Method and system to publish a seller fixed price offer

• US 8,005,719 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2003
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Edson, Zachary James, Grove, Brian Alan, Grove, Steve, Sandler, Andrew Leigh
• Primary Examiner(s): FADOK, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US10/749,614
• Publication Number:
  US 20040215527A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,793 Days
• Field of Search: 705 26- 27
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

An auction method presents an auction price-setting process and a fixed price process for purchasing a seller'"'"'s offering to a buyer. The seller is provided with a mechanism to adjust and publish a seller fixed-price offer during the auction price-setting process.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system comprising:

a processor coupled to a memory through a bus; and

an auction price-setting process executed from the memory by the processor to

determine that a high proxy bid submitted by a buyer for an item is less than a reserve price set by a seller for the item, and

publish, based on the determining, to the seller a proxy bid information, the proxy bid information including the high proxy bid, and the proxy bid information being associated with a listing for the item during an auction price-setting process.

2. The computer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the auction price-setting process further causes the processor to automatically retract publication of the proxy bid information upon the high proxy bid exceeding the reserve price.

3. The computer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the auction price-setting process further causes the processor to request an adjustment of a fixed price offer associated with a listing for an item utilizing the auction price-setting process, the request to be sent to a seller of the listing.

4. The computer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the publication is performed during the auction price-setting process.

5. The computer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the publication is performed after the auction price-setting process.

6. The computer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the auction price-setting process further causes the processor to determine that the reserve price is published and, automatically notify a buyer that the reserve price is published.

7. The computer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the publication includes publishing for view by a specific bidder only.

8. A computer-implemented system comprising:

a processor coupled to a memory through a bus; and

an auction price-setting process executed from the memory by the processor to

determine that a high proxy bid submitted by a buyer for an item is less than a reserve price set by a seller for the item, and

based on the determining, exchange between the buyer and the seller a proxy bid information, the proxy bid information including the high proxy bid, of the buyer, and the proxy bid information being associated with a listing for the item utilizing the auction price-setting process.

9. The computer-implemented system of claim 8, wherein the at least one of the proxy bid information and the reserve price information are automatically exchanged upon conclusion of the auction price-setting process.

10. The computer-implemented system of claim 8, wherein the at least one of the proxy bid information and the reserve price information are automatically exchanged during the auction price-setting process.

11. The computer-implemented system of claim 8, wherein the auction price-setting process further causes the processor to automatically invite at least one of the seller and the buyer to exchange the at least one of the proxy bid and the reserve price information.

12. The computer-implemented system of claim 11, wherein it is determined that a proxy bid associated with the seller and the reserve price are within a predetermined proximity of each other and, in response, at least one of the buyer and the seller is automatically invited to exchange the at least one of the proxy bid and the reserve price information.

13. The computer-implemented system of claim 12, wherein the predetermined proximity is within twenty percent of each other.

14. The computer-implemented system of claim 8, wherein the exchange of information is a secured exchange of information.

15. The computer-implemented system of claim 11, wherein the invitation is indicated in the listing.

16. The computer-implemented system of claim 11, wherein the invitation is indicated in the listing before the auction price-setting process.

17. The computer-implemented system of claim 11, wherein the invitation is indicated in the listing after the auction price-setting process.

18. The computer-implemented system of claim 8, wherein the exchange is performed by automatically publishing at least one of the at least one of the proxy bid information and the reserve price information.

19. The computer-implemented system of claim 8, wherein the auction price-setting process further causes the processor to make a request for an adjustment of a fixed price offer associated with a listing for an item utilizing the auction price-setting process, the request to be sent to a seller of the listing.

20. The computer-implemented system of claim 8, wherein the auction price-setting process further determines that the reserve price has been published and, in response, causes the processor to notify automatically the buyer that the reserve price has been published.

21. A computer-implemented system comprising:

a means for determining that a high proxy bid submitted by a buyer for an item is less than a reserve price set by a seller for the item, and

publishing, based on the determining, to the seller a proxy bid information, the proxy bid information including the high proxy bid, and the proxy bid information being associated with a listing for the item in an auction price-setting process; and

a storage means for storing the proxy bid information and the reserve price.

22. The computer-implemented system of claim 21, further comprising:

a means for automatically retracting publication of the at least one of the proxy bid information upon the high proxy bid exceeding the reserve price, the means for retracting coupled to the storage means.

23. The computer-implemented system of claim 21, further comprising:

a means for making a request for an adjustment of a fixed price offer associated with a listing for an item utilizing the auction price-setting process, the request to be sent to a seller of the listing, the means for making the request coupled to the storage means.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors, perform a method, the method comprising:

determining that a high proxy bid submitted by a buyer for an item is less than a reserve price set by a seller for the item, and

in response to the determining, automatically publishing to the seller a proxy bid information, the proxy bid information including the high proxy bid, and the proxy bid information being associated with a listing for the item during an auction price-setting process.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24, further comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors, perform an operation comprising automatically retracting publication of the proxy bid information upon the high proxy bid exceeding the reserve price.

26. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, further comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors, perform the following operation:

making a request for an adjustment of a fixed price offer associated with a listing for an item utilizing the auction price-setting process, the request to be sent to a seller of the listing.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the publication is performed during the auction price-setting process.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the publication is performed after the auction price-setting process.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, further comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors, perform the following operation:

determining that the reserve price is published and, in response to the determining, automatically notifying a buyer that the reserve price is published.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the publishing includes publishing for view by a specific bidder only.

31. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining, using at least one processor, that a high proxy bid submitted by a seller for an item is less than a reserve price set by a seller for the item, and

in response to the determining, automatically publishing to the seller a proxy bid information, the proxy bid information including the high proxy bid, and the proxy bid information being associated with a listing for the item in an auction price-setting process.

32. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, further comprising:

automatically retracting publication of the proxy bid information upon the high proxy bid exceeding the reserve price.

33. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, further comprising:

making a request for an adjustment of a fixed price offer associated with a listing for an item utilizing the auction price-setting process, the request to be sent to a seller of the listing.

34. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, wherein the publication is performed during the auction price-setting process.

35. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, wherein the publication is performed after the auction price-setting process.

36. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, further comprising:

determining that the reserve price is published and, in response to the determining, automatically notifying a buyer that the reserve price is published.

37. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, wherein the publishing includes publishing for view by a specific buyer only.