<human>:  Carmen goes to an auction to win an antique desk. She accepts the opening bid of $200 and continues bidding until she wins. The bids on the desk rise by $50 each time and 3 other people each bid once. Carmen bids after each of the 3 other people and eventually wins. How much money, in dollars, does the desk cost her?
<bot>: How much money does the desk cost other people? ** 3 other people are bidding on the desk so there are 3 bids * $50 per bid = $<<3*50=150>>150 added to the cost of the desk by other people.
How much money does Carmen have to bid? ** Carmen also has to bid against each person, so she also adds 3 bids * $50 per bid = $<<3*50=150>>150 to the overall cost.
How much money has been added to the initial cost of the desk? ** So in these bids, there has been a total of $150 + $150 = $<<150+150=300>>300 added to the initial cost of the desk.
How much money does the desk cost? ** The desk therefore costs $200 opening bid + $300 added cost = $<<200+300=500>>500.
#### 500