Dynamic Dual-Price Online Auction System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current online auction structures are inefficient for selling unique, valued personal property, as they either lack adaptability to internet sales, are cost-ineffective, or do not leverage technological advances, particularly for items that are not mass-produced or pre-packaged.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system for managing an online auction that combines a downward-going purchase price with an upward-going contingent purchase price, allowing buyers to submit immediate offers or contingent bids, with the system automatically adjusting prices and triggering offers based on convergence, creating a dynamic and efficient market.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional English System auction is used, then buyers can bid on unique items through upward-moving bids, but the structure is not cost-effective and does not leverage technological advances for internet sales
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic pricing by allowing the purchase price to change automatically during the auction based on bid activity. The system transitions from static pricing to dynamic pricing where the price adjusts in real-time based on buyer engagement, resolving the contradiction between adapting to internet sales while maintaining simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses automated price adjustment mechanisms that operate without human intervention. The auction platform automatically modifies pricing based on predefined algorithms and bid patterns, eliminating the need for manual price setting by auctioneers and reducing operational complexity while enhancing internet adaptability.
2Ease of operation
If a downward-going purchase price is maintained with automatic decreasing, then immediate purchase options are available to buyers, but the system must also handle contingent bids that complicate the pricing structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pricing mechanism into two distinct components: a downward-going purchase price for immediate acquisition and an upward-going contingent purchase price for bid-based acquisition. This segmentation allows each pricing track to operate independently with its own rules, simplifying the overall system while providing multiple purchase pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a contingent bid mechanism as an intermediary layer between the downward-going price and the final transaction. Contingent bids act as conditional offers that may trigger price adjustments or direct purchases, mediating between buyer interest and the complex pricing structure without requiring full system reconfiguration.
3Productivity
If contingent bids are received and processed, then the system can identify highest contingent prices and trigger automatic offers, but this increases the complexity of bid management
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback loops where contingent bids are continuously monitored, evaluated, and used to adjust the upward-going contingent purchase price. The highest contingent bid feedback triggers automatic offer generation, creating a self-regulating system that improves transaction efficiency while managing complexity through automated response mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary processing of contingent bids by pre-identifying the highest contingent price and preparing automatic offer triggers before the actual purchase decision is required. This preliminary action reduces the complexity of real-time decision-making and streamlines the transaction process.
Data Source
AI summary
Managing an online auction includes maintaining an automatically-decreasing, downward-going purchase price at which prospective buyers of a lot offered for sale can submit an immediate offer, and, concurrent with this, maintaining an upward-going contingent purchase price at which an offer to purchase the lot is to be automatically triggered, contingent on the downward-going purchase price decreasing to the upward-going contingent purchase price. Contingent bid(s) are received and work to increase the upward-going contingent purchase price. Server processing can then be performed based on submission of an immediately-effective offer to purchase the lot at the downward-going purchase price or automatic triggering of an offer to purchase the lot at the upward-going contingent purchase price. Related graphical user interfaces/online auction web interfaces, and presentation thereof, are also provided.