The Survivor auction was back this week for the third time in the new era, but similar to its previous appearance on Survivor 45 and Survivor 47, it didn’t quite meet the standards auctions have set in the past with chaos introduced into the game. While the MrBeast Super Beware Advantage did add something brand new to the game that left fans excited for more to come, we were also hoping to get a little more of the Survivor auction vibes we remember.
But then I realized that it’s been so long since we got an old school auction, that maybe I’m just remembering them being more chaotic than they actually were. So I went back through the bid list of all 18 previous auctions to see what the best and worst items were and if Survivor 50’s offerings were on par with auctions of the past.
Survivor: The Australian Outback (Season 2)
The first ever Survivor auction surprised our season 2 castaways when they arrived for a reward challenge and were instead greeted by Jeff Probst handing each player an envelope of 500 Australian dollars that they could use to bid on various food items. Since advantages weren’t really a thing yet, the only items offered were consumable.
Best Item: A full turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, green beans, bread, and cranberry sauce purchased by Elizabeth Filarski for $340 (shared with Tina Wesson)
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be a glass of river water purchased by Amber Brkich for $200.
Survivor: Africa (season 3)
The players at the second iteration of the Survivor auction fared much better than the prior season as, while it was still only food items, all of them were desirable and there wasn’t an item people would regret bidding on. The Final 7 players were provided 20,000 Shillings to bid with.
Best Item: A covered item later revealed to be fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, and vegetables purchased by Kim Johnson for 11,000 Shillings (shared with Lex van den Berghe for 10,500 Shillings).
Worst Item: A mug of chocolate syrup purchased by Ethan Zohn for 5,000 Shillings.
Survivor: Thailand (season 5)
The only auction in the show’s history to occur before the merge, the Sook Jai and Chuay Gahn tribes each received $1,000 via Tree Mail before meeting Jeff at the auction site. Rather than individual bids, tribes as a whole had to outbid each other to earn food for their whole group.
Best Item: Spaghetti & meatballs with garlic bread purchased by Chuay Gahn for $400.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be baked grubs purchased by Sook Jai for $80.
Survivor: The Amazon (season 6)
The first auction to feature comfort items in addition to the standard food for bid. The Final 7 players were each given $500 and still had the option to share money and food items.
Best Item: Letters from home purchased by Christy Smith for $340 before they were offered up once more and purchased by Jenna Morasca for $120.
Worth Item: A covered item later revealed to be manioc purchased by Alex Bell for $240, though Jeff offered him the option to switch to a different covered item which was later revealed as a big serving of lasagna.
Survivor: Palau (season 10)
The 10th season saw the introduction of more blind items than uncovered items, with multiple offers from Jeff to to trade—some good, some bad.
Best Item: Letters from home purchased by Tom Westman for $220 and then subsequently offered to any castaway who matched his bid (going to Caryn Groedel, Gregg Carey, Katie Gallagher, and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick).
Worst Item: One cold beer purchased by Ian Rosenberger for $40.
Survivor: Guatemala (season 11)
This was the first time in the auction where we saw an item come up for bid that was so powerful, players pooled their money together to get it—though they’ve always been allowed to beforehand. Again, none of the items this season were bad, but some were definitely worth more than others.
Best Item: Overnight stay with loved ones purchased by Judd Sergeant for $880 (pooled with Cindy Hall’s money to ensure she’d be one of his two guests).
Worst Item: A small plate of beef jerky purchased by Danni Boatwright for $20, though Jeff offered to trade for a covered item later revealed to be uncooked corn.
Survivor: Cook Islands (season 13)
In Ozzy Lusth’s first season, everyone remembers his bidding $420 for endless soft-serve that he could enjoy until the auction ended. This was also the first season hygienic items were offered to castaways with Parvati Shallow buying a bubble bath for $360 and Jonathan Penner buying a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash for $100.
Best Item: The power to send someone to Exile Island immediately, taking their money before they leave, purchased by Becky Lee for $640 (with $140 coming from Yul Kwon) who sent Candice Woodcock.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be a sea cucumber purchased by Sundra Oakley for $140.
Survivor: Micronesia (season 16)
Another iconic and memorable auction when Natalie Bolton purchased a covered item for $380 which was revealed to be a huge chocolate cake she was allowed to share with 3 other people. She chose to indulge with Alexis Jones, Parvati Shallow, and Cirie Fields. When finished, Erik Reichenbach offered each of the women $40 to be able to lick the remaining cake off their fingers. Cirie was the only one who accepted.
Best Item: A covered item later revealed to be the power to send someone to Exile Island immediately, taking their money before they leave, purchased by Natalie for $240. She chose to send Jason Siska.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be fruit bat soup purchased by Natalie for $240. She refused to eat it, so James Clement got it for free—the only player willing to eat it.
Survivor: Gabon (season 17)
The first season to feature an item specifically to be shared with to the entire tribe as well as a true in-game advantage that didn’t only relate to the auction. Of course we’ll never forget when Randy Bailey spent $20 to get chocolate chip cookies for the tribe and Sugar Kiper refused to take one because of her distaste for him. She eventually accepted the cookie, but then immediately gave it to Matty Whitmore.
Best Item: An advantage in the upcoming immunity challenge purchased by Corinne Kaplan for $500.
Worst Item: Three beers and some peanuts purchased by Randy for $180.
Survivor: Tocantins (season 18)
The Final 6 got a quick taste of home this season with a few food items and a comfort item that the players were fairly generous about others getting. We also went back to having a few covered items and a less-than-desirable food option—but not one as terrible as has been in the past.
Best Item: A video message from home purchased by Taj Johnson-George for $20, though players were allowed to pool their money for this bid, everyone gave it to Taj.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be a skewer of chicken hearts purchased by Stephen Fishbach for $100.
Survivor: Samoa (season 19)
The stakes were slightly raised in Samoa—a season known for its heavy hidden immunity idol plot line—when a clue to the idol was featured for the first time. Even more so, none of the high-ticket items were covered.
Best Item: An advantage in the upcoming immunity challenge purchased by Jaison Robinson for $500.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be sea noodles with slug guts—and a side of parmesan cheese—purchased by Shambo Waters for $240.
Survivor: One World (season 24)
This season, players were not allowed to pool money or share items, but were still given the initial $500 for bidding. That meant that there was no possibility of any item being worth more than $500. There were also no “bad” items for players to bid on and only one covered item that was meant for the full tribe—an entire cake that the tribe had 60 seconds to eat as much of as possible.
Best Item: An advantage in the upcoming immunity challenge purchased by Troyzan Robertson for $420.
Worst Item: Three donuts and an iced coffee purchased by Chelsea Meissner for $160.
Survivor: Philippines (season 25)
Possibly one of the most nutrient dense auctions to date, most of the items featured actual protein or benefit to the players as opposed to the prior seasons that mostly featured “craving”-focused foods. For example, rather than a cake or cookies for players to share at the end of the auction, the tribe item was a bunch of veal shanks—though they still only had 60 seconds to eat as much as they could.
Best Item: An advantage in the upcoming immunity challenge purchased by Abi-Maria Gomes for $500.
Worst Item: Donuts and iced coffee purchased by Malcom Freberg for $200.
Survivor: Caramoan (season 26)
With the most enthusiastic bidders we’ve seen, this was the first season where multiple items were sold for $500. First Sherri offered to buy a full pizza that Reynolds did not trade his covered single slice of pizza for and then Dawn jumped in and spent all her money on a roasted chicken. Of course this happened the same year Jeff offered letters from home to anyone who bid $20.
Best Item: A covered item Jeff pitched as “information in this game” that was revealed to be a clue to a buried hidden immunity idol—one that could only be found with the clue—purchased by Malcom Freberg for $480.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be pig brain purchased by Brenda for $300.
Survivor: Cagayan (season 28)
With the knowledge that clues to hidden immunity idols were often planted in the auction, this season showed people starting to be more conservative with their money in the hope of getting something more advantageous than food. Plus it was the first season that two castaways placed a maximum bid at the same time resulting in a rock draw for who would win.
Best Item: An advantage in the game—later revealed to be a clue to a hidden immunity idol—purchasede by Tony Vlachos for $500 after winning the rock draw against Spencer Bledsoe.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be rice and water purchased by Trish Hegarty for $60.
Survivor: Worlds Apart (season 30)
The last season before the new era to feature an auction and also the first to provide the most direct advantage as well as the—seemingly—worst self-disadvantage. This season was also the reason the auction stopped, with castaways not bidding on anything until an advantage appeared, causing another rock draw after three players placed a maximum bid at the same time. Jeff wasn’t a fan of this tactic and made the auction less fun for viewership.
Best Item: An advantage in the game later revealed to be an extra vote purchased by Dan Foley for $500 after winning the rock draw against Carolyn Rivera and Mike Holloway.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be banishment from the auction purchased by Will Sims II for $100. Though he was the only player not to receive a letter from home because of this, he did get a box of hidden rations back at camp that no one else knew about.
Survivor 45
In a twist on the classic auction format to better fit the new era stakes, rather than being given money directly for the auction, players were sent Tree Mail to go on a search for 40 bamboo tubes containing different amounts of money. Dee Valladares walked away with $900 for bidding while Bruce Perreault only secured $80. But once at the auction, Jeff revealed the player with the most money left after the final item—which they wouldn’t know was the final item—would lose their vote for the next Tribal Council.
Best Item: Toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash purchased by Julie Alley for $420.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be fish eyes purchased by Katurah Topps for $480, with the option to trade for another covered item which she didn’t accept. She refused to take the fish eyes and Jeff put it back up for auction with Austin Li Coon grabbing it for $100.
Survivor 47
Using the same money format as the prior auction season, our castaways raced through the jungle to earn their keep with Sierra Wright securing $1,060 and Andy Rueda walking away with $0. This was the first season, though, to offer cash back where some covered items included more money, upping the stakes for the person left with the most money at the end who would lose their vote.
Best Item: A covered item later revealed to be burger, fries, and beer purchased by Rachel LaMont for $500. The item also included a secret clue to a hidden immunity idol which was hidden in the fries.
Worst Item: A covered item later revealed to be fish eyes and $60 purchased by Caroline Vidmar for $280.
Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans
And finally we get to the latest season which featured the biggest twist in Survivor auction history: the MrBeast Super Beware Advantage that came alongside the purchased letters from home.
Best Item: Letters from home purchased by all castaways for $20 each, paired with the chaos of the unknown MrBeast Super Beware Advantage later revealed to be a coin flip for immediate safety, an immunity idol, and an increased prize of $2 million. If the selected player lost the coin flip, they’d go home without any votes being cast against them.
Worst Item: A two-part covered item purchased by Jonathan Young for $320 and shared with Ozzy later revealed to be fried chicken and mashed potatoes for Ozzy if Jonathan could eat a sea slug in under two minutes.
Looking back, there are definitely seasons where the auction was truly a reward challenge in the sense that there weren’t any stakes lost for those who didn’t “win.” But there are also seasons more directly chaotic at the auction than Survivor 50 turned out to be. So putting the MrBeast twist aside—since that technically happened at Tribal Council—I’d say this season’s auction was fairly middle of the road compared to past seasons.
But I will admit that I loved the twist and how it played out in the end. I can’t wait to see Rick Devens stir up some more gameplay fun now that he has a (potentially full-power) idol in his pocket. Things are about to get even more chaotic for our Final 9 castaways and I’m so excited!
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