History Main / AuctionOfEvil

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'' the Human Auctioning House (or the [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub Public Employment Security Office]] as [[BlatantLies the Marines call it]]) is the center of the slave trade; ironically, while it deals in human slaves, more exotic species are worth far more. In one arc the crew's friend Camie the Mermaid gets kidnapped and sold there (live mermaids being especially valuable). The Straw Hat Pirates attend the local slave auction and try to buy her freedom, even if it costs them every beri they have (which at the end of the Skypeia arc, is quite a bunch). But a [[AristocratsAreEvil World Noble]] crashes the auction and throws a WhammyBid which is way more than Luffy and crew can match. Guess it's time to switch to plan B: [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome punch the guy who bought her in the face, rescue the girl, and tear the whole place apart, even though it meant they'd bring the entire World Government upon them.]]

* In ''Literature/TheHuskyAndHisWhiteCatShizunErhaHeTaDeBaiMaoShizun'', the auction at Xuanyuan Pavilion features Song Qiutong being auctioned as a SexSlave, [[EatenAlive live meal]], or [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs horrifying combination]] [[ConsumingPassion of both]] depending on the buyer's preferences. Ye Wangxi, a man of heroic reputation, makes a WhammyBid to buy her, which confuses Mo Ran, who interprets this as a gallant rescue, over how Song Qiutong acted toward Ye Wangxi in the other timeline.

* In ''Literature/TheHuskyAndHisWhiteCatShizunErhaHeTaDeBaiMaoShizun'', the auction at Xuanyuan Pavilion features Song Qiutong being auctioned as a SexSlave, [[EatenAlive live meal]], or [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs horrifying combination]] [[ConsumingPassion of both]] depending on the buyer's preferences.

** The BatFamilyCrossover ''ComicBook/StarWarsWarOfTheBountyHunters'' is built around this trope, as [[spoiler: the resurgent [[Film/{{Solo}} Crimson Dawn]]]] steals the frozen-in-carbonite Han Solo from Boba Fett when he's en-route to Jabba's palace and then puts it on sale to the highest bidder at an assemblage of all the galaxy's major crime syndicates (and the Empire).

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'': One of these is going on in the background of [[VideoGame/Hitman2016 the first game's]] first mission. A freelance spy ring is auctioning off a NOC list with the identities of every [=MI6=] agent in the Middle East to a cabal of shady characters, including the son of an East Asian dictator and an ArabOilSheikh with ties to terrorist cells. 47's mission is to shut down the auction by killing both of the spy ring's leaders.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure'', TheMafia hosts an annual "Schwarze Auction" where they sell off [[BlatantLies totally legitimately acquired art]] to the rich and powerful. The police can't do anything about it because said mafia has very powerful friends in the government, with the event being located at the personal mansion of the speaker of the Diet.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'' the Human Auctioning House (or the [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub Public Employment Security Office]] as [[BlatantLies the Marines call it]]) is the center of the slave trade; ironically, while it deals in human slaves, more exotic species are worth far more. In one arc the crew's friend Camie the Mermaid gets kidnapped and sold there (live mermaids being especially valuable). The Straw Hat Pirates attend the local slave auction and try to buy her freedom, even if it costs them every beri they have (which at the end of the Skypeia arc, is quite a bunch). But a [[AristocratsAreEvil World Noble]] crashes the auction and throws a WhammyBid which is way more than Luffy and crew can match. Guess it's time to switch to plan B: [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome punch the guy who bought her in the face, rescue the girl, and tear the whole place apart, even though it meant they'd bring the entire World Government upon them.]]

* ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League Adventures #6]]'' as seen above, with time-travelling villain Chronos on the seller's podium. In this issue [[spoiler:the whole thing is a BatmanGambit by the man himself (and the rest of the League) to capture all the attending supervillains. The gambit sees Batman disguise himself as Chronos while the other six members each disguise themselves as another villain in attendance (Superman as Solomon Grundy, Wonder Woman as Catwoman, Flash as Warp, Martian Manhunter as Parasite, Green Lantern as Count Vertigo, and Hawkgirl as Roxy Rocket) and lure the villains into Chronos' island lair to attend the fake auction of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The villains do eventually catch on, but by the time they do, their numbers have dwindled so much that the Justice League has an easy time mopping them up.]]
** This happened to the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica in the mainstream DCU comics as well, in an early [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ''JLA'' story, "For Sale: The Justice League!" (''Justice League of America'' #8, 1961). A common gangster manages to find a device which he can use to control the JLA members and auctions them off to various crooks to use as aides in committing crimes. Turns into a case of LetsYouAndHimFight as well, since basically all of the crooks decided to go for the same target as one of their fellow bidders. In the end [[spoiler: none of the heroes actually succeed in stealing anything, as Snapper Carr absconds with the goods himself while everyone else is distracted by the fights.]]

* The ComicBook/{{Venom}} symbiote was auctioned to the highest bidder eventually in ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' comics by Eddie Brock himself. (Eddie was determined to give up being Venom and was actually planning to donate the money to charity, most likely not telling them where the money came from.) All the top villains were in attendance, as were scrubs like the Looter. Mobster Don Fortunado won and gave it to his wimpy son Angelo in hopes that it'll toughen him up. Angelo got himself killed pretty quickly and the symbiote found its way to Macdonald "Mac" Gargan, formerly the Scorpion, who had it until ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'' (after which it ended up on, of all people, Flash Thompson).
* In ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'' #9 (2011), after Mystique was killed by Wolverine, her body was auctioned off to the Hand.
* In a turn of events, a resurrected Mystique would later attend an auction in Madripoor for the remains of Wolverine's body in ''ComicBook/DeathOfWolverine: The Logan Legacy'' #5.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'' #4 (2012), at another villain auction in Madripoor, a tape that shows [[spoiler:Hawkeye killing a dictator]] is being sold off.
* In ''ComicBook/HuntForWolverine: Adamantium Agenda'', several [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]] go undercover on a [[SubStory submarine]] where genetic material of super-powered beings is auctioned off.
* In ''ComicBook/GenerationX'' #6 (2017), some of the mutant students attend a villain auction where nano-sentinels are being sold to the bidder who offers the highest amounts of kills.

* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
** UsefulNotes/{{The Silver Age|of Comic Books}} story ''Crime of the Month Club'' had the Joker operate one of these, where he sold plans for heists to various criminals. Of course, this being Joker, the plans are pretty far-fetched (one such crime involved robbing the Gotham Gas Works, then using the gas to fill up a hot air balloon so the robbers could escape... methane actually is lighter than air, but not enough for this to really be practical).
** Steve Englehart wrote an issue of ''Batman'' called "The Malay Penguin" in which Hugo Strange set up an auction of Batman's secret identity to his enemies, including Penguin and the Joker. It's a similar situation as "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne" listed in animation.
** ''ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison'' has a [[TimeyWimeyBall Timey-Wimey]] story in which one strand involves Hat-Man (previously the second Mad Hatter, before the first one returned) auctioning off the Joker's Joke Book.
** The Mirror House in the Batman ([[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]) storyline ''ComicBook/BatmanTheBlackMirror'' sells both functioning villain tech and morbid "souvenirs" like the crowbar that the Joker used to kill Jason Todd.
* [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] is sold to the gentleman wearing the Superman cape in ''ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlsen'' [[http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/jimmy-olsen/117-2.jpg #117]].
* ''ComicBook/HeroesForHire'': Sidewinder holds an evil ''online'' auction for a select group of collectors featuring antiques stolen just a few hours before. He'd been working this angle for a few months by the time his latest attempt was foiled by the intervention of the Heroes for Hire.
* The Network, originally debuting in ''ComicBook/TheFlash'', is a mobile black market for supervillains, complete with auctions for big-ticket weapons and famous stolen items.

* In ''Fanfic/APossibleEncounterForAPhantom'', The Faction hosts one of these to acquire additional funds, with the items being smaller, weaker Terrakons, and the auctioneer being Jack Hench.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/DOADeadOrAlive'', the BigBad's plan is to auction off his ultimate weapon: a pair of hi-tech sunglassess that enables its wearer to use any martial art imaginable.
* In ''Film/WonderWoman1974'', DiabolicalMastermind Abner Smith steals a a complete list of U.S. field agents, their undercover identities and current assignments and plans to sell it to the highest bidder. He doesn't actually succeed in setting up the auction before the title heroine stops him.

* In the final act of ''Film/{{Mortdecai}}'', [[spoiler:Mortdecai and Johanna arrange for the painting with the bank account number to be sold at an auction disguised as another painting (although they are planning to let the buyer walk away with another decoy)]].
* ''Film/{{Hostel}} II'': One scene shows wealthy people typing on their cell phones/computers, bidding for the right to torture and kill the women displayed on their devices' screens. The bidding is in the tens of thousands of dollars.
* ''Film/{{Amistad}}'': When Cinque is telling his story via flashbacks, many of the Africans that survived La Amistad's voyage from West Africa, [[MadeASlave were auctioned off in Cuba]] before the ship was taken over by Cinque and the other Africans still onboard.
* In ''Film/GetOut2017'', the older guests at the Armitage's party go off with Rose's father to play Bingo, a disguise for a silent auction where the guests bid on [[spoiler:who gets Chris's body]].
* In ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'', the dinosaurs rescued from Isla Nublar get auctioned off at Lockwood's manor -- at least, until Owen and Stiggy the ''Stygimoloch'' screw things up.
* ''Film/ChaiLaiAngelsDangerousFlowers'': After stealing the Andaman Pearl, Dragon attempts to auction it off to a roomful of international criminals and other shady types.
* A DeletedScene in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' has Zemo turning up at one of these, claiming the Hydra weapon they're selling is rubbish, and then killing everyone with DeadlyGas so he can take the one item that is valuable, the notebook with the TriggerPhrase for the Winter Soldier.
* Near the start of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', Dr. Jason Woodrue (Floronic Man in the comics) holds an auction for Bane and his "Venom" super soldier serum. [[spoiler:Too bad that Pamela Isley, after having an entire shelf of chemicals dumped on her, turned into Poison Ivy and gave him a KissOfDeath before taking Bane with her as she burns down the lab.]]

* ''The Ersatz Elevator'', the sixth book in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', ends in an auction when the Baudelaires THINK that [[spoiler:Duncan and Isadora are hidden in an item called "V.F.D.", but it turns out that they're hidden in a large sculpture of a RedHerring]].
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':

* In ''Literature/TheFinalWarning'', the Uber-Director [[spoiler:attempts to auction off the flock. He's thwarted by the flock using their 'skills' to distract the viewers... oh, and a hurricane]].
* The ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' book ''Literature/ProvenGuilty'' has a member of the White Court abduct Harry Dresden and auction him off ''on [=eBay=]'' to all those he's severely pissed off. The bidding got up into the millions.[[note]]Harry does not make friends easily.[[/note]]
* Jack Vance's ''Literature/TheDemonPrinces'' series plays this trope straight, subverts it AND ''inverts'' it in the second book, ''The Killing Machine''. Interchange is a planet which specializes in kidnap victim/ransom exchanges, acting as intermediary between the villain and anyone who chooses to pay the ransom. Everyone wins, because the villain can rest assured he will get his money while the ransoming party knows that the person that they're coughing up for is guaranteed to be alive and well and in good health (in custody at Interchange, NOT in the villain's lair). In order to avoid the loathsome attentions of a master criminal (the BigBad of the episode), the heroine approaches Interchange and posts a "ransom" for ''herself'', far beyond the capacity of anyone to pay. How [[spoiler:Kirth Gersen]] goes about subverting the system is the subject of the first half of the book.
* In the ''Literature/DiogenesClub'' story "Literature/TheSerialMurders", a villain who's worked out a way of using a soap opera full of NoCelebritiesWereHarmed characters as a [[VoodooDoll voodoo ritual]] offers the representatives of various organizations (including TheMafia, [[EvilInc Leech Enterprises]], a [[GovernmentConspiracy sinister immortal force within NATO]], and an [[UnwittingPawn easily manipulated government think-tank]]) an opportunity to "sponsor" the show.
* ''Literature/ShadowPolice'': In ''The Severed Streets'', Costain and Ross discover that there is a quarterly auction of arcane artifacts in London -- held on the solstices and the equinoxes -- and attend one. While not necessarily evil, the auctions are definitely amoral and will accept all kinds of disturbing things as payment: blood, body parts, a year of suicidal depression, the ability to ever feel happiness...

* ''Literature/{{Caliphate}}'': The Christian slave girl [[BrokenBird Petra]] is sentenced by the sharia court to be sold off after being [[DefiledForever brutally raped]]. Her Muslim friend Besma tries to persuade her father [[ThePatriarch Abdul]] to stop Petra from being sent away, but his hands are tied. She gives some money to her servant Ismail to buy Petra's freedom because she knows Petra is [[SoBeautifulItsACurse too beautiful]] and even [[SexSlave worse things will happen to her]] if she ends up in the wrong hands. Ismail attempts to buy her at the auction, but is unable to top the other buyers' offers, even when Abdul [[PetTheDog gives him even more money]], and Petra ends up being sent to a harem.
* In ''Literature/{{Eisenhorn}}: Malleus'', Eisenhorn infiltrates a clandestine slave auction where one of the villains is selling an Alpha-plus level psyker. The villain doesn't actually intend to sell the psyker, however, and is using the auction to flush out anyone that might be on his tail. Eisenhorn realizes this and comes prepared. The other buyers don't and are slaughtered by the villain's minions once the jig is up.

* ''Series/{{Angel}}''. In "[[Recap/AngelS01E10PartingGifts Parting Gifts]]", Cordelia is kidnapped and her "Seer's Eyes" are put up for bid. And when it appears that they are about to be sold for much too low a price (from Cordelia's viewpoint) she takes over from the auctioneer to drive the price higher, and to buy time for the BigDamnHeroes to show up and rescue her.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Crichton sets up one of these for the wormhole knowledge inside his brain. He doesn't intend to actually let the auction conclude, but merely uses the competition between the {{Big Bad}}s this stirs up as a cover for his real plans. Needless to say, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome it's awesome]].
-->'''Crichton:''' What am I offered for all the powers of the universe?

* In ''Series/Charmed1998'', several episodes have shown that the demons have auctions for the souls bought through a DealWithTheDevil, and their own bazaar where they go for trading, and an enterprising demon can even make money by making a RealityTelevision audience for demon participants and a demon audience.
* In the third season of ''Series/TwentyFour'', an undercover Jack Bauer is trying to get a deadly virus when it turns into a sealed bid auction, with the other bidder being [[spoiler:Nina Myers]].
* Avon is paraded at a slave auction in the ''Series/BlakesSeven'' episode "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E7Assassin Assassin]]".
* In ''Series/Warehouse13'', [[spoiler:this is the premise of the first SeasonFinale.]] %%If you're more familiar with the show/episode, please replace this with more specific information.

* In ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'', Kendrix's Quasar Saber was put up for auction at a BadGuyBar after her death (she got better at the end of the series); to recover it, Karone disguised herself as Astronema (her SuperPoweredEvilSide that was banished forever in the previous series) winning it by doing a ''very'' convincing job of acting, placing a WhammyBid which she ups to [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse "and you all get to live".]] Unfortunately, her cover is blown by Trakeena, but she managed to escape with it after causing a BarBrawl, much like her brother did in the previous season. (Probably genetics.)
* ''Series/CutthroatKitchen'' has these in spades, as the items auctioned off are solely ways to handicap the other chefs. Swap out their fresh ingredients for some pre-packaged ones, take away their knives and replace them with plastic knives, bind two chefs together with a double apron...
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': After Karen Page exposes a numbers racket at Union Allied, Wilson Fisk has his cronies reacquire the company's assets when they're auctioned off. In "In the Blood," Karen crashes one auction to sketch outlines of the bidders. Ben Urich drops in as well and tells Karen to bid on some of the smaller lots to avoid giving herself away.
* In both the [[Series/Roots1977 original]] and the [[Series/Roots2016 remake]] of ''Roots'', Mandinka warrior in training, Kunta Kinte is taken from his homeland in Western Africa and [[MadeASlave auctioned off to a Virgina plantation owner]].
* ''Series/TheMagician'': In "Illusion of Black Gold", kidnappers attempt to auction off of a kidnapped scientist who has developed a process for extracting oil from shale.
* Several episodes of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' involve online auctions of kidnap victims to (depending on the episode) either pedophiles or serial killers.
* A variation in ''Series/TheProfessionals'' episode "First Night". Criminals kidnap an Israeli minister and offer to sell him to the highest bidder -- government or terrorist -- that wants him returned safely or killed.

* ''LightNovel/{{Gosick}}'' featured one selling [[spoiler:stolen national treasures and abducted girls]].

** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. Cairo nightclub owner Max Kalba sets up an auction between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. over plans for a system that can track submarines underwater.

** UsefulNotes/{{The Silver Age|of Comic Books}} story ''Crime of the Month Club'' had the Joker operate one of these, where he sold plans for heists to various criminals. Of course, this being Joker, the plans are pretty far-fetched (one such crime involved robbing the Gotham Gas Works, then using the gas to fill up a hot air balloon so the robbers could escape... [[AluminumChristmasTrees methane actually is lighter than air]], but not enough for this to really be practical).

* ''Fanfic/JWITCHSeason1'': In the chapter "J-WITCH Meets The J-Team!", [[WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures Valmont]] hosts an auction for all of his recently stolen artifacts (including the [[WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}} Heart of Kandrakar]]), which is attended by all of the Chan Clan's other prominent human criminal enemies, as well as [[CoDragons Daolon Wong and Cedric]] (who are there for the Heart). When the J-Team and Guardians crash the party, everyone starts fighting over the Heart, and it turns into a [[MeleeATrois massive brawl]].

* [[http://www.scpwiki.com/groups-of-interest#toc21 Marshall, Carter and Dark]] from the Wiki/SCPFoundation universe is a rival ArtifactCollectionAgency which regularly auctions anomalous artifacts off to the super rich. An interesting example in that they're not ''evil'' as such, but rather that they have a cavalier attitude to the consequences of their inventory falling into the wrong hands, and large sections of their catalogs are typically devoted to items with obvious PowerPerversionPotential. On at least a couple occasions, however, they've turned something even ''they'' thought was too [[PragmaticVillainy dangerous]] or [[EvenEvilHasStandards depraved]] to sell over to the Foundation, and have also ([[TeethClenchedTeamwork grudgingly]]) acted as broker to the Foundation when securing items from private collections.

--> -- ''Machinima/RedVsBlue''

** An issue starring ComicBook/{{Superman}} and Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} featured an underworld auction where one of the items being sold was the location of the cave containing the Clayface protoplasm.

* In the Creator/RubySpears ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon, one episode had Dr. Wily shrink entire American cities - specifically, UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, and UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} - and then encase them in glass before auctioning them off to the highest bidder. One scene of the Robot Masters driving around in their van also had Guts Man mention that UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, UsefulNotes/{{Cleveland}}, and UsefulNotes/LosAngeles were next on the list.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' had a variation of this with a raffle, hosted by The Lobe, the winner being allowed to [[spoiler:set off the giant wooden horn which would play a note at Freakazoid's resonant frequency, shattering him]]. Naturally all of Freak's villains were there to get in on this. The winner ends up being Armando Gutierrez, but he drags out the countdown too long and Freakazoid ends up being saved by NormAbram.

'''Caboose:''' Oh, they're like evil [=eBay=]!

[[quoteright:261:[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AuctionOfEvil.jpg]]]]

* A variation in ''Series/TheProfessionals'' episode "First Night". Criminals kidnap an Israeli minister and offer to sell him to the highest bidder--government or terrorist -- that wants him returned safely or killed.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' during the "Super Powers" era, had an episode where the Justice League infiltrated an intergalactic auction to prevent anyone from getting their hands on a piece of Gold Kryptonite, in order to protect Superman. The Kryptonite ended up in {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}'s hands.

* One of the antagonists of ''Literature/{{Weaveworld}}'' is a salesman by trade, and he intends to sell the eponymous Weaveworld, which contains most of the world's magic and the WitchSpecies that works it, to the highest bidder as a demonstration of his professional prowess. Of course, he never troubles himself with the moral implications of selling a world and its inhabitants.

* ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League Adventures #6]]'' as seen above, with time-travelling villain Chronos on the seller's podium. In this issue [[spoiler:the whole thing is a BatmanGambit by the man himself (and the rest of the League) to capture all the attending supervillains. The gambit sees Batman disguise himself as Chronos while the other six members each disguise themselves as another villain in attendance (Superman as Solomon Grundy, Wonder Woman as Catwoman, Flash as Warp, Martian Manhunter as Parasite, Green Lantern as Count Vertigo, and Hawkgirl as Roxy Rocket) and lure the villains into Chronos' island lair to attend the fake auction of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The villains do eventually catch on, but by the time they do, their numbers have dwindled so much that the Justice League has an easy time mopping them up.]]
** This happened to the JLA in the mainstream DCU comics as well, in an early Silver Age JLA story, "For Sale: The Justice League!" (''Justice League of America'' #8, 1961). A common gangster manages to find a device which he can use to control the JLA members, and auctions them off to various crooks to use as aides in committing crimes. Turns into a case of LetsYouAndHimFight as well, since basically all of the crooks decided to go for the same target as one of their fellow bidders. In the end [[spoiler: none of the heroes actually succeed in stealing anything, as Snapper Carr absconds with the goods himself while everyone else is distracted by the fights.]]
* An issue of ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' starring Franchise/{{Superman}} and Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} featured an underworld auction where one of the items being sold was the location of the cave containing the Clayface protoplasm.

* In a turn of events, a resurrected Mystique would later attend an auction in Madripoor for the remains of Wolverine's body in ''Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy'' #5.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'' #4 (2012), at another villain auction in Madripoor, a tape that shows [[spoiler: Hawkeye killing a dictator]] is being sold off.
* In ''Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda'' several ComicBook/{{Avengers}} go undercover on a [[SubStory submarine]] where genetic material of super-powered beings are auctioned off.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Generation X}}'' #6 (2017) some of the mutant students attend a villain auction where nano-sentinels are being sold to the bidder who offers the highets amounts of kills.
* In the ComicBook/{{Captain America}} book ''Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier'' #4 Myron Smith sells vials of the super-soldier serum to generals and world leaders at an auction.
* In a similar vein, ComicBook/{{Iron Man}} crashes an auction where kits of the Extremis enhancer are sold. (In ''Iron Man'' #1 (2012)).
* UsefulNotes/{{The Silver Age|of Comic Books}} story ''Crime of the Month Club'' had the Joker operate one of these, where he sold plans for heists to various criminals. Of course, this being Joker, the plans are pretty far-fetched (one such crime involved robbing the Gotham Gas Works, then using the gas to fill up a hot air balloon so the robbers could escape ... [[AluminumChristmasTrees methane actually ''is'' lighter than air]], but not enough for this to really be practical).
* ComicBook/JimmyOlsen is sold to the gentleman wearing the Superman Cape in [[http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/jimmy-olsen/117-2.jpg Jimmy Olsen #117]]
* Steve Englehart wrote an issue of ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' called "The Malay Penguin" in which Hugo Strange set up an auction of Batman's secret identity to his enemies, including Penguin and the Joker. It's a similar situation as "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne" listed in animation.
* Sidewinder holds an evil ''online'' auction for a select group of collectors featuring antiques stolen just a few hours before. He'd been working this angle for a few months by the time his latest attempt was foiled by the intervention of the Heroes for Hire.
* ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman'' has a [[TimeyWimeyBall Timey-Wimey]] story in which one strand involves Hat-Man (previously the second Mad Hatter, before the first one returned) auctioning off the Joker's Joke Book.
* The Mirror House in the Batman ([[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]) storyline ''[[ComicBook/BatmanTheBlackMirror The Black Mirror]]'', which sells both functioning villain tech and morbid "souvenirs" like the crowbar the Joker used to kill Jason Todd.
* The Network, originally debuting in Franchise/TheFlash, is a mobile black market for supervillains, complete with auctions for big-ticket weapons and famous stolen items.
* In ''The Brave and the Bold'' #186, Franchise/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} team up to find and stop an auction that the Fadeaway Man is holding to sell off loot he has stolen.
* ''ComicBook/{{Shakara}}'': After the Earth is destroyed on the first few pages of the comic, [[LastOfHisKind the last human]] (who was stuck on the International Space Station) is captured and brought to an interplanetary slave auction. The slavers only included the PunyEarthling as a novelty item.

* ''Film/TheAdventureOfSherlockHolmesSmarterBrother''. Professor Moriarty sets up an mini-auction between Russia and France for the stolen Redcliff Document.

* In ''Film/TheMasterOfDisguise'', the main villain steals all the worlds most valuable objects and then sells them on Black Market eBay.
* Takes place at the end of ''Film/{{Steel}}'' with the BigBad attempting to auction off his (actually, stolen from the US Army) {{Energy Weapon}}s. However, being smart, he only sells them the weapons, not the means to maintain them or make more in order for them to keep paying for his services (right after offing his partner and hired thugs in a YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness moment).

* ''Film/{{Hostel}} II''. One scene shows wealthy people typing on their cell phones/computers, bidding for the right to torture and kill the women displayed on their devices' screens. The bidding is in the tens of thousands of dollars.
* When Cinque is telling his story via flashbacks, many of the Africans that survived [[Film/{{Amistad}} La Amistad's]] voyage from West Africa, [[MadeASlave were auctioned off in Cuba]] before the ship was taken over by Cinque and the other Africans still onboard.
* In ''Film/GetOut2017'', the older guests at the Armitage's party go off with Rose's father to play Bingo, a disguise for a silent auction where the guests bid on [[spoiler:who gets Chris's body.]]

* ''The Ersatz Elevator'', the sixth book in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', ends in an auction when the Baudelaires THINK that [[spoiler:Duncan and Isadora are hidden in an item called "V.F.D.", but it turns out that they're hidden in a large sculpture of a RedHerring.]]

* Sex slave auctions are, naturally, common in the Literature/{{Gor}} series.

* Jack Vance's ''Literature/TheDemonPrinces'' series plays this trope straight, subverts it AND ''inverts'' it in the second book, ''The Killing Machine''. Interchange is a planet which specialises in kidnap victim/ransom exchanges, acting as intermediary between the villain and anyone who chooses to pay the ransom. Everyone wins, because the villain can rest assured he will get his money while the ransoming party knows the person they're coughing up for is guaranteed to be alive and well and in good health (in custody at Interchange, NOT in the villain's lair). In order to avoid the loathsome attentions of a master criminal (the BigBad of the episode), the heroine approaches Interchange and posts a "ransom" for ''herself'', far beyond the capacity of anyone to pay. How [[spoiler:Kirth Gersen]] goes about subverting the system is the subject of the first half of the book.
* In the ''Literature/DiogenesClub'' story "Literature/TheSerialMurders", a villain who's worked out a way of using a soap opera full of NoCelebritiesWereHarmed characters as a [[VoodooDoll voodoo ritual]] offers the representatives of various organisations (including TheMafia, [[EvilInc Leech Enterprises]], a [[GovernmentConspiracy sinister immortal force within NATO]], and an [[UnwittingPawn easily-manipulated government think-tank]]) an opportunity to "sponsor" the show.
* ''Literature/ShadowPolice'': In ''The Severed Streets'', Costain and Ross discover that there is a quarterly auction of arcane artifacts in London - held on the solstices and the equinoxes - and attend one. While not necessarily evil, the auctions are definitely amoral and will accept all kinds of disturbing things as payment: blood, body parts, a year of suicidal depression, the ability to ever feel happiness...

* ''Literature/{{Caliphate}}'': Christian slave girl [[BrokenBird Petra]] is sentenced by the sharia court to be sold off after being [[DefiledForever brutally raped]]. Her Muslim friend Besma tries to persuade her father [[ThePatriarch Abdul]] to stop Petra from being sent away, but his hands are tied. She gives some money to her servant Ismail to buy Petra's freedom because she knows Petra is [[SoBeautifulItsACurse too beautiful]] and even [[SexSlave worse things will happen to her]] if she ends up in the wrong hands. Ismail attempts to buy her at the auction, but is unable to top the other buyers' offers, even when Abdul [[PetTheDog gives him even more money]], and Petra ends up being sent to a harem.
* In ''Literature/{{Eisenhorn}}: Malleus'', Eisenhorn infiltrates a clandestine slave auction where one of the villains is selling an Alpha-plus level psyker. The villain doesn’t actually intend to sell the psyker, however, and is using the auction to flush out anyone that might be on his tail. Eisenhorn realizes this, and comes prepared. The other buyers don’t, and are slaughtered by the villain’s minions once the jig is up.

* ''Series/TheAvengers1960s''
** Episode "Have Guns - Will Haggle". Thieves steal 3,000 highly-secret, brand-new rifles and stage an auction for the guns for buyers on the black market.
** Episode "The Man from Auntie". An organization which [[ItMustBeMine steals items for collectors]] kidnaps Mrs. Peel and plans to auction her off to them.
** "The Hour That Never Was". A team of technicians at a Royal Air Force base is brainwashed and given hypnotic programming by a team of criminals using ultrasonics. The BigBad intends to set up an auction of the brainwashed personnel to the highest bidder.
* ''Series/MissionImpossible''
** Episode "Doomsday". An industrialist sets up an auction to sell weapons-grade plutonium and other items needed to produce an H-bomb to the highest bidder.
** Episode "Speed". The West Coast's largest drug dealer steals 3 tons of amphetamines and sets up an auction in the criminal underworld to sell it to the highest bidder. The IMF must stop the plan so the drugs don't reach the American public.

* ''Series/{{Angel}}''. In "[[{{Recap/AngelS01E10PartingGifts}} Parting Gifts]]", Cordelia is kidnapped and her "Seer's Eyes" are put up for bid. And when it appears that they are about to be sold for much too low a price (from Cordelia's viewpoint) she takes over from the auctioneer to drive the price higher, and to buy time for the BigDamnHeroes to show up and rescue her.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Crichton sets up one of these for the wormhole knowledge inside his brain. He doesn't intend to actually let the auction conclude, but merely uses the competition between the {{Big Bad}}s this stirs up as a cover for his real plans. Needless to say, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome it's awesome.]]
--> '''Crichton:''' What am I offered for all the powers of the universe?
* During the episode "[[{{Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E07QLess}} Q-Less]]" on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine,'' Quark auctioned off a bunch of stuff brought through the newly discovered wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. One of the items up for auction turned out to be a [[NegativeSpaceWedgie dangerous crystal]] which had been causing power outages and other problems all episode, and--of course--nearly destroyed the station.
* On ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', several episodes have shown that the demons have auctions for the souls bought through a DealWithTheDevil, and their own bazaar where they go for trading, and an enterprising demon can even make money by making a RealityTelevision audience for demon participants and a demon audience.
* In the third season of ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'', an undercover Jack Bauer is trying to get a deadly virus when it turns into a sealed bid auction, with the other bidder being [[spoiler:Nina Myers]].

* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode "What's Up, Tiger Mommy?", Plutus, God of Greed, steals and auctions off [[MacGuffin the Word of God]] [[spoiler:as well as {{Living MacGuffin}} Kevin. Kevin's mother bids her soul to save him. Crowley possesses her in order to steal the Word anyway.]]

* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': After Karen Page exposes a numbers racket at Union Allied, Wilson Fisk has his cronies reacquire the company's assets when they're auctioned off. In "In the Blood," Karen crashes one auction to sketch outlines of the bidders. Ben Urich drops in as well, and tells Karen to bid on some of the smaller lots to avoid giving herself away.
* In both the [[Series/Roots1977 original]] and the [[Series/Roots2016 remake]] of ''Roots,'' Mandinka warrior in training, Kunta Kinte is taken from his homeland in Western Africa and [[MadeASlave auctioned off to a Virgina plantation owner.]]

* A variation in ''Series/TheProfessionals'' episode "First Night". Criminals kidnap an Israeli minister and offer to sell him to the highest bidder--government or terrorist--that wants him returned safely or killed.

* ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'' features one with, among other things, cloning pods.[[spoiler: Both Garfield the deals warlock and Barry Bluejeans are in attendance.]]
* The [[Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale Night Vale]] Sheriff's SecretPolice hold an auction of seized goods, including an original X-Men comic, a glowing coin, and [[spoiler:one community radio host]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' supplement ''C.L.O.W.N. (Criminal Legion Of Wacky Non-conformists)''. The title villain group captured the supervillain Foxbat and auctioned him off to the highest bidder. The Birmingham, Alabama police department passed the hat and came up with $8.67.

* ''[[VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy HITMAN: World of Assassination Trilogy]]'': One of these is going on in the background of [[VideoGame/{{Hitman|2016}} the first game's]] first mission. A freelance spy ring is auctioning off a NOC list with the identities of every [=MI6=] agent in the Middle East to a cabal of shady characters, including the son of an East Asian dictator and an ArabOilShiek with ties to terrorist cells. 47's mission is to shut down the auction by killing both of the spy ring's leaders.

* An Auction of Evil is actually a major plot point in ''[[VideoGame/OddWorld Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee]]''; the last eggs of [[LastOfHisKind Munch's species]] are being auctioned off in a can as "gabbiar" to some rich glukkons, a race whose [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is CorruptCorporateExecutive. Abe intends to use his ability to possess others to manipulate a foolish glukkon into handily winning the auction, then stealing the eggs.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' "Accomplices" The Specs for The Rhino's suit are on the block.
* ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' during the "Super Powers" era, had an episode where the Justice League infiltrated an intergalactic auction to prevent anyone from getting their hands on a piece of Gold Kryptonite, in order to protect Superman. The Kryptonite ended up in {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}'s hands.
* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' animated series, in which Brainchild auctions off the Tick after turning into a two-headed hermaphroditic bluebird that only speaks high-school French and lays chocolate eggs. The auction is infiltrated by Der Fledermaus and Sewer Urchin, incredibly poorly disguised as supervillains "The Rake" and "Buckethead".

* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJusticeOutsiders'', a demonstration and auction for Metahuman teenagers is held in Biyala.

* ''[[VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy HITMAN: World of Assassination Trilogy]]'' One of these is going on in the background of [[VideoGame/{{Hitman|2016}} the first game's]] first mission. A freelance spy ring is auctioning off a NOC list with the identities of every [=MI6=] agent in the Middle East to a cabal of shady characters, including the son of an East Asian dictator and an ArabOilShiek with ties to terrorist cells. 47's mission is to shut down the auction by killing both of the spy ring's leaders.

* One of these is going on in the background of your first official mission in the 2016 ''VideoGame/{{Hitman|2016}}'' game. A freelance spy ring is auctioning off a NOC list with the identities of every [=MI6=] agent in the Middle East to a cabal of shady characters, including the son of an East Asian dictator and an Arab sheikh with ties to terrorist cells. 47's mission is to shut down the auction by killing both of the spy ring's leaders.

* ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League Adventures #6]]'' as seen above, with time-travelling villain Chronos on the seller's podium. In this issue [[spoiler:the whole thing is a BatmanGambit by the man himself (and the rest of the League) to capture all the attending supervillains. The gambit sees Batman disguise himself as Chronos while the other six members each disguise themselves as another villain in attendance (Superman as Solomon Grundy, Wonder Woman as Catwoman, Flash as Warp, Martian Manhunter as Parasite, Green Lantern as Count Vertigo, and Hawkgirl as Roxie Rocket) and lure the villains into Chronos' island lair to attend the fake auction of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The villains do eventually catch on, but by the time they do, their numbers have dwindled so much that the Justice League has an easy time mopping them up.]]