This clock was famous, but the internet ruined it.
Tom Scott1 HN recommender · recommended in 1 month, 2022–2023
explainer · general · evergreen · 2022–2023 on HN
Tom Scott explains the famous Dutch flower auction clock at Royal FloraHolland in Aalsmeer, a literal Dutch auction, and how the internet changed it. It is a short look at how the system worked then and now.
HN cites it as a fascinating explanation of a real Dutch auction, in threads about auctions and ticket sales.
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3 comments from Hacker News
YES! I love this concept. The big clock featured in the post was described in a Tom Scott video[1] earlier this year. It's the Royal FloraHolland's flower auction in Aalsmeer. Fascinating to see how it worked then and how it works now. Same concept, just computerized and accessible remotely by bidders. [1] ▶ this video
Have you seen how the dutch flower auctions do it? Those guys have something like 30 seconds max to hit their mark. Now those are professional buyers. I think for your amateur crowd you would have to provide a bit more time. perhaps a week. just make it clear what is happening. And that big clock, have you seen the big clock? if I ever made a dutch auction ticket site A big clock would feature predominantly in the ui. Unfortunately I don't think the flower auctions use the big clock anymore. which is a shame. ▶ this video (tom scott)
Price decreases as time passes? It is called an Dutch auction. [1] The most famous example I can think of is the flower auction/Amsterdam clock.[2] [1] link [2] ▶ this video