In a "may the highest bidder win" auction, slaves would be shown to the buyers one at a time. If more than one buyer wanted a particular slave, all of the buyers would have to bid on the slave (making offers for what they were willing to pay). Slaves would be investigated by the buyer and would be forced to be poked, and tortured by the buyer. The buyer who bid the highest would be able to buy that slave for the amount of money he bid.