Until bids meet or exceed the reserve price, nobody wins the auction, and the bidders are not revealed. Many auctions don't have a reserve price. If a bid meets the reserve, we'll let the bidder know and make note that the reserve price is met on the auction detail page. At this point the auction becomes a regular auction, and every new bid can win. In Dutch Auctions, bidders compete for multiple quantities of a single item - five Barbie Dolls, or 20 rocks that bear a striking resemblance to George Washington.
Bidders submit both how many they wish to buy, and how much they want to bid, per item.
The final per-item price in a Dutch auction is determined by the lowest of the winning bids. The bidder who submits the highest of the winning bids is entitled to the quality he or she specified, but at the lower per-item price. Remaining quantities of the item are used to fill other winning bids in order to their bid price. The following example should clear things up. Joe and Sue are the individual high bidders in a Dutch Auction for 30 lamps.