Items are entered in auctions without reserve, so almost always sell.

Auction without reserve raises funds with all of the proceeds being donated to the charity nation chosen by the artists exhibiting in the exhibition.

The U.S. Uniform Commercial Code provides that in an auction without reserve the goods may not be withdrawn once they have been put up.

At an auction with reserve, the potential purchaser is construed as making the offer; at an auction without reserve, the auctioneer is construed as making the offer.

There may however be statutory or complementary obligations, so consumer protection laws prohibit misleading advertising and at auctions without reserve there is always a duty to sell to the highest bona fide bidder.