3,021. Bidders Who Retract Their Offers

Hilchos Arachin Vacharamin 8:3

When consecrated real estate or movable goods are redeemed from the Temple, an announcement is made in front of all who might want to redeem it. Let’s say that one person offers 10 sela, another offers 20, and then others offer 30, 40 and 50, after which the one who offered 50 retracts his bid. We confiscate 10 sela from his property and sell the consecrated item to the one who bid 40. In this way, the Temple receives 50 sela: ten from the one who retracted and 40 from the buyer. If the one who bid 40 also retracted, we confiscate ten sela from his property and sell the consecrated item to the one who bid 30. If bidders continue to retract, we continue in this manner until we reach the first bidder. If the one who bid ten also retracts, the redemption of the consecrated item is announced again and the object is sold then. If it’s redeemed for less than ten sela, we collect the difference from the one who bid ten the first time.

Hilchos Arachin Vacharamin 8:4

The previous halacha applies when the buyers retract their offers one after another; if they all retract at the same time, then we divide the amount evenly among them. For example, if the first offers 10 sela, the second offers 20, and the third offers 24, after which the second and third retract together, the first redeems the property for ten sela and we confiscate seven sela each from the property of the second and third bidders, with the result that the Temple collects 24 sela. Similarly, if all three bidders retract and the consecrated item is later sold for three sela, we confiscate seven sela each from the property of all three bidders. The same is true in all such cases.