Also called invitation-only auction
Private auction, explained
Two forms are common. On drop-catching and expired-name platforms, when more than one customer has backordered a name that is caught, it typically goes to an auction limited to those backorder holders, so the field is fixed before the name drops. Sellers and brokers also run invitation-only auctions for valuable names when several end users are interested, with written rules, a deadline and sometimes sealed bids.
For buyers, the practical rule is to backorder early: once the private auction starts, a newcomer usually cannot join, and a few determined bidders can push the price as high as any public auction. For sellers, a private auction creates competition while keeping the bidders and the result confidential; set a reserve, put the rules in writing and close through escrow. Private describes who may bid, not the price.
Example. Three investors backordered the same expiring two-word .com, so after the catch it went to a private auction that only those three could join.
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