed is important. If you are selling flowers or fresh fish or anything that has to get to market quickly, an auction that takes weeks or even hours is not a good solution. In some auctions the buyer must be present, and that is sub-optimal if the auction is in New York and you are in Tokyo.
Different circumstances dictate different answers.
Sometimes an auction is useful in hindering dishonest dealings. Auction winners are faced with the sudden realization that their valuation of an object is higher than that of anyone else. In auctions in which no bidder is sure of the worth of the good being auctioned, the winner is the bidder who made the highest guess. If bidders have reasonable information about the worth of the item, then the average of all the guesses is likely to be correct. The winner, however, offered the bid furthest from the actual value.