Public sale (7)

I believe the answer is:
auction
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">public sale</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(sale of items to the public)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for auction that I've seen before include "Public sale with lots" , "Offer to bidders" , "Public sale to the highest bidder" , "Public sale by bid" , "Caution about method of sale" .)