A Dutch auction is a market structure in which the price of something offered is determined after taking in all bids to arrive at the highest price at which the total offering can be sold. In this type of auction, investors place a bid for the amount they are willing to buy in terms of quantity and price. A Dutch auction also refers to a type of auction in which the price of an item is lowered until it gets a bid. The first bid made is the winning bid and results in a sale, assuming that the price is above the reserve price. This is in contrast to typical auction markets, where the price starts low and then rise as bidders compete among one another to be the successful buyer.