(12) United States Patent
`Rackson et al.
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`45 Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`Jul. 2 2002
`
`a
`
`US006415270B1
`
`(54) MULTIPLE AUCTION COORDINATION
`METHOD AND SYSTEM
`
`(75) Inventors: Randall I. Rackson, Stamford, CT
`(US); Jonathan Adam Krane, New
`York, NY (US); Peter J. Trevisani,
`Santa Fe, NM (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Omnihub, Inc., New York, NY (US)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject‘ to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adJusted under 35
`USC 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl, No; 09/440,584
`
`_
`(22) Filed:
`
`Nov. 15, 1999
`
`Related US. Application Data
`(60) Provisional application No. 60/152,473, ?led on Sep. 3,
`1999,
`
`3/1999 Godin et al.
`5,890,138 A
`5,897,620 A * 4/1999 Walker et al. ............... .. 705/5
`5,905,975 A
`5/1999 Ausubel
`2
`gem? 9 511-1
`am ‘11 e a '
`2
`211E161
`
`’
`
`’
`
`’
`
`’
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`WO
`
`WO97/16797
`* 9/1997
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Little et al, “Auctioning is the best Wisest choice if you Want
`the best value”, Government Computer NeWs, v15, n28,
`p54(2), Nov. 4, 1996, dialog ?le 148, Accession No.
`
`09137259.*
`
`* cited by examiner
`_
`_
`_
`_
`P r lmar y Exammer—FrantZy Polnvll
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Pennie & Edmonds LLP
`
`(51) Int. Cl.7 .............................................. .. G06F 17/60
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`_
`_
`_
`_
`_
`A mult1-auct1on service system and method for replicating
`an item to be auctioned at a plurality of remote auction
`services, Where the multi-auction service detects bids at the
`plurality of remote auction services for the item in order to
`replicate the optimal bid at each of the remote auction
`services such that the optimal bid is afforded to a bidder or
`seller.
`
`25 Claims, 12 Drawing Sheets
`
`(52) US. Cl. .......................................... .. 705/37; 705/36
`(58) Field of Search
`705/1 10 26
`705
`100 £04 ’ 513’
`’
`’
`
`’
`
`’
`’
`References Cited
`
`(56)
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,818,914 A
`5,835,896 A
`5,845,265 A
`
`10/1998 Fujisaki
`11/1998 Fisher et a1.
`12/1998 Woolston
`
`Seller Contacts /
`Mulii-Auction Service
`
`I
`Seller Enters
`Parameters of Item
`
`104
`_/
`
`Multi-Auction Service
`Checks History lor Similar J
`Items
`
`.
`
`.
`
`.
`
`Multi-Aucticn Service
`Determines Optimum —/
`Auction Parameters
`
`1
`
`Define Parameters for
`Split Items
`
`Determine Which Flemote _/
`Auction Services to
`Contact
`
`Choose Categories
`
`Transmit Parameters of
`Item to Remote Auction
`Service(s)
`
`Detect Bids for Item
`
`140
`
`144
`
`120
`
`132
`
`160
`
`Determine Which Remote
`Auction Service to Receive
`Replrcated Bid
`
`Transmit Flepllcated Bid to
`Remote Auction Service
`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 1 of 27
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 1 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`w?
`
`m 33.6w
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`
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`
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`mm
`
`ON
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`t< 3E F 959m
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 2 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
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`83.6w 5:02-222 U U N m‘. m."
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`5 _
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 3 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`BoEwE %
`
`mmm
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`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 4 of 27
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 4 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`Seller Contacts
`Multi-Auction Service
`
`100
`__/
`
`I
`Seller Enters
`Parameters of Item
`
`104
`__/
`
`Figure 4
`
`.
`
`11o
`
`.
`
`Multi-Auction Service /
`Checks History for Similar
`Items
`
`-
`
`-
`
`112
`
`Multi-Auction Service /
`Determines Optimum
`Auction Parameters
`
`Split Items
`Qty > 1
`
`120
`Define Parameters for __/
`Split Items
`
`124
`Determine Which Remote _./
`Auction Services to
`Contact
`
`130
`
`Yes
`
`Choose Categories -/
`
`132
`
`.
`
`.
`
`.
`
`Multl-llst in
`Different
`Categories?
`
`140
`Transmit Parameters of __./
`Item to Remote Auction
`Service(s)
`
`Detect Bids for Item
`
`160
`
`Yes
`
`Close Auction?
`
`144
`
`150
`
`Determine Which Remote
`Auction Service to Receive
`Repllcated Bid
`
`Transmit Replicated Bid to
`Remote Auction Service
`
`Closing
`Process
`
`154
`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 5 of 27
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 5 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`Standard Auction
`
`Auction1
`
`Auction2
`
`Auction3 Auction4 Auction5
`
`Bidder Bid Bidder Bid Bidder Bid Bidder Bid Bidder Bid
`A
`$90 0.302 $95 G
`$85 J
`$90 DReP
`$95
`B
`$70 E
`$65 H
`$80 DRep
`$95
`f
`C
`$60 F
`$60
`I
`$75
`7
`/
`
`DRe\p$95\ D7Rep
`304
`Figure 5
`
`/
`
`/
`/
`
`Standard Auction With Tied Bidders
`
`Auction1
`
`Auction2
`
`Auction3 Auction4 Auction5
`
`Bidder Bid Bidder Bid Bidder Bid Bidder Bid Bidder Bid
`A
`$95 0.310 $95 G
`$85 J
`$95 DFPP
`$95
`B
`$70 E
`$65 H
`$80 DR‘fP
`$95+ N\
`0
`$60 F
`$60 I
`$75 L \
`O\
`DRFP
`$95+
`0R9‘
`$95
`\
`\
`
`318
`
`314
`
`Figure 6
`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 6 of 27
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 6 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`ltem Dutch Auction
`(Before Replication)
`
`Auction 1
`
`Auction 2
`
`Auction 3
`
`Bidder
`A
`
`Bid
`40 @ $99
`
`Bidder
`D
`
`Bid
`40 @ $93
`
`Bidder
`G
`
`Bid
`40 @ $95
`
`B
`
`0
`
`J
`
`30 @ $85
`
`30 @ $80
`
`40 @ $75
`
`E
`
`F
`
`K
`
`30 @ $80
`
`30 @ $75
`
`50 @ $60
`
`H
`
`|
`
`|_
`
`30 @ $75
`
`20 @ $70
`
`35 @ $65
`
`Independent Auction Results:
`Auction 1:
`Bidders A, B and C are filled @ $80.
`Auction 2:
`Bidders D, E and F are filled @ $75.
`Auction 3:
`Bidders G, H and l are filled @ $65; L receives 10 @ $65.
`
`Figure 7
`
`Item Dutch Auction
`(After Replication)
`
`Auction 1
`
`Auction 2
`
`Auction 3
`
`Bidder
`A
`B
`
`0
`
`J
`
`Bid
`40 @ $99
`30 @ $85
`
`30 @ $80
`
`40 @ $75
`
`40 @ $93
`DF‘eP\
`GRfP \ 40 @ $95
`
`324/ 32‘2
`
`Bid
`40 @ $93
`30 @ $80
`
`30 @ $75
`
`50 @ $30
`
`40 @ $99
`40 @ $95
`
`Bidder
`D
`E
`
`F
`
`K
`
`AReP \
`GRfP \
`
`324/ 3L0
`
`Bidder
`(3
`H
`
`|
`
`L
`
`Bid
`40 @ $95
`30 @ $75
`
`20 @ $70
`
`35 @ $65
`
`AR@P\ 40 @ $99
`DF‘fP \ 40 @ $93
`
`32] 3'20
`
`Auction Results: Bidders A and G are filled @ $93; D receives 20 @ $93.
`Figure 8
`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 7 of 27
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 7 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`Item Dutch Auction With Tied Bidders
`(After Replication)
`
`Auction 1
`
`Auction 2
`
`Auction 3
`
`Bidder
`A
`
`Bid
`40 @ $99
`
`Bidder
`D
`
`B
`
`C
`
`30 @ $85
`
`30 @ $80
`
`E
`
`F
`
`40 @ $75
`J
`40 @ $95
`[)Rep\
`GRfP \ 4o @ $95
`
`344/ 3l6
`
`K
`ARep \
`GRfP \
`
`340/ 3l2
`
`Bid
`40 @ $95
`
`30 @ $80
`
`30 @ $75
`
`50 @ $60
`4O @ $99
`40 @ $525+
`
`Bidder
`G
`
`Bid
`40 @ $95
`
`H
`
`|
`
`30 @ $75
`
`20 @ $70
`
`35 @ $65
`L
`ARep \ 4O @ $99
`DRIED \ 40 @ $95
`
`346] 3L2
`
`Auction Result:
`
`Bidder G takes precedence over Bidder D;
`Bidders A and G are filled @ $95; D receives 20 @ $95.
`
`Figure 9
`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 8 of 27
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 8 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`3
`
`29:2;
`
`
`
`8.5mm 8.62-222
`
`[om
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`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 9 of 27
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`

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`US. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 9 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
` Multi
`
`G.)
`
`Service
`Auction
`
`1-
`1—
`a,L
`’
`LL
`
`3 2
`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 10 of 27
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`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 10 of 27
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 10 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`400
`
`410
`f
`v
`
`TYPE
`
`OCT 1999
`1 2/412
`
`e 7 s 9
`
`3 4 5
`ENDING DATE 10
`
`416
`MAX PRICE __.____/_\
`E
`G
`P
`418
`PREFERRED MANUFACTURER CONDITIONML
`MFG
`EXACT PREMIUM
`422
`r430 [:I:
`POOR
`EXCELLENT
`
`\424
`
`PRICE
`QUANTITY REQUIRED
`
`BID STRATEGY
`
`(420
`
`440
`
`RULES
`
`442
`f
`
`SELLER CRITERIA
`444
`/
`
`RECENT AUCTION RESULTS IN THIS TYPE
`
`450
`
`Figure 12
`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 11 of 27
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 11 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`600
`Multi-Auction Service /
`Receives Bidder Parameters
`
`610
`Multi-Auction Service Checks /
`History for Similar Items
`
`Multi-Auction Service
`Determines Optimum Bidding
`Parameters
`
`[612
`
`Determine Which Remote /614
`Auction Services to Contact
`
`Multi-Auction Services Search K620
`for items
`I
`630
`Multi-Auction Service Tracks K’
`——> Items Detecting Bids Matching <—-—
`Bidder Parameters
`
`640
`
`ompares Items to
`Bidder Parameters
`
`660
`
`anual Bid from Multi
`‘ uction Service Bidder
`
`Reviews Bidder History K 644
`
`Determine Which Remote
`Auction Service to Receive Bid
`
`Transmit Bid to Remote
`Auction Service
`
`M Figures
`
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`US. Patent
`
`Jul. 2, 2002
`
`Sheet 12 0f 12
`
`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`0mm
`
`
`
`
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`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 13 of 27
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`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`1
`MULTIPLE AUCTION COORDINATION
`METHOD AND SYSTEM
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is based on and claims ?ling priority of
`co-pending US. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/152,
`473, ?led on Sep. 3, 1999, entitled, INTERNET-BASED
`MULTIPLE AUCTION COORDINATION SYSTEM,
`Which is incorporated by reference herein.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to auction systems Where a
`user speci?es parameters of an item for sale in the auction
`system and Where bidders submit offers for the items for
`auction.
`Glossary
`The terms used beloW are provided to facilitate the
`understanding of the concepts that are used throughout the
`claims and speci?cation. It is not meant to in any Way limit
`or constrain the scope but is instead intended to provide
`representative examples and de?nitions to assist the readers
`in their understanding of the present invention. Other
`examples may additionally be de?ned in the body of the
`speci?cation or may be knoWn equivalents in the art for each
`of these terms.
`auction—any dynamic pricing system for sale and purchase
`of goods and services, Where the ultimate price paid by a
`buyer is not set in advance by the seller, but rather a
`function of demand and supply as determined during the
`selling process. An auction may involve buyers competi
`tively bidding for goods and services, sellers competi
`tively offering goods and services, or buyers and sellers
`converging on a mutually agreeable price and quantity of
`goods and services to be exchanged.
`closing events—any or all of a set of events Which may
`cause an auction to close. These events may include, but
`are not limited to, some or all of the folloWing: ?xed time
`expiration; period of bidding inactivity; secret or pub
`lished “sudden death” price hit, Where the “sudden death”
`price may be established prior to the auction or change as
`a function of auction bidding activity; cancellation of the
`auction either by the Seller, the remote auction service, or
`the multi auction service.
`item—Any marketable product, service or commodity that
`can be adequately described and that has a negotiable
`value discoverable through an auction process. The item
`may be described and characteriZed by parameters includ
`ing quantitative and qualitative values such as a measure
`of siZe, shape, Weight, quantity, condition, age,
`uniqueness, etc.
`bidder—An entity supplying a bid, either directly or through
`an agent or netWork or agents. An agent may be another
`entity or computer agent. A bidder may be entering bids
`in real time either directly or through his agent, or may
`have prespeci?ed a set of rules so that his agent can bid
`automatically for him.
`seller—An entity Which may be an individual, company,
`agent or any third party that may have in their possession
`or represent the interests of an oWner of an item that may
`be offered for sale at auction, either directly or through an
`agent.
`replicated bid—a bid or bids detected by the multi-auction
`service for an item at one or more remote auction auction
`services, Which is subsequently transmitted to one or
`more other remote auction services that did not receive
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`2
`the bid. In substance, the bid replication process alloWs
`the optimal bid to appear in all auctions for the item being
`auctioned as if the original bidder had himself entered
`identical bids in all auctions for the item. The replicated
`bid may nominally be identi?ed as coming from the
`original bidder, coming from the multi-auction service or
`coming from any other third party.
`currency—Any unit of exchange and measure of value,
`including hard currencies and barter items. Bids in dif
`ferent currencies are compared by using tables managed
`by the remote auction service. Exchange values may be
`supplied by the seller, or by a third party and may re?ect
`either real time conversions using guaranteed exchange
`rates, or alternatively an estimated exchange rate may be
`employed that is used only for calculation purposes Where
`the real exchange rate is subject to change until the actual
`closure of the transaction.
`memory—The memory means may comprise any type of
`storage media that may support the recording of the
`interactions of the service. This may comprise paper
`records, hard disk storage, random access memory, or any
`removable or non-removable media that is accessible
`either directly or remotely by the service. The content of
`memory Would typically comprise, but not be limited
`to,any or all of the folloWing: information on current and
`prior bid activity; item selling parameters; seller, bidder or
`remote auction service pro?le information, interface pro
`tocols and contact information; relative value and auction
`offering rules speci?ed by the seller, bidder, Multi
`Auction Service or remote auction services; transaction
`data; and marketing data. The memory is accessed by the
`multi-auction service to record transactions and to provide
`data Which may be analyZed to determine the optimum
`selling or bidding parameters for an item or item type
`Where the optimiZed data may be stored in addition to the
`raW bid information collected.
`multi-auction service—System of people, computers and
`communications systems that coordinate the auction
`listing, bid replication and auction management process.
`Typically maintains history of item bids and offers, and
`identi?es categories for auction items. Provides means for
`bidders or sellers to specify parameters of the bidding and
`selling process such that the multi-auction service acts as
`an agent for either the bidder or seller to achieve an
`optimal bid price and set of transactions from the client’s
`perspective.
`optimal bidder—The optimal bidder Will usually be the
`entity that submits the nominally highest bid to the seller
`and loWest offer for the buyer, but may be adjusted under
`certain circumstances. For example, if the highest bidder
`has a questionable credit rating or closing history, or the
`highest bidder is using a credit card so that his bid needs
`to be adjusted doWnWard by the processing fees, the
`nominally highest bid may not be the optimal bid. A
`database of bidder performance statistics (closing rates,
`timeliness, seller feedback, etc.) can be factored into the
`“optimal bid” selection process in order to determine an
`adjusted bid. When a buyer is using the multi-auction
`service to achieve an optimal price that is the loWest price,
`the item offered With the loWest bid may have excessive
`shipping charges or other ancillary fees that may addi
`tionally need to be factored into the bid price as an
`adjustment. In the case Where multiple items are auc
`tioned using a Dutch auction format, the term Optimal
`Bidder Will be used to describe the set of submitting
`Winning bids.
`remote auction service—an entity hosting an auction or
`facilitating the sale of items in an auction style format
`
`eBay Ex. 1008, Page 14 of 27
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`US 6,415,270 B1
`
`3
`Where the price is a function of demand and supply. May
`be electronic (eBay, Yahoo, Amazon) or physical
`(Sotheby’s, Christies). May be domestic or international,
`general or niche speci?c. The remote auction service need
`not be a registered auctioneer. It may operate in a manual
`mode or in a highly computeriZed mode of operation With
`respect to the management of an auction. For purposes of
`this set of speci?cation and claims, if an item appears at
`a single remote auction service in multiple independent
`auctions, each instance of the item at a remote auction
`service is considered a separate and independent remote
`auction service.
`reserve price—a minimum price that a Seller Will accept for
`an item, or a minimum amount a Seller Will accept for a
`batch of similar or dissimilar items.
`selling parameters—any or all of a set of parameters describ
`ing an Item and hoW it is to be offered in an auction
`including, but not limited to, some or all of the folloWing:
`item description Which may comprise in addition to text
`in various languages, graphic and audio representation
`such as image ?le, photograph, audio ?le, video clip or
`other content that provides a representation of the item;
`quantity of items offered or desired; starting date and
`time; applicable closing events; reserve price; starting bid;
`expected bid range; auction format (eg standard, Dutch,
`etc); physical item location and shipping arrangements;
`optimal bid adjustment procedures and currency conver
`sion tables; selling restrictions (eg no international, etc.).
`These parameters may be de?ned by the seller With
`assistance by the multi-auction service or may be gener
`ated exclusively by the multi-auction service or seller
`alone.
`In the case of “reverse” auctions Where a buyer provides
`parameters for an item to be purchased and sellers offer
`competitively at successively loWer prices to provide the
`item, the term “selling parameters” should be understood to
`be those parameters provided by the prospective buyer
`Which describe the item to be purchased and the auction
`process in Which sellers Will compete to provide the good or
`service in question.
`Prior art auction methods require a seller to contact an
`auction service in order to place an item for sale through an
`auction process. The item is typically transferred to an
`auction location prior to the auction date. Bidders assemble
`on the auction date and bid on items of interest. Electronic
`enhancements have been made to the auction process to
`alloW remote bidders and sellers to engage in auctions for
`items. These enhancements have typically involved facili
`tating the auction process While keeping the same general
`foundation Where a user offers a product for auction through
`an intermediary (auctioneer) that executes the auction and
`receives bids for the item. At the end of a speci?ed period
`of time or When no further bids are received, the interme
`diary closes the auction to further bidding and the highest
`bidder pays for and receives the item. While the seller and
`bidder may be represented by other parties, the ultimate
`control of the auction is performed in a centraliZed manner
`Where the auctioneer runs the process.
`Prior art electronic auction systems on the World Wide
`Web have implemented a similar methodology to alloW
`more Widespread visibility of items to be auctioned to alloW
`sellers to submit items for auction on-line Where user’s bids
`from around the World may be received and recorded as the
`auction progresses. The seller contacts an auction service to
`indicate that an item is available for sale. The seller identi?es
`the item and speci?es the parameters of the auction. The
`actual auction process is executed by the auction service in
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`accordance With the seller or auctioneer speci?ed rules for
`the auction of that item. The item does not have to be located
`Where the auction is run, but in order to guarantee the
`integrity of the auction so that the Winning bidder is able to
`purchase the item, the auction service must have the exclu
`sive right to offer the item. When the auction is over, the
`highest bidder is contacted and the goods are shipped from
`the seller to the highest bidder. The terms for the sale are
`speci?ed in the auction, but the coordination of the shipping
`is usually arranged betWeen the buyer and seller although
`some sites provide shipping as an extra service.
`In order for a seller to use the auction site, the seller must
`register and provide an item description. The auction sites
`may require that sellers provide some means of authentica
`tion that the items represented are of the quality described.
`Different auction sites may have different forms of veri?
`cation or may require that the item be submitted or shipped
`to the auction site prior to auction. For those sites that do not
`require shipping the product prior to auction, the shipping of
`the product may be arranged betWeen the seller and the
`buyer or facilitated by the auction service.
`While these auction sites provide a means for sellers to
`offer goods for sale, the seller has to determine the single
`best auction site for the product to be sold. The seller may
`receive substantially more or less than expected depending
`on the number of bidders and What they are Willing to pay.
`The seller can not list an item on more than one site because
`the Winning bidder in each auction rightfully expects to be
`able to buy the item, of Which the seller has only one. Unless
`a seller is Willing to “default”, the seller is currently limited
`to choosing a single auction site for any particular item. It is
`therefore to the bene?t of the seller to choose the best
`auction site for that type of product. The best site may be the
`site that has the most user traf?c, or it may be a specialiZed
`site that offers items for sale in limited classes of products.
`For example, a coin collector could offer a highly desirable
`coin for sale at a general auction site such as Ebay, or
`alternatively the coin collector may choose to place the coin
`at an auction site that caters to knowledgeable coin buyers.
`Other services may be provided to shoW the seller the price
`of similar products. This may require the seller to investigate
`different Web sites to determine Which auction site has the
`most traf?c or has sold similar items at the highest price.
`The ?nal sale price is ultimately dependent on the number
`of bidders for a product at that site and the visibility of that
`item among all the items being offered at that site. A seller
`hoping to receive the highest price is therefore limited to the
`users accessing that Web site that are bidding on that
`product. Auction services have provided users With different
`means to increase the visibility of the item to be sold by
`establishing classi?cation methods that alloW the user’s item
`to be more frequently retrieved by the search engine. The
`user typically pays an added amount for preferred placement
`of their item on the Web pages generated. These aspects of
`placement, While providing better visibility on that Web site
`do not offer the visibility beyond that auction server.
`US. Pat. No. 5,835,896, METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR
`PROCESSING AND TRANSMITTING ELECTRONIC
`AUCTION INFORMATION, assigned to OnSale Inc., dis
`closes an automated system used for auctions on the Internet
`Where the buyer submits bids to the system Which validates
`the bids and ultimately noti?es the successful bidder(s)
`When the auction is over. During the auction process, the
`server updates the page image stored on the server so neW
`users requesting the page see the most recent bid informa
`tion. Recently outbid users are noti?ed via email of higher
`bids. Users may also be represented by automated processes
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`US 6,415,270 B1
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`that bid incrementally in an automated fashion up to a
`prede?ned user speci?ed value. Different auction types are
`supported such as Standard Auction, Dutch Auction, and
`Progressive Auction. Abid closing process called “Floating
`Closing Time” is additionally disclosed Whereby inactivity
`for a period of time Will end the auction of the item prior to
`the ?xed closing time speci?ed in the auction.
`US. Pat. No. 5,890,138 COMPUTER AUCTION
`SYSTEM, assigned to Bid.Com International Inc., discloses
`another Internet based auction system Where users access a
`central database of products to purchase items from a
`quantity of similar items. The timeframe of the offer is
`strictly controlled and a number of items are offered Where
`the price decreases until all of the items are sold or until the
`timeframe of the sale expires. The system updates the
`displayed availability information at periodic intervals
`Where the period is shortened as the sale comes to an end.
`US. Pat. No. 5,905,975, COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED
`METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR AUCTIONS, dis
`closes an auction system Where users may de?ne bidding
`rules that are subsequently enforced throughout the bidding
`process for an item, thus alloWing users to control the
`amount of time that they are required to devote to the
`bidding process. The user’s system and the auctioneers
`system communicate automatically to determine hoW the
`bidding is incremented according to the rules de?ned. Com
`plex rules may be implemented Where the user may specify
`quantities of an item to be purchased at various prices.
`While these auction sites provide a means for sellers to
`offer goods for sale, the seller has to determine the single
`best auction site for the product to be sold. The seller may
`receive substantially more or less than expected depending
`on the number of bidders and What they are Willing to pay.
`The seller can not list an item on more than one site because
`the Winning bidder in each auction rightfully expects to be
`able to buy the item, of Which the seller has only one. Unless
`a seller is Willing to “default”, the seller is currently limited
`to choosing a single auction site for any particular item. It is
`therefore to the bene?t of the seller to choose the best
`auction site for that type of product. The best site may be the
`site that has the most user traf?c, or it may be a specialiZed
`site that offers items for sale in limited classes of products.
`For example, a coin collector could offer a highly desirable
`coin for sale at a general auction site such as Ebay, or
`alternatively the coin collector may choose to place the coin
`at an auction site that caters to knowledgeable coin buyers.
`Other services may be provided to shoW the seller the price
`of similar products. This may require the seller to investigate
`different Web sites to determine Which auction site has the
`most traf?c or has sold similar items at the highest price.
`The ?nal sale price is ultimately dependent on the number
`of bidders for a product at that site and the visibility of that
`item among all the items being offered at that site. A seller
`hoping to receive the highest price is therefore limited to the
`users accessing that Web site that are bidding on that
`product. Auction services have provided users With different
`means to increase the visibility of the item to be sold by
`establishing classi?cation methods that alloW the user’s item
`to be more frequently retrieved by the search engine. The
`user typically pays an added amount for preferred placement
`of their item on the Web pages generated. These aspects of
`placement, While providing better visibility on that Web site
`do not offer the visibility beyond that auction server.
`What is desired therefore is a methodology of placing an
`item for auction that has access to and is visible through
`more than one auction service at the same time Where the
`bids received by any of the auction services affect and are
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`coordinated With each other, such that each service receives
`and re?ects the highest price for that item received by any
`of the participating auction services.
`The objective of the invention is to provide increased
`visibility of an item to be auctioned by mirroring the item to
`be offered through a plurality of remote auction services
`simultaneously Whether these services are computeriZed
`(e.g. e-bay, OnSale.com, etc.) or manually operated (e.g.
`Sotheby’s, Christie’s, etc.). As the auction progresses, When
`a user bid is entered at one site or service, it is duplicated at
`the other sites or services Where the item has been listed. The
`server process Watches each site and creates a bid on the
`other sites in real-time that corresponds to the bid made at
`the ?rst site. The bid replication technology revealed here
`assures that When the auctions are closed, the Winning bid is
`the same at all sites, and that each bidder Who has a right to
`purchase the item in question can be satis?ed. By increasing
`the number of bids for an item and replicating bids across
`sites, the price Will rise because bidders must compete
`against other bidders not only at their site, but at all sites on
`Which the item is offered. By listing the item on multiple
`sites, the seller is gaining visibility for the item and has the
`most potential to receive the highest ultimate price.
`It is also desirable to use the functionality of the service
`of this invention to provide an optimiZed method for a bidder
`to have the multi-auction service place coordinated bids at
`one or more of a plurality of netWorked remote auction
`services for a bidder to enable him to purchase those items
`at the optimal or loWest prices from the point of vieW of the
`bidder. Prior electronic art provides a means for a bidder to
`have an agent generate automatic bids according to pre
`speci?ed rules, Which may be complex. HoWever, each set
`of rules applies only to a single auction and considers
`bidding activity in only that auction. Contemporaneous
`bidding activity related to identical items, or similar items
`Which are viable substitutes, occurring at other auctions are
`not considered. The service of this invention alloWs a bidder
`to place an order With the multi-auction service and have the
`multi-auction service coordinate a bidding strategy for an
`item or items across remote auction services in order to
`achieve an optimal result.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`A system and method are disclosed for coordinating an
`auction for an item betWeen a multi-auction service, a
`plurality of remote auction services, and a plurality of
`bidders, all of Which are interconnected by a netWork. The
`multi-auction service performs the steps of receiving selling
`parameters for the item to be auctioned from a seller,
`transmitting the parameters for the item to a plurality of
`remote auction services, throughout the auction detecting
`that a bid for the item has been received by at least one of
`the remote auction services, determining Which of the
`remote auction services should receive a replicated bid, and
`transmitting a replicated bid to each of the remote auction
`services so determined. In the case Where more than one
`remote auction service receives a bid for the item, the
`multi-auction service detects that a bid for the item has been
`received by more than one of the remote auction services,
`establishes Which of the received bids is an optimal bid for
`the item, and transmits the optimal bid as the replicated bid
`to each of the remote auction services.
`A netWorked system is described for coordinating the sale
`of an item to an optimal bidder across a plurality of remote
`auction services, Where the system comprises a netWorked
`multi-auction service system, a plurality of netWorked
`remote auction services, and a plurality of bidders. The
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`multi-auction service comprises means for communicating
`With the plurality of remote auction services, means for
`replicating the item to be auctioned at the plurality of
`networked remote auction services, means for detecting a
`plurality of bids from a plurality of remote auction services,
`means for determining Which of said plurality of detected
`bids is the optimal bid, and means for replicating the optimal
`bid across the plurality of remote auction services.
`The remote auction services each comprise means for
`receiving selling parameters for the item to be auctioned
`from the multi-auction service, means for receiving bids for
`the item to be auctioned from the plurality of bidders and
`said multi-auction service, and means for updating the bid
`for the item to be auctioned.
`Each of the plurality of bidders comprises means for
`bidding on the item to be auctioned at one of the remote
`auction servic