auction vs sale

auction

noun
  • A public event where goods or property are sold to the highest bidder. 

  • The first stage of a deal, in which players bid to determine the final contract. 

verb
  • To sell at an auction. 

sale

noun
  • The act of putting up for auction to the highest bidder. 

  • An exchange of goods or services for currency or credit. 

  • The sale of goods at reduced prices. 

How often have the words auction and sale occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )