Interest gauge based auction

• US 10,096,060 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2012
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xcira Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Xcira Incorporated
• Inventors: Rabenold, Nancy J, Simmons, James A
• Primary Examiner(s): Haq, Naeem U
• Application Number:
  US13/706,831
• Publication Number:
  US 20140164162A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,133 Days
• Field of Search: 705 263
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

Information about participants in an auction are received and analyzed along with information about products to be auctioned and other information to generate an interest gauge. The interest gauge may reflect the interest of a buyer, a seller, an auction house or any other entity in the auctioning event. Based on the interest gauge, the operations of the auction can be augmented and/or modified to be optimal in view of revenue generation, products moved, and a balance between the two. For instance, the buyer interest gauge could be used to create packages of items to be auctioned in a combinatorial auction.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for dynamically adjusting and directing a live auction with machine-generated communications, the method comprising the actions of:

a server generating a buyer interest gauge for each of a plurality of participant entities that are anticipated to participate in an auctioning event, each buyer interest gauge being based at least in part on participant entity profile information for each participant entity, the profile information for each of the plurality of participant entities including one or more of the following elements;

financial status of the participant entity, quantity needs of the participant entity, product types being sought by the participant entity, condition requirements of products desired by the participant entity, a physical location to which the participant entity will have products sent, and the type of business in which the participant entity is engaged, wherein the server obtains the at least a portion of the profile information by executing an algorithm to query webpage content on the Internet that contains information associated with a particular participant entity and scraping information from the webpage content that is related to the particular participant entity;

the server executing a second algorithm to query descriptive information pertaining to a plurality of items to be auctioned during the auctioning event, the descriptive information comprising a condition evaluation of the plurality of items obtained by the server interfacing to an automated condition evaluator, an inventory of the plurality of items obtained by the server interfacing to an auctioning system, a physical location of each of the plurality of items, a listing of other products that are typically utilized in conjunction with the plurality of items, and a listing of services that are typically sought in connection with the plurality of items;

the server generating a seller interest gauge for each seller participating in the auctioning event, each seller interest gauge being based at least in part on a seller'"'"'s inventory of a particular item of the plurality of items and the value that the seller is seeking for the particular items; and

the server modifying the auction process by;

identifying combinations of the plurality of items based at least in part on the descriptive information pertaining to the plurality of items to be auctioned in the auctioning event, the buyer interest gauge for each of the plurality of participant entities and each of the seller interest gauges; and

interfacing to the auctioning system to cause the auctioning system to present a particular combination for bidding during the auctioning event if the buyer interest gauges indicate that more participant entities would bid on the particular combination rather than a different combination or the items individually.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the services that are typically sought in connection with the plurality of items include shipping logistics, and the action of identifying combinations of the plurality of items comprises the inclusion of packaging and shipping services for the particular combination.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the action of the server generating the buyer interest gauges further comprises the server obtaining parameters from the user profiles for each participating entity including one or more of the following:

a value related to the cost per unit of item, a number related to a desired quantity of items, a value related to a desired delivery date, and a value related to a desired condition of the items; and

the action of modifying identifying combinations of the plurality of items further comprises combining multiple items together that at least partially satisfy one or more of the parameters.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein at least one of the multiple items is a service provided by a third party and the computer-implemented method further comprises an action of notifying the third party upon the participant entity winning an auction bid.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the action of notifying the third party comprises providing information necessary for the third party to provide the services.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the participant entity profile information is stored in a database and the computer-implemented method further comprises an action of augmenting the information in the participant entity profile information based at least in part on activity occurring during the auction.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the action of the server obtaining descriptive information pertaining to a plurality of items to be auctioned during the auctioning event comprises receiving descriptive information for at least one item that was obtained from the automated condition evaluator.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the participant entity profile information is stored in a database and the computer-implemented method further comprises an action of augmenting the information in the participant entity profile information based at least in part on the activity occurring during the auction.

9. A computer-implemented auction system comprising:

a first machine readable data source containing participant entity profile information for a plurality of participant entities that are anticipated to participate in an auctioning event, the first machine readable data source existing on a network accessible system;

a second machine readable data source containing descriptive information pertaining to a plurality of items to be auctioned during the auctioning event, the second machine readable data source existing on a network accessible system; and

a server communicatively coupled to the first machine readable data source and the second machine readable data source over a network and configured to modify the auctioning event based at least in part on information received from the first machine readable data source and the second machine readable data source by;

generating a buyer interest gauge for each of a plurality of participant entities that are anticipated to participate in an auctioning event, each buyer interest gauge being based at least in part on participant entity profile information for each participant entity, the profile information for each of the plurality of participant entities including one or more of the following elements;

financial status of the participant entity, quantity needs of the participant entity, product types being sought by the participant entity, condition requirements of products desired by the participant entity, a physical location to which the participant entity will have products sent and the type of business in which the participant entity is engaged, wherein at least a portion of the profile information is obtained by the server executing an algorithm to query and scrape a website associated with either the machine readable first data source or the second machine readable data source over the network;

obtaining descriptive information pertaining to a plurality of items to be auctioned during the auctioning event, the descriptive information comprising a condition evaluation of the plurality of items, an inventory of the plurality of items, a physical location of each of the plurality of items, a listing of other products that are typically utilized in conjunction with the plurality of items, and a listing of services that are typically sought in connection with the plurality of items, wherein at least a portion of the descriptive information is obtained by the server executing an algorithm to query and scrape a website associated with either the first machine readable data source or the second machine readable data source over the network;

generating a seller interest gauge for each seller participating in the auctioning event, each seller interest gauge being based at least in part on a seller'"'"'s inventory of a particular item of the plurality of items and the value that the seller is seeking for the particular items;

accessing the inventory of an auction site and identifying combinations of the plurality of items to be auctioned based at least in part on the descriptive information pertaining to the plurality of items to be auctioned in the auctioning event and each of the seller interest gauges; and

causing an auctioning system hosting the auctioning event to offer a particular combination for bidding during the auctioning event if the buyer interest gauges indicate that more participant entities would bid on the particular combination rather than a different combination or the items individually.