The profit-maximizing strategy for a bidder in a Vickrey auction where there are common values for the object being sold is to bid less than her estimated value for the object, and the more bidders there are, the more the profit-maximizing bidder should shade her bid below her estimated value.

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In a Vickrey auction with common values, the profit-maximizing strategy is to bid less than the estimated value to avoid winning the auction at a price higher than the actual value, but also to shade the bid even more in larger bidder pools to increase the chances of winning while still paying less than the actual value. This is known as the "winner's curse" and can be mitigated by underbidding.

The Profit-Maximizing Strategy for a Bidder in a Vickrey Auction