Auction method, auction system, and program product therefor

• US 7,752,114 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2002
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sakai, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell; James P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Milef; Elda
• Application Number:
  US10/105,133
• Publication Number:
  US 20020138405A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,029 Days
• Field of Search: 705/37, 705/35
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A seat ticket auction method and system using the Internet is provided. A user submits a tender for the auction of each seat while referring to a seating table, and also performs a search of an exhibition before submitting a tender during the auction. Further, when the seating table is referred to, information for a seat appropriate for a person in a wheelchair, and a simulation (view) of what a user will see of the stage from a seat are displayed on the terminal of the user. Three tender types, a personal tender, a complete group tender and an incomplete group tender can be selected. For the complete group tender, when a bid is not successful for all the members of the group, the bid is abandoned.

Claims

1. An auction method comprising the steps of:

transmitting data of a tender screen, by a server computer system, in response to a request from a purchase applicant to bid for a seat ticket, said tender screen including a seating table associated with tendering conditions of seats, the tendering conditions including collective offer for seats;

receiving, by the server computer system, based upon said tendering conditions, tender data input to said tender screen;

determining, by the server computer system, a successful bidder in accordance with a single or multiple sets of said tender data;

wherein said tender data includes one of three tender types, a personal tender, a tender from a complete group, and a tender from an incomplete group, and wherein said step of determining said successful bidder includes;

a first determination step of determining, by the server computer system, whether the tender type of a highest tenderer is said personal or said tender from said incomplete group;

a step of, on condition that said first determination is true, determining, by the server computer system, that said highest tenderer is a successful bidder;

a second determination step of, on condition that said first determination is false, determining, by the server computer system, whether each member of said complete group is a non-successful bidder;

and a step of, of condition that said second determination is true, abandoning, by the server computer system, a tender for all the members of said complete group.

2. An auction system for a seat ticket comprising:

a seating table computer or processor that generates a seating table associated with tender conditions for seats and that transmits a tender screen data including said seating table, in response to a request from a purchase applicant for said seat ticket to a computer system of said purchase applicant, the tendering condition including collective offer for seats;

a seat auction computer or processor that receives tender data input based on the tendering conditions by using said tender screen, and that determines a successful bidder in accordance with a single or multiple sets of said tender data;

wherein said tender data includes one of three tender types, a personal tender, a tender from a complete group, and a tender from an incomplete group;

wherein the seat auction computer or processor performs a first test to determine whether the tender type of a highest tenderer is said personal tender or said tender from said incomplete group, and performs a second test to determine whether a member of said complete group is a non-successful bidder; and

wherein, if the first test is true, said highest tenderer is determined to be a successful bidder, and if the first test is false, the second test is performed, and if the second test is true, a tender is abandoned for all the members of said complete group.