An auction trilemma?

These results imply an auction trilemma. Static, strategy-proof, or credible: An optimal auction can have any two of these properties, but not all three at once. Moreover, picking two out of three characterizes each of the standard auction formats (first-price, second-price, and ascending).

 

For practical purposes, should an auction be static, strategy-proof, or credible? It depends. Some Internet advertising auctions must be conducted in milliseconds, so latency precludes the use of multi-round protocols. Strategy-proofness matters when bidders are inexperienced or have opportunities for rent-seeking espionage. Credibility matters especially when bidders are anonymous to each other or require that their bids be kept private. These real-world concerns are outside the model. Our purpose is not to elevate some criterion as essential, but to investigate which combinations are possible.

That was from an interesting paper called Credible Mechanisms.