to market to market to buy a fat pig

I'm going with majority here.

Fakey-fake is the way to go.
I also like hunting threads against predator or prey to help decide what you get
for some fun instead of just the skins it could be things like bear claws or other 'trinkets' some might want for crafting
Deer antlers are super sturdy and good for armor so those might be good for bidding also besides a deer hide.

I still like to suggest those with merchant specialty starting with a bit more when bidding as it seems a spot specialty would make a lot of sense.

It could also be after everyone had x-number of chances for bidding war that it went to that 'silent auction' state - everyone quietly tells thse auctioneer (or other helper) how much they will raise the price and it becomes a game of how high will you bid that will beat the other wolves without paying too much over.