System and method for using automatic bidding to promote lower reserve price in active auctions
AssigneeAuction.com, LLC
InventorRobert Friedman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and system for using automatic bidding to promote lower reserve prices in active auctions are described. While an auction is ongoing, the system prompts the seller to reduce the reserve price without notice to prospective bidders and enters new bids generated by the seller or the system to promote the auction and attempt to bring it to a successful sale.
Claims18
A method for conducting an online auction, the method being implemented by one or more processors and comprising:
- (a) generating an interactive presentation corresponding to the online auction, the interactive presentation being communicated to one or more prospective bidders over a network;
- (b) maintaining a reserve price for the online auction, the reserve price being (i) selected by a seller, and (ii) undisclosed to the one or more prospective bidders;
- (c) while the auction is ongoing, prompting the seller to reduce the reserve price without notice to the one or more prospective bidders;
- and
- (d) while the top bid of the auction is below the reserve price, generating, on the interactive presentation, one or more new bids that originates from a source other than one of the prospective bidders, the one or more new bids updating the top bid of the auction to be an amount such that a sum of the updated top bid and the auction's bid increment satisfies the reserve price.
A system for conducting an online auction, the system comprising:
- a memory that stores instructions;
- one or more processors that use the instructions stored in the memory to:
- generate an interactive presentation corresponding to the online auction, the interactive presentation being communicated to one or more prospective bidders over a network;
- maintain a reserve price for the online auction, the reserve price being (i) selected by a seller, and (ii) undisclosed to the one or more prospective bidders;
- while the auction is ongoing, prompt the seller to reduce the reserve price without notice to the one or more prospective bidders;
- and
- while a top bid of the auction is below the reserve price, generate, on the interactive presentation, one or more new bids that originates from a source other than one of the prospective bidders, the one or more new bids updating the top bid of the auction such that a sum of the updated top bid and the auction's bid increment satisfies the reserve price.
A non-transitory machine-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform operations comprising:
- generating an interactive presentation corresponding to the online auction, the interactive presentation being communicated to one or more prospective bidders over a network;
- maintaining a reserve price for the online auction, the reserve price being (i) selected by a seller, and (ii) undisclosed to the one or more prospective bidders;
- while the auction is ongoing, prompting the seller to reduce the reserve price without notice to the one or more prospective bidders;
- and
- while the top bid of the auction is below the reserve price, communicating, on the interactive presentation, a new bid that originates from a source other than one of the prospective bidders, the new bid updating the top bid of the auction to be an amount such that the sum of the updated top bid and the auction's bid increment is equal to or greater than the reserve price.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.