Auction Overbidding Vigilance Tool

• US 20130073411A1
• Filed: 11/15/2011
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bhogal, Kulvir Singh, Hamilton, Rick Allen II, Pickover, Clifford Alan, Kozloski, James Robert
• Granted Patent: US 9,076,181 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

Vigilance monitoring and a navigation aid are provided to a user in an electronic auction by receiving by a computer a command to watch similar items to a first item in an online or electronic auction; extracting by a computer from the command, from the auction, or from both the command and the auction one or more item descriptive parameters; using by a computer the extracted parameters to query one or more online or electronic sales sources for similar items matching the extracted parameters, the sales sources being electronic sources other than the auction; receiving by a computer at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source; and causing prompting by a computer a user of the auction with the similar item price and sales source.

Claims

1. A method for providing a vigilance monitoring and navigation aid to a user in an electronic auction comprising:

receiving by a computer a command to watch similar items to a first item in an online or electronic auction;

extracting by a computer from the command, from the auction, or from both the command and the auction one or more item descriptive parameters;

using by a computer the extracted parameters to query one or more online or electronic sales sources for similar items matching the extracted parameters, the sales sources being electronic sources other than the auction;

receiving by a computer at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source; and

causing prompting by a computer a user of the auction with the similar item price and sales source.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising providing by a computer a user-selectable navigation control associated with the prompt configured to, responsive to user selection, automatically navigate a user'"'"'s console to the sales source and a listing for the similar item.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the navigation control is a hyperlink.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the prompting comprises providing a vigilance panel on a user display in proximity to a display associated with the auction.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

monitoring a pace of bidding in the auction on the item; and

responsive to the pace being increased by a predetermined threshold, providing the user with a bidding frenzy alert.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving by a computer a command to restrain an automatic bidding agent function of an online auction server;

responsive to the command to restrain and responsive to detecting that a next bid to be placed by the automatic bidding agent may exceed the at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source, preventing the automatic bidding agent from placing the next bid, and causing prompting by a computer a user of the auction with the similar item price and sales source and a notification of potential overbidding by the automatic bidding agent.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving from a user by a computer a convenience offset value;

summing the convenience offset value with the at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source; and

responsive to a bid value exceeding the summation of the convenience offset value and the price for an available similar item, causing prompting the user of the source and price of the similar item.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

performing by a computer an analysis of historical sales values of at least one similar item; and

causing prompting of the user of the historical sales values, thereby informing the user of likely bidding success or failure according to historical sales data for similar items.

9. A computer program product for providing a vigilance monitoring and navigation aid to a user in an electronic auction comprising:

one or more tangible, computer readable memory devices; and

one or more program instructions stored by the one or more tangible, computer readable memory devices, configured to cause a computer to perform the operations of;

receiving a command to watch similar items to a first item in an online or electronic auction;

extracting from the command, from the auction, or from both the command and the auction one or more item descriptive parameters;

using the extracted parameters to query one or more online or electronic sales sources for similar items matching the extracted parameters, the sales sources being electronic sources other than the auction;

receiving at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source; and

causing prompting by a computer a user of the auction with the similar item price and sales source.

10. The computer program product as set forth in claim 9 further comprising program instructions stored by the one or more tangible, computer readable memory devices for causing a processor to provide a user-selectable navigation control associated with the prompt configured to, responsive to user selection, automatically navigate a user'"'"'s console to the sales source and a listing for the similar item.

11. The computer program product as set forth in claim 10 wherein the navigation control is a hyperlink.

12. The computer program product as set forth in claim 9 wherein the prompting comprises providing a vigilance panel on a user display in proximity to a display associated with the auction.

13. The computer program product as set forth in claim 9 further comprising program instructions stored by the one or more tangible, computer readable memory devices for causing a processor to:

monitor a pace of bidding in the auction on the item; and

responsive to the pace being increased by a predetermined threshold, provide the user with a bidding frenzy alert.

14. The computer program product as set forth in claim 9 further comprising program instructions stored by the one or more tangible, computer readable memory devices for causing a processor to:

receive a command to restrain an automatic bidding agent function of an online auction server;

responsive to the command to restrain and responsive to detecting that a next bid to be placed by the automatic bidding agent may exceed the at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source, prevent the automatic bidding agent from placing the next bid, and cause prompting by a computer a user of the auction with the similar item price and sales source and a notification of potential overbidding by the automatic bidding agent.

15. The computer program product as set forth in claim 9 further comprising program instructions stored by the one or more tangible, computer readable memory devices for causing a processor to:

receive a convenience offset value;

sum the convenience offset value with the at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source; and

responsive to a bid value exceeding the summation of the convenience offset value and the price for an available similar item, cause prompting the user of the source and price of the similar item.

16. The computer program product as set forth in claim 9 further comprising program instructions stored by the one or more tangible, computer readable memory devices for causing a processor to:

perform an analysis of historical sales values of at least one similar item; and

cause prompting of the user of the historical sales values, thereby informing the user of likely bidding success or failure according to historical sales data for similar items.

17. A system for providing a vigilance monitoring and navigation aid to a user in an electronic auction comprising:

a watch command input for receiving a command to watch similar items to a first item in an online or electronic auction;

a description extractor for extracting from the command, from the auction, or from both the command and the auction one or more item descriptive parameters;

a similar item searcher for, using the extracted parameters to query one or more online or electronic sales sources for similar items matching the extracted parameters, the sales sources being electronic sources other than the auction, and for receiving at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source; and

an output for causing prompting by a computer a user of the auction with the similar item price and sales source.

18. The system as set forth in claim 17 further comprising a user-selectable navigation control associated with the prompt configured to, responsive to user selection, automatically navigate a user'"'"'s console to the sales source and a listing for the similar item.

19. The system as set forth in claim 18 wherein the navigation control is a hyperlink.

20. The system as set forth in claim 17 wherein the caused prompting comprises providing a vigilance panel on a user display in proximity to a display associated with the auction.

21. The system as set forth in claim 17 further comprising a bid pace monitor for monitoring a pace of bidding in the auction on the item, and wherein the prompting further comprises a bidding frenzy alert provided to a user responsive to the pace being increased by a predetermined threshold.

22. The system as set forth in claim 17 further comprising:

an agent restraint command input for receiving a command to restrain an automatic bidding agent function of an online auction server;

an agent restrainer for, responsive to the command to restrain and responsive to detecting that a next bid to be placed by the automatic bidding agent may exceed the at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source, preventing the automatic bidding agent from placing the next bid, and for causing prompting of a user of the auction with the similar item price and sales source and a notification of potential overbidding by the automatic bidding agent.

23. The system as set forth in claim 17 further comprising:

an offset input for receiving a convenience offset value; and

a summer for summing the convenience offset value with the at least one price for an available similar item from at least one sales source;

wherein, responsive to a bid value exceeding the summation of the convenience offset value and the price for an available similar item, the caused prompting of a user further comprises the source and price of the similar item.

24. The system as set forth in claim 17 further comprising:

a historical sales data analyzer for performing an analysis of historical sales values of at least one similar item; and

an historical values output for causing prompting of the user of the historical sales values, thereby informing the user of likely bidding success or failure according to historical sales data for similar items.