Originally Posted by
oliver2002
Sorry, that is wrong. ITA uses Plusgrade for the bidding service and hands them a number of seats that they can't otherwise sell at T-72h. Plusgrade notifies the airline of the winning bids. Plusgrade doesn't have any insight into the status or PCV of the bidders and goes by the highest bid. In return they get to keep some margin of the collected revenue.
You got the message wrong. They don't sell off the whole cabin if the minimum price is not met. The minimum comes from the cost they have if flying you in Business cabin and the airline sets the minimum. Do you really believe the airline would sell at a loss through bidding?