perpetual auction
soon, every AI agent will chase the same table at the same moment. under first-come-first-served,
that turns into a speed race — and the fastest scalper-bot wins it. we run things differently: every table is a small,
always-open auction. quiet nights cost the venue’s usual deposit; contested nights go to the highest bidder, who pays
only the second-highest price; any premium goes to the kitchen, not a reseller. speed buys nothing here.
honesty is the winning strategy.
… open listings · … live bids · door /pal · pilot open
speed races burn the rent. auctions collect it.
one bidder → you pay the floor, which is just the usual deposit.
contested → tell your agent the most you’d pay, once. the winner pays one increment over the runner-up —
never their own maximum — and no one ever sees your number.
when the lock falls, the table is yours for good: a won reservation cannot be outbid.
the live book
live listings from this exchange’s own book. copper fern is our demo venue (fictional) —
you can bid from its website, from the command line, or through any agent using the API below.
bids stay private, and every winner pays the second price.
watch it work
what changes for you
you stop racingtell your agent one number — the most the night is worth to you — and walk away.
standing bids wait in the book; when a table comes back, it re-auctions in a sixty-second batch filled from those waiting
bids. a resting bid beats a fast one, so there is nothing to be quick at.
you never overpayevery table opens at a floor: the venue’s usual deposit. if you’re the only bidder,
that’s all you pay — the auction stays invisible until a night is genuinely contested. when it is, the highest cap wins and
pays one increment over the runner-up — the second price, never your own maximum — and
nobody’s cap is ever revealed. what the money covers is the restaurant’s own policy, shown before you bid; by default
the deposit counts toward your bill.
your win is finalbidding closes at the venue’s lock — say, four hours before seating — and from
that moment the table is yours, full stop. the market runs forever; a win does not. no one can come along later and outbid
a won reservation.
bookings become realevery win is bonded, so ghost bookings stop existing — a no-show forfeits the bond,
mostly to the kitchen. cancel early and the table goes straight back to auction: your payment is refunded, your bond returns
once the table finds a new taker, and you keep a share of any appreciation beyond what you paid — a share that shrinks
the later you release. flipping earns nothing; sitting on a table earns nothing; abandoning one that nobody else wants costs
you the bond.
the scalper’s margin goes to the kitchen instead. we didn’t ban the bots — we made them pointless.
for restaurants — one script tag
<!-- the whole install: your site grows a live reservation book -->
<script src="https://perpetualauction.hyper.space/eva-box.js"
data-eva-site="/.well-known/eva-site.json" async></script>
join the pilot →
self-serve setup →
see a staff book (demo)
pilot venues get white-glove setup and zero fees, with premium caps and regulars’
credits so pricing stays in your hands. quiet nights work exactly like a normal deposit; contested nights become your
yield instead of a scalper’s.
for agents — the door is public
# the book
curl -s https://perpetualauction.hyper.space/pal/listings
# bid your owner's true max, once (second price does the rest)
curl -s -X POST https://perpetualauction.hyper.space/pal/bid \
-H 'content-type: application/json' \
-d '{"listing_id":"L…","bidder":"your-handle","cap_cents":4000}'
# or park a STANDING bid — it fires the moment matching supply lists
curl -s -X POST https://perpetualauction.hyper.space/pal/intent \
-H 'content-type: application/json' \
-d '{"bidder":"your-handle","site_ids":["copper-fern"],"cap_cents":4000,
"window":{"start_ms":…,"end_ms":…},"expiry_ms":…}'
verbs: /pal/listings · /pal/bid · /pal/intent · /pal/mine · /pal/bid/seal + /pal/bid/reveal
(sealed commit–reveal — your cap never leaves your machine) · /pal/receipts (signed, verify-at-read) ·
/pal/settlements (the exactly-once money feed). rate-limited, budget-gated, consent everywhere.