INTEREST GAUGE BASED AUCTION

• US 20140164162A1
• Filed: 12/06/2012
• Published: 06/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xcira Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Xcira Incorporated
• Inventors: Rabenold, Nancy J., Simmons, James A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,096,060 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• 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 method for directing a live auction, the method comprising the actions of:

receiving participant entity profile information for a plurality of participant entities that are anticipated to participate in an auctioning event;

receiving descriptive information pertaining to a plurality of items to be auctioned during the auctioning event; and

based on the participant entity profile information for at least one participant entity and the descriptive information pertaining to at least one of the items to be auctioned, modifying the auction process in a way that would not normally be introduced absent the participant entity profile information and the descriptive information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the action of modifying the auction process further comprises identifying at least two items to offer together for auction based on the participant entity profile information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the participant entity profile information identifies parameters of a desired product to be acquired and the action of modifying the auction process further comprises combining multiple items together that at least partially satisfy multiple parameters of the desired product.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the multiple items include a service related to the item.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the service related to the item comprises the shipment of the item towards its destination.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the service related to the item comprises the packaging of the item.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters include 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 the desired condition of the items and the action of modifying the auction process further comprises combining multiple items together that at least partially satisfy one or more of the parameters.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the multiple items is a service provided by a third party and the method further comprising the action of notifying the third party upon the participant entity winning the auction bid.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the action of notifying the third party comprises providing the information necessary for the third party to provide the services.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the action of combining multiple items together comprises the application of algorithms to identify at least one package of items that has a greater likelihood of increasing the winning bid, the probability of a sale, or a combination of both.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the participant entity profile information is stored in a database and the method further comprising the action of augmenting the information in the participant entity profile information based at least in part on the activity occurring during the auction.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the action of modifying the auction process for a particular item comprises combining one or more items together with the particular item to create one or more packages that include the particular item such that the number of participating entities bidding on the particular item is increased.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the action of receiving 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 a condition evaluator.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the participant entity profile information is stored in a database and the method further comprising the action of augmenting the information in the participant entity profile information based at least in part on the activity occurring during the auction.

15. An auction system comprising:

a first data source containing participant entity profile information for a plurality of participant entities that are anticipated to participate in an auctioning event;

a second data source containing descriptive information pertaining to a plurality of items to be auctioned during the auctioning event; and

a server communicatively coupled to the first data source and the second data source and configured to modify the auction process based at least in part on information received from the first data source and the second data source.

16. The auction system of claim 15, wherein the server is configured to modify the auction process by combining a particular item with one or more items or services.

17. The auction system of claim 16, wherein the server is configured to combine a particular item with one or more items or services by applying an algorithm to identify at least one package of items and/or services that has a greater likelihood of increasing the number of bidders participating in the auction.

18. The auction system of claim 16, wherein the server is configured to combine a particular item with one or more items or services by applying an algorithm to identify at least one package of items and/or services that has a greater likelihood of increasing the probability that the particular item will be sold.

19. The auction system of claim 16, wherein the server is configured to combine a particular item with one or more items or services by applying an algorithm to identify at least one package of items and/or services that has a greater likelihood of increasing the effective price of the particular product.

20. The auction system of claim 16, wherein the server is configured to select a starting bid for a particular product based at least in part on information obtained from the first data source that is related to the particular product.

21. An auction server comprising:

an interface to a first data source containing participant entity profile information for a plurality of participant entities that are anticipated to participate in an auctioning event and to a second data source containing descriptive information pertaining to a plurality of items to be auctioned during the auctioning event; and

the server configured to create a package consisting of a combination of a particular item to be auctioned with one or more items or services based at least in part on information obtained over the interface from the first data source and the second data source.

22. The auction server of claim 21, further configured to notify third parties related to each item and service in the package upon successfully awarding the package to a high bidder.