Trading intermediary device, trading intermediary method, and trading intermediary program

Abstract

The goal is to provide technology that facilitates the buying and selling of target vehicles efficiently and effectively, while minimizing the burden on users and ensuring fair purchase prices. [Solution] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a sales brokerage device having a processing unit that performs the following actions: receiving a request to list a target vehicle on a vehicle brokerage site that mediates the buying and selling of vehicles; scheduling an on-site inspection of the target vehicle by an appraiser who has no conflict of interest with the user of the vehicle brokerage site; obtaining the results of the on-site inspection of the target vehicle by the appraiser; posting the listing information of the target vehicle, including the on-site inspection results, on the vehicle brokerage site; receiving a request to bid on the target vehicle on the vehicle brokerage site; and performing a confirmation process for the sale and purchase agreement of the target vehicle for the seller and the successful bidder.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sales brokerage apparatus, a sales brokerage method, and a sales brokerage program.

Background Art

[0002] With the spread of information and communication technology in recent years, digital transformation (DX) has progressed in various business fields. Even in the used car sales market, DX has been introduced to intermediary processing for the purchase and sale of used vehicles between buyers and sellers.

[0003] In used car trading using a typical used car trading site, a seller of a used car registers vehicle information such as the vehicle type, model year, mileage, and vehicle images of the vehicle to be sold on the used car trading site, and makes the information available for viewing by site participants. When a site participant who has viewed the vehicle information on the used car trading site wants to consider purchasing the vehicle, for example, the site participant can indicate their intention to purchase via the used car trading site.

[0004] The used car trading site notifies the seller of the target vehicle that a buyer has expressed an intention to purchase, and inquires of the seller whether the seller may disclose the seller's contact information to the buyer. When the seller approves the disclosure of contact information, the used car trading site notifies the buyer of the seller's contact information, and matching between the seller and the buyer is established.

[0005] Thereafter, the buyer coordinates a schedule with the seller to inspect the actual target vehicle, and presents an assessed price to the seller based on the vehicle information and the results of the actual vehicle inspection. The vehicle transaction is completed after the seller agrees to the assessed price, or after both parties negotiate based on the assessed price and conclude a sales contract.

[0006] For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-272713 relates to an appraisal processing technology for disclosing the validity of the appraisal content presented for a used vehicle being appraised. According to the disclosed appraisal processing technology, the successful bid price of an auction held for a vehicle of the same type as the vehicle for which the user has requested an appraisal is obtained, and the appraisal price of the vehicle is presented to the user based on the appraisal result by an appraiser that takes into account the condition of damage to the vehicle, etc., and the successful bid price of the auction. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-272713 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] In traditional used car transactions, the buyer arranges for an appraiser to inspect the vehicle, and then, based on the vehicle information and inspection results, determines the purchase price and presents it to the seller. On the other hand, sellers are typically ordinary users who lack sufficient expertise to evaluate the vehicle and cannot judge the reasonableness of the purchase price offered by the buyer. Therefore, most sellers contact multiple potential buyers to request appraisals for their vehicle and collect purchase prices from several buyers. The seller then negotiates with one or more buyers who offer favorable terms and completes the sale of the vehicle.

[0009] When requesting appraisals from multiple potential buyers, the seller may need to coordinate and attend vehicle inspections with each buyer and negotiate with each of them. Furthermore, the seller may still harbor concerns that potential buyers are offering prices that are more favorable to them, and may still desire to sell the vehicle at a fair price.

[0010] Furthermore, each buyer needs to schedule an on-site inspection of the vehicle and arrange for an appraiser, which requires manpower and effort, and as a result, there is a possibility that the sales contract may be delayed.

[0011] In light of the problems described above, one of the objectives of this disclosure is to provide technology that enables the efficient and effective mediation of the buying and selling of target vehicles at a fair purchase price while minimizing the burden on users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] One aspect of this disclosure relates to a sales brokerage device having a processing unit that performs the following actions: receiving a request to list a target vehicle on a vehicle brokerage site that mediates the buying and selling of vehicles; scheduling an on-site inspection of the target vehicle by an appraiser who has no conflict of interest with the user of the vehicle brokerage site; obtaining the results of the on-site inspection of the target vehicle by the appraiser; posting listing information of the target vehicle, including the on-site inspection results, on the vehicle brokerage site; receiving a request to bid on the target vehicle on the vehicle brokerage site; and performing a confirmation process for the sale and purchase agreement of the target vehicle for the seller and the successful bidder. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide technology that enables the efficient and effective mediation of the buying and selling of target vehicles at a fair purchase price while minimizing the burden on users. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sales brokerage process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a trading brokerage system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a trading brokerage device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a sales brokerage device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing sales brokerage processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an actual vehicle inspection result according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of exhibition information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing sales brokerage processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] In the following embodiment, a sales brokerage device that mediates the buying and selling of vehicles such as used vehicles is disclosed.

[0017] Outline of the Present Disclosure A sales brokerage device 100 according to an embodiment to be described later operates a vehicle brokerage site that mediates the buying and selling of vehicles by site participants. When a seller registers a vehicle to be bid for on the vehicle brokerage site, an appraiser requested by the sales brokerage device 100 inspects the target vehicle, and posts the actual vehicle inspection result on the vehicle brokerage site. Since the appraiser requested by the operating entity of the vehicle brokerage site or the like has no conflict of interest with site participants regarding the evaluation of the target vehicle, site participants can determine whether to purchase the target vehicle based on the fair actual vehicle inspection result of the target vehicle provided by the appraiser.

[0018] A site participant who wishes to purchase the target vehicle, as a bidder, notifies the vehicle brokerage site of a bid application for the target vehicle together with a desired bid price. Typically, the sales brokerage device 100 selects the bidder who has offered the highest desired bid price as the successful bidder, notifies the successful bidder and the exhibitor of the successful bid result, and confirms the conclusion of the sales and purchase of the target vehicle with the successful bidder and the exhibitor. Thereafter, the sales brokerage device 100 supports exchanges regarding the sales and purchase of the target vehicle between the exhibitor and the successful bidder (for example, the transfer of the purchase price and the delivery of the target vehicle).

[0019] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, when the sales brokerage device 100 receives an assessment request for the target vehicle from the exhibitor 20 on the vehicle brokerage site (step S101), it schedules an actual vehicle inspection schedule and the like with the exhibitor 20, and causes an assessor to inspect the actual target vehicle (step S102). When the sales brokerage device 100 acquires the actual vehicle inspection result from the assessor after the completion of the actual vehicle inspection, it posts exhibition information including the actual vehicle inspection result and vehicle information on the vehicle brokerage site for use in subsequent assessment processing (step S103).

[0020] Among site participants 30 who have viewed the exhibition information indicating the vehicle information and actual vehicle inspection result of the target vehicle posted on the vehicle brokerage site, a site participant 30 who intends to purchase the vehicle registers a bid application including a desired bid price on the vehicle brokerage site within the bid period set by the vehicle brokerage site, for example (step S104).

[0021] The sales intermediary device 100 determines the bidder who submitted the highest bid price among the bidders who participated in the bidding for the target vehicle during the bidding period as the successful bidder 30, notifies the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 of the bidding result, and confirms the conclusion of the sale of the target vehicle (step S105). For example, the sales intermediary device 100 confirms the intention of the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 to buy or sell the target vehicle, and after confirming their intention to buy or sell, discloses their respective contact information. Then, upon receiving notification that a sales contract has been concluded between the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30, the sales intermediary device 100 may further support the transfer of the target vehicle using an escrow system in order to ensure the safe transfer of the target vehicle and the purchase price.

[0022] This allows sellers 20 to sell their vehicles at a purchase price determined based on an unbiased appraisal, without having to schedule inspections for multiple potential buyers or communicate with each of them individually, as is done in conventional used car transactions. On the other hand, bidders 30 can determine their desired bid price based on an unbiased inspection, without having to secure an appraiser for an inspection or coordinate inspection dates with seller 20.

[0023] [Buying and Selling Brokerage System] First, a sales brokerage system 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the sales brokerage system 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, the sales brokerage system 10 has user terminals for sellers 20, user terminals for site participants such as bidders 30, and a sales brokerage device 100, and each user terminal and the sales brokerage device 100 are connected to each other via a network 50 such as the Internet. The sales brokerage device 100 is also connected to a financial institution's server 40 for depositing and withdrawing payments such as vehicle purchase prices.

[0024] Each user terminal is implemented using an information processing device such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet. The user terminal communicates with the sales brokerage device 100 or other information processing devices such as servers via the network 50, and for example, uses a vehicle brokerage service provided by the sales brokerage device 100 or other information processing devices such as servers.

[0025] The sales brokerage device 100 is implemented by an information processing device such as a server or a personal computer. The sales brokerage device 100 communicates with user terminals and / or financial institution servers 40, etc., via a network 50, operates a vehicle brokerage site that mediates the buying and selling of vehicles, and implements sales brokerage processing as described in detail below.

[0026] Here, the trading intermediary device 100 is implemented by a computing device such as a server or a personal computer, and may have a hardware configuration such as that shown in Figure 3. Specifically, the trading intermediary device 100 has a memory 101, storage 102, processor 103, communication device 104, user interface (UI) device 105, and peripheral device interface 106 that are interconnected via bus B.

[0027] The programs or instructions that implement the various functions and processes described later in the trading intermediary device 100 are stored in a removable storage medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) or flash memory, and are stored in the memory 101 and / or storage 102 via the peripheral device interface 106. However, the programs or instructions do not necessarily have to be installed from the storage medium; they may also be downloaded from any external device via the network 50 or the like.

[0028] Memory 101 is implemented using random access memory, static memory, etc., and when a program or instruction is activated, it reads the program or instruction, data, etc. from storage 102 and stores them.

[0029] The storage 102 is implemented by a hard disk drive or the like and stores files, data, etc., used to execute the installed program or instructions, along with the program or instructions themselves. The memory 101, storage 102, and removable storage medium may be collectively referred to as non-transitory storage medium.

[0030] The processor 103 may be implemented by one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units), GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), processing circuits, etc., which may consist of one or more processor cores, and executes various functions and processes of the trading intermediary device 100, as described later, according to data such as programs, instructions, and parameters necessary to execute said programs or instructions stored in the memory 101.

[0031] The communication device 104 is realized by various communication circuits that perform communication processing with external devices, the Internet, LAN (Local Area Network), WLAN (Wireless LAN), WiFi, and other networks 50.

[0032] The user interface (UI) 105 may consist of input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, camera, and microphone; output devices such as a (head-mounted) display, speaker, headset, and printer; and input / output devices such as a touch panel, and realizes an interface between the user and the trading intermediary device 100. For example, the user operates the trading intermediary device 100 by operating a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed on a (head-mounted) display or touch panel using a keyboard, mouse, etc.

[0033] The peripheral device interface 106 provides various interfaces for connecting to peripheral devices such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports and HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) ports.

[0034] However, the hardware configuration described above is merely an example, and the trading intermediary device 100 according to this disclosure may be implemented by any other suitable hardware configuration.

[0035] [Trading intermediary device] Next, a trading intermediary device 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the trading intermediary device 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, the trading intermediary device 100 has a storage unit 110 and a processing unit 120. For example, one or more functional units of the storage unit 110 and the processing unit 120 may be realized by one or more processors 103 executing one or more programs or instructions stored in the memory 101.

[0036] The storage unit 110 stores various information and data used in the trading brokerage process executed by the trading brokerage device 100, and in response to access requests for various information and data from the processing unit 120, it passes the requested information and data to the processing unit 120. The storage unit 110 also stores intermediate data and output results generated by the processing unit 120 during and after the execution of the trading brokerage process.

[0037] The processing unit 120 acquires various information and data stored in the storage unit 110, executes the trading brokerage process, and stores the intermediate data and output results generated during and after execution in the storage unit 110. Each process in the trading brokerage process executed by the processing unit 120 is realized by the processing unit 120 executing the trading brokerage program.

[0038] Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing a sales brokerage process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the sales brokerage process according to the present disclosure is realized by three entities: the user terminal of the seller 20, the user terminal of the bidder 30, and the sales brokerage device 100 operated by the sales brokerage entity.

[0039] In step S201, seller 20 sends a listing request to the sales brokerage device 100 to sell the vehicle on the vehicle brokerage site. Processing unit 120 receives the listing request from seller 20's user terminal. The listing request may include vehicle information of the vehicle (e.g., make, model year, mileage, etc.) as well as a request for appraisal of the vehicle from the operator of the sales brokerage device 100.

[0040] In step S202, the processing unit 120 schedules a date for the on-site inspection of the target vehicle with the seller 20, and has the appraiser inspect the target vehicle on the scheduled date. For example, the processing unit 120 may check the appraiser's schedule and display a list of possible dates for the on-site inspection on the seller 20's user terminal, allowing the seller 20 to select one of the dates. At this time, the processing unit 120 may also allow the seller 20 to select the location for the on-site inspection of the target vehicle. Possible locations include, for example, the seller 20's home, the vehicle's garage, or the vehicle inspection facility of the sales intermediary.

[0041] Once the appraiser has completed the on-site vehicle inspection, the processing unit 120 obtains the on-site vehicle inspection results from the appraiser. The appraiser who conducts the on-site vehicle inspection in this embodiment is a person with vehicle inspection and appraisal skills who has no conflict of interest with the seller 20 or the bidder 30, and may be, for example, a person belonging to the operating body of the sales brokerage device 100, or a person commissioned by the operating body.

[0042] Here, the on-site vehicle inspection results may consist, for example, as shown in Figure 6, of vehicle information such as year of manufacture, chassis number, model, manufacturer, and vehicle name, as well as vehicle quality evaluation items such as equipment information and comments, interior and exterior condition, repair history, defect information, and inspection comments, along with evaluation results for each item. Furthermore, in addition to textual information, the on-site vehicle inspection results may also include video and image information of the interior and exterior condition captured in video or still images.

[0043] Such vehicle quality evaluation items may be any appropriate ones commonly used in the used car distribution industry. Furthermore, the on-site inspection results may include an exploded view of the vehicle showing repair history, scratches, and other damage. The on-site inspection results may also include or be attached to images (still images or videos) of the vehicle taken from multiple viewpoints. This image information allows site participants to obtain more detailed information about the vehicle that is not available in text information, up to the limits of resolution (by enlarging the images), when making a bid.

[0044] In step S203, the processing unit 120 posts the listing information of the target vehicle, including the acquired vehicle inspection results, on the vehicle brokerage site and solicits bids for the target vehicle from site participants 30. For example, as shown in Figure 7, the processing unit 120 may display listing information on the vehicle brokerage site that includes vehicle information acquired from the seller 20 and vehicle inspection results acquired from the appraiser, and solicits bids from site participants 30.

[0045] Bidder 30 inputs their bidding request for the target vehicle based on the results of the on-site vehicle inspection using the input device. In particular, if the on-site vehicle inspection results include image information, information about the target vehicle that does not appear in the text information, such as information that the appraiser may have omitted from the input, can be obtained based on the image (still image or video) information and used as reference material when inputting information related to the bid.

[0046] If there are scratches or other damage to the interior or exterior of the vehicle in question, these areas may be detected and extracted using AI (Artificial Intelligence) and highlighted in the vehicle inspection results, or made available for viewing using an output device such as a head-mounted display, allowing bidder 30 to perceive information about the vehicle in question with a greater sense of realism and presence.

[0047] In step S204, the processing unit 120 receives bid requests from the bidders 30, including their desired bid prices for the target vehicle. Specifically, the processing unit 120 receives bid requests for the target vehicle from each bidder 30 within the bidding deadline, and after the bidding deadline has passed, it retains the bid requests collected from each bidder 30.

[0048] In step S205, the processing unit 120 conducts the bidding process. Specifically, the processing unit 120 sorts the bid prices of all the bid requests it has held in descending order and selects a predetermined number of bidders 30 from the highest bid prices to be the successful bidders 30. Typically, the successful bidder 30 is determined to be the one who submitted the highest bid price, but the determination of the successful bidders 30 according to this disclosure is not limited to this, and for example, a number of successful bidders 30 that can be specified by the seller 20 may be selected. In this case, the processing unit 120 may select a specified number of successful bidders 30 from the bidders 30 that submitted the highest bid prices and notify the seller 20 of the bidding results for each successful bidder 30 and their bid price. The processing unit 120 may also allow the seller 20 to select the desired successful bidders 30 from these successful bidders 30. This makes it possible for the seller 20 to have the opportunity to negotiate with multiple successful bidders 30.

[0049] In step S206, the processing unit 120 performs a confirmation process for the sale of the vehicle to the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30. Specifically, the processing unit 120 confirms the intentions of the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 to buy or sell the vehicle at the winning bid price. Specifically, the processing unit 120 displays a confirmation screen on the user terminals of both the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 to confirm their intention to buy or sell the vehicle at the winning bid price. When the processing unit 120 receives notifications from both the user terminals of the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 indicating their intention to buy or sell, it confirms that the sale of the vehicle has been completed.

[0050] Once the processing unit 120 confirms that the sale of the vehicle in question between seller 20 and successful bidder 30 has been concluded, it may notify seller 20's user terminal of the successful bidder 30's name, address, contact information, etc., and also notify seller 20's user terminal of the successful bidder 30's name, address, contact information, etc.

[0051] The processing unit 120 then facilitates the conclusion of a sales contract for the vehicle between the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30. For example, the processing unit 120 may transmit a sales contract prepared by the operator of the sales brokerage device 100 to the user terminals of the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30, and obtain the sales contract signed by the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30.

[0052] Here, the processing unit 120 may have the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 agree on the terms of sale, such as the sale price (typically the winning bid price), the deadline for delivery of the vehicle, and the delivery conditions, and present the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 with a sales contract containing the agreed-upon terms of sale. Furthermore, when presenting the sales contract, the processing unit 120 may display a video or other explanation of the contents of the sales contract in accordance with laws and regulations on the user terminals of the seller 20 and / or the successful bidder 30, and obtain confirmation from the seller 20 and / or the successful bidder 30 that the contents of the sales contract have been properly explained.

[0053] Once a sales contract is concluded between the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 in this manner, the processing unit 120 may send a contract completion notice to the user terminals of both the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30, indicating that a sales contract has been concluded between them.

[0054] On the other hand, if the processing unit 120 receives a notification from at least one user terminal of either the seller 20 or the successful bidder 30 indicating that the sale will not be completed, the processing unit 120 confirms that the sale of the vehicle in question was unsuccessful. For example, if the winning bid price is lower than the seller 20's desired selling price and the seller 20 cannot accept the winning bid price, the seller 20 may notify the sales intermediary device 100 that he will not sell the vehicle in question. In this case, the processing unit 120 may process the bid as unsuccessful, or it may perform a sales negotiation mediation process as described later. That is, if the sales contract for the vehicle in question is unsuccessful in the sales contract confirmation process, the processing unit 120 may perform an intermediary process between the seller 20 and the bidder 30.

[0055] As an example of mediation processing, the processing unit 120 may present the seller 20 with the market price of vehicles similar to the target vehicle, and have the seller 20 input their desired selling price for the target vehicle by referring to the presented market price. The processing unit 120 then notifies the user terminal of the bidder 30 of the seller 20's desired selling price in descending order of the bid prices submitted by the bidders 30, and asks the bidder 30 whether they agree to the sale of the target vehicle at the notified desired selling price. In other words, the processing unit 120 may obtain the desired selling price from the seller 20 and search for bidders 30 who agree to the purchase of the target vehicle at the desired selling price.

[0056] If the processing unit 120 receives a response from bidder 30's user terminal indicating their agreement to purchase the vehicle at the notified asking price, the processing unit 120 notifies bidder 30 of their intention to purchase the vehicle at the asking price, and also notifies bidder 30's name, address, contact information, etc., to bidder 30's user terminal. The processing unit 120 then assists in concluding a sales contract for the vehicle between bidder 20 and bidder 30 in the same manner as described above.

[0057] On the other hand, if none of the bidders 30's user terminals respond with agreement to the seller 20's asking price for the vehicle, the processing unit 120 may determine that the sale of the vehicle was unsuccessful. The processing unit 120 then notifies the seller 20's user terminal that the sale of the vehicle was unsuccessful and terminates the sale transaction by the seller 20.

[0058] Furthermore, regarding the transfer of the vehicle and the purchase price after the conclusion of the sales contract for the vehicle, the sales brokerage device 100 may, for example, realize the transfer of the vehicle using an escrow system. Specifically, as shown in Figure 8, when a sales contract for the vehicle is concluded between the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 (step S301), a contract completion notification is sent from the user terminals of the seller 20 and / or the successful bidder 30 to the sales brokerage device 100.

[0059] Subsequently, when the processing unit 120 receives a deposit notification from the financial institution's server 40 indicating that it has received the purchase price from the successful bidder 30 (step S302), it sends a purchase price receipt notification to the seller 20's user terminal indicating that the purchase price finally agreed upon in the sales contract has been deposited by the successful bidder (step S303).

[0060] Furthermore, along with the notification of receipt of the purchase price, the processing unit 120 sends a vehicle handover instruction to the seller 20's user terminal instructing the seller 20 to hand over the vehicle to the successful bidder 30. Once the handover of the vehicle is completed between the seller 20 and the successful bidder 30 (step S304), the successful bidder 30's user terminal sends a vehicle receipt notification to the sales intermediary device 100 indicating that the vehicle has been received (step S305). Upon receiving the vehicle receipt notification, the processing unit 120 sends a remittance instruction to the financial institution's server 40 to transfer the purchase price to the account specified by the seller 20 (step S306).

[0061] According to the sales brokerage process described in the embodiment of this disclosure above, the seller can sell the vehicle at a purchase price offered based on the results of an on-site inspection by an impartial appraiser who has no conflict of interest with the bidder, without having to schedule on-site inspections for each potential buyer or communicate with each potential buyer, as is necessary in conventional used car sales. On the other hand, the successful bidder can also determine a fair bid price based on the results of an impartial on-site inspection without having to conduct an on-site inspection themselves, and after winning the bid, can safely acquire the vehicle under the mediation of the sales brokerage device 100.

[0062] In the embodiments described above, the results of on-site vehicle inspections conducted by appraisers with vehicle inspection and appraisal skills belonging to or commissioned by the operating entity of the sales brokerage device 100 were used for the bidding process for the sale of the target vehicle. However, the sales method disclosed herein is not limited to such a bidding method. For example, the sales brokerage device 100 may post listing information of the target vehicle, including the results of on-site vehicle inspections conducted by impartial appraisers who have no conflict of interest with the site participants 30, on the vehicle brokerage site. Without setting a bidding deadline or conducting a bidding process, it may simply accept negotiation / purchase applications from potential buyers and notify the seller 20 of the received negotiation / purchase applications.

[0063] In this case, the seller 20 may include their desired purchase price in the listing information, or the prospective buyer may submit their desired purchase price in the negotiation / purchase application. The sales intermediary device 100 may match the seller 20 with the prospective buyer and mediate the sale of the vehicle through a sales contract concluded at these desired purchase prices or new purchase prices.

[0064] Although embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above, this disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of this disclosure as described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 10. Buying and Selling Brokerage System 20 Seller 30 site participants, bidders, and successful bidders 100 Trading intermediary device 110 Storage section 120 Processing Unit

Claims

1. Accepting requests to list the target vehicle on a vehicle brokerage site that mediates the buying and selling of vehicles, The seller is presented with a list of possible dates and locations for an on-site inspection of the vehicle by an appraiser who has no conflict of interest with the user of the vehicle brokerage site, and the seller is allowed to select the date and location from the list of possible dates and locations. Obtaining the results of the on-site inspection of the subject vehicle by the aforementioned appraiser, The listing information for the subject vehicle, including the results of the on-site vehicle inspection, will be posted on the vehicle brokerage website. The aforementioned vehicle brokerage site accepts requests for bids for the aforementioned target vehicle, The process involves confirming the sale and purchase agreement for the aforementioned vehicle with the seller and the successful bidder, A trading intermediary device having a processing unit that performs the following actions.

2. The aforementioned request for bidding includes the desired bid amount for the subject vehicle, as described in claim 1.

3. The sales intermediary device according to claim 1, further comprising the processing unit which realizes the delivery of the target vehicle in an escrow manner.

4. The sales brokerage device according to claim 1, wherein the appraiser is an appraiser with vehicle inspection and appraisal skills who belongs to the operating entity of the sales brokerage device or who has been commissioned by the operating entity.

5. The sales brokerage device according to claim 1, wherein the results of the on-site vehicle inspection consist of the evaluation results for each vehicle quality evaluation item of the on-site vehicle inspection conducted by the appraiser.

6. The sales intermediary device according to claim 1, wherein the results of the on-site vehicle inspection include images taken from multiple viewpoints of the target vehicle.

7. The number of successful bidders can be specified by the seller. The sales intermediary device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit notifies the seller of the successful bids for the specified number of successful bidders.

8. Accepting requests to list the target vehicle on a vehicle brokerage site that mediates the buying and selling of vehicles, The seller is presented with a list of possible dates and locations for an on-site inspection of the vehicle by an appraiser who has no conflict of interest with the user of the vehicle brokerage site, and the seller is allowed to select the date and location from the list of possible dates and locations. Obtaining the results of the on-site inspection of the subject vehicle by the aforementioned appraiser, The listing information for the subject vehicle, including the results of the on-site vehicle inspection, will be posted on the vehicle brokerage website. The aforementioned vehicle brokerage site accepts requests for bids for the aforementioned target vehicle, The process involves confirming the sale and purchase agreement for the aforementioned vehicle with the seller and the successful bidder, A method of brokering buying and selling transactions, where the process is performed by a computer.

9. Accepting requests to list the target vehicle on a vehicle brokerage site that mediates the buying and selling of vehicles, The seller is presented with a list of possible dates and locations for an on-site inspection of the vehicle by an appraiser who has no conflict of interest with the user of the vehicle brokerage site, and the seller is allowed to select the date and location from the list of possible dates and locations. Obtaining the results of the on-site inspection of the subject vehicle by the aforementioned appraiser, The listing information for the subject vehicle, including the results of the on-site vehicle inspection, will be posted on the vehicle brokerage website. The aforementioned vehicle brokerage site accepts requests for bids for the aforementioned target vehicle, The process involves confirming the sale and purchase agreement for the aforementioned vehicle with the seller and the successful bidder, A trading brokerage program that causes a computer to execute commands.

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