JP2004362063A - Incidental expense management method in internet auction, incidental expense management system, computer program, and program storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To present an auction participant with various incidental expenses for the delivery and the like of an item won without errors in an Internet auction. <P>SOLUTION: An incidental expense management method in an Internet auction, with a computer linked to an auction system administering an auction site, executes a step of acquiring information identifying an auction sale, a seller and a winner, a step of acquiring delivery information on an auction item from a database managing exhibition information on auctions, a step of acquiring the addresses of the seller and winner from a database managing personal information on members to identify the shipping and destination points of the auction item, a step of accessing a charge database managing delivery charge systems of delivery objects to acquire a charge, and a step of notifying the auction sale identification information and the charge to the auction system. This can avoid a misunderstanding about incidental expenses (for example, which will bear incidental expenses), and trouble between the people concerned from, for example, a miscalculation of incidental expenses. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method for managing various incidental costs required by a computer linked with an auction system for holding an online auction, such as a shipping fee when an exhibitor sends a successful bid product to a successful bidder, other than a price equivalent to the successful bid amount. About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
On the Internet, there is a Web site (hereinafter referred to as an auction site) that provides a service called a net auction that can perform an auction-related auction and a bidding procedure via a Web page (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). . The auction site is held by a computer system (hereinafter, an auction system) mainly including a WWW server and including a computer and a database cooperating therewith. This system accepts an auction participant's listing and bidding via a Web page with a computer (user computer) of an auction participant. In addition, it manages personal information about auction participants, and if a successful auction item occurs, notifies the fact to the seller and the successful bidder who are the trading parties, and can smoothly transfer the successful bid price between the subsequent parties Mediate like so.
[0003]
Normally, the auction system notifies the seller of the successful bidder's e-mail address when a successful auction item occurs, and the seller gives the successful bidder the total amount of payment related to the successful bid including the shipping fee and the payment method etc. Is notified by e-mail. After the seller and the successful bidder have finally been confirmed through communication by e-mail or the like, the successful bidder pays the specified amount to the seller using a specified payment method. When the seller confirms that the payment has been completed, the seller sends the merchandise to the successful bidder through the delivery company. Alternatively, the successful bidder pays the successful bid price to the exhibitor after the goods arrive.
[0004]
[Non-patent document 1]
Yahoo Japan Corporation, "Yahoo! Auction Help Glossary", [online], [search on May 27, 2003], Internet <URL: http: // help. yahoo. co. jp / help / jp / auct / aglos / index. html>
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In addition to the price corresponding to the winning bid, various additional costs such as a shipping fee when the goods are sent from the exhibitor to the successful bidder through a courier service are generated for the goods exhibited in the auction. Moreover, the ancillary costs are not uniform for each auction project. Taking shipping costs as an example, various conditions related to delivery, such as the size and weight of a product, a shipping place and a receiving place, are different for each auction item, and shipping rates are different. Of course, shipping costs vary depending on the delivery company used. If the shipping fee is paid by the successful bidder, in the exchange between the parties after the successful bid, the shipping fee is separately calculated based on the conditions related to these deliveries, and the sum of the successful bid and this shipping fee is charged to the successful bidder. Become. If you contact us separately for shipping costs, there is a possibility that erroneous recognition may occur during the contact process. For example, if the seller did not specify in advance whether the bearer of the postage was, or if the successful bidder did not confirm in advance which was the bearer, Is paid, the total amount paid by the successful bidder to the exhibitor is different from the successful bid amount, which may cause trouble.
[0006]
Of course, increasing the number of contacts is troublesome and time-consuming for the parties. Mistakes can be made in the calculation of shipping costs. Not only the shipping cost but also the usage fee of the auction system and the consumption tax etc. are required as additional expenses if the exhibitor is a taxable trader, which increases the possibility of misrecognition and miscalculation.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In view of the above problems, the present invention has been created. The purpose of this is to eliminate troublesome communication between the parties involved and various fee calculations for various incidental costs related to the auctioned item, such as the delivery of auctioned products, in net auctions, and to ensure that the incidental costs are paid to auction participants. An object of the present invention is to provide a supplementary cost management method that can be presented.
[0008]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a computer linked to an auction system that manages a membership auction site on the Internet, and transmits information for specifying auctioned auction items, sellers, and successful bidders, respectively. An auction information acquisition step of acquiring, and a delivery information acquisition step of inquiring a database for managing information relating to the listing in the auction for the acquired auction item specific information and acquiring delivery information including at least a packing size or weight of the listing. Step and query the specific information of the acquired seller and successful bidder to a database that manages personal information about the auction participant to obtain the respective locations of the seller and the successful bidder, and based on the location. Delivery zone that identifies the sending and receiving locations of the item An acquiring step, a shipping fee acquiring step of referring to the shipping information, the shipping place, and the receiving place in a shipping fee database that accumulates and manages information relating to a delivery fee system of the delivery target, and acquiring a shipping fee; A method of managing incidental costs in a net auction that executes a postage notification step of notifying the auction system of the specific information of the auction item and the acquired postage.
[0009]
The postage database accumulates and manages information related to a delivery fee system for a plurality of delivery companies. In the delivery information acquisition step, the designated information of the delivery company is acquired, and in the shipping cost acquisition step, the acquired information is acquired. A supplementary cost management method in an online auction for acquiring the corresponding shipping fee based on the information specified by the delivery company may be used.
[0010]
In the supplementary cost management method corresponding to the charge systems of the plurality of delivery companies, the delivery information acquisition step acquires the designation information of the plurality of delivery companies, and the postage acquisition step acquires the designation information of the acquired delivery company based on the acquired designation information of the delivery companies. The lowest shipping cost and the corresponding shipping company may be obtained by referring to the delivery fee system of the relevant shipping company, and the shipping cost and the shipping company may be notified to the auction system in the shipping cost notifying step.
[0011]
The product information may include information designating a payer of the postage. Thereby, in the delivery information acquisition step, information designating the payer of the postage is acquired, and in the postage notification step, the incidental cost management method in the net auction that notifies the auction system of the information specifying the payer of the postage. Can be.
[0012]
In addition to the postage, it is also possible to manage a consumption tax according to the successful bid amount as another incidental cost in the net auction, and the incidental cost management method for that is to store the acquired auction item in a database that manages information related to listing in the auction. Querying the specific information of the seller and obtaining information as to whether or not the seller is a taxable trader and the successful bid price of the case.If the seller is a taxable trader, the acquired bid price is determined. Calculating the percentage tax and informing the auction system of the amount.
[0013]
In some cases, the auction organizer collects a usage fee of the auction system from the party who won the auction item for the auction item that has won the bid, and in this case, the database is used to manage the listing information related to the listing in the auction. Auction information obtaining step of inquiring specific information of the auction item and obtaining information on the successful bid amount of the item and the content of the exhibit; and using a predetermined auction system based on the acquired successful bid amount and the content information of the exhibit. A method for managing incidental costs in a net auction including a step of notifying a usage fee of calculating a fee and notifying the amount to an auction system can also be adopted.
[0014]
Further, in the supplementary cost management method corresponding to the system usage fee, in the exhibition information acquisition step, information designating a bearer of the auction system usage fee is acquired, and in the usage fee notification step, the designated information of the bearer is auctioned. The system may be notified.
[0015]
The present invention extends to a supplementary cost management system that is configured by a computer system and that cooperates with an auction system that implements any of the above supplementary cost management methods. The scope of the present invention also includes a computer program that is installed and executed on a computer to cause the computer to function as the incidental cost management system, and a computer-readable program storage medium that stores the computer program.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
=== Network configuration ===
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a network to which the incidental cost management method of the present invention is applied. On the Internet 50, a user computer 51 used by auction participants and an auction system 10 for holding an online auction are connected. The auction system 10 is constructed on an intranet 11 managed and operated by an auction organizer. The intranet is connected to a supplementary expense management system 1 and a settlement system 20 as computers that cooperate with the auction system 10.
[0017]
The auction system 10 is held by a WWW server 12 for publishing an auction site, a personal information database 13 for storing and managing various information for managing personal information on a large number of members who have eligibility to participate in the auction, and an auction site. The system includes an auction database 15 for accumulating and managing various information on all auctions, a mail server 14 for transmitting various notifications to members by e-mail, and the like. An auction participant accesses an auction site via the Internet 20 by a user computer 21 that implements a browser and electronic mail transmission / reception software. The auction site holds an auction through various Web pages provided by the WWW server 12 while guiding the exhibition procedure and mediating transactions between the exhibitor and the bidder. Then, if a certain auction is awarded, the user's computer (seller computer) 51b of the exhibitor and the computer of the successful bidder (successor computer) are notified of the successful bid and the contents of the successful bid via e-mail or a Web page. 51a is presented by an appropriate method.
[0018]
The incidental cost management system 1 accesses various databases (13, 15) attached to the auction system 10 and receives various notifications from the auction system 10 based on the method of the present invention, and The related incidental cost is calculated and the cost is notified to the auction system 10. In this embodiment, the shipping cost when the seller sends the product to the successful bidder is automatically calculated according to the package (packing size, weight) and the delivery route of the product, and the calculation result is notified to the auction system 10. I'm going to do that. The auction system 10 notifies the person at the time of the auction transaction of the information on the shipping cost of the successful bid product by an appropriate method based on the notified calculation result. As a result, troubles involved in complicated exchanges and delivery between the exhibitor and the successful bidder after the successful bid can be eliminated. In addition, the incidental cost management system 1 may be software installed in a computer included in the auction system 10.
[0019]
The settlement system 20 collects various fees related to holding an auction from an auction participant by debiting an account, and provides a settlement service that mediates settlement between a successful bidder and a seller of a successful auction item. In the settlement service, a settlement intermediary that manages and operates the settlement system 20 pays the successful bid price to the exhibitor on behalf of the successful bidder when a successful bid price is exchanged between the exhibitor and the successful bidder, and a credit card company. When the successful bid price is later deducted from the successful bidder's account by credit card payment, it is provided in accordance with the flow of transferring the price to the account of the settlement intermediary. Therefore, the successful bidder can pay the successful bid price by credit card settlement, and the exhibitor has the advantage that the successful bid price is transferred to his / her receiving account within a short time after the successful bid. Of course, the settlement system 20 does not need to be used for settlement related to the auction, and the party of the successful auction item can appropriately select another settlement method (such as bank transfer).
[0020]
The settlement system 20 is connected to an online credit inquiry system of a credit card company via a communication line such as an OBN (Open Business Network) 40, and performs a credit inquiry for a credit card owned by a successful bidder and settlement by the card. Has functions. If the auctioned product is awarded by the auction system 10, the successful bidder intervenes in the procedure of paying the successful bid price to the exhibitor, and even if it is an auction transaction between individuals, the credit card of the successful bidder can be used. It offers a mechanism that allows users to make payments. In the example shown here, the settlement intermediary does not individually contract with a plurality of credit card companies, but an on-line credit inquiry system (hereinafter referred to as an inquiry window system) of a counter institution that individually contracts with a plurality of credit card companies. 41, a request for credit inquiry to each credit card company is made in a lump.
[0021]
In addition, the settlement system 1 manages account information (account number, name, type, etc.) on the seller of the auctioned item to be paid in order to transfer the successful bid price to the seller's account by the settlement service. An information database and a payment information database for managing the contents of payment by the payment service are provided. Then, it is connected to an electronic banking (EB) system 31 of the financial institution via a communication line such as ISDN 30 to perform data communication, and instructs a host computer of the financial institution to perform processing such as account transfer. I do. As is well known, the EB system 31 connects a host computer of a financial institution and a computer for accounting business on the customer side such as a company by a communication line, and both computers perform predetermined procedures (for example, JBA TCP / IP procedure). Perform online services such as account transfer and various banking services provided by financial institutions to customers.
[0022]
=== Database ===
<Personal information database>
In the present embodiment, a user who actually wants to participate in an auction such as an exhibition or a bid, stores a unique member ID as a member, a password for logging in to the auction system 10, and information for identifying the member himself / herself in a personal information database. 13 is registered. Then, the auction system 10 timely confirms the identity of the participant who has accessed by giving the member ID during the auction transaction. The auction organizer also collects a fee (identification fee) for the procedure of identity verification and a fee (system usage fee) corresponding to the transaction amount when an auction transaction is actually established. Therefore, various types of information relating to collection of these fees are also registered in the personal information database 13. In this embodiment, information (account number, name, account type, etc.) about the account from which the identity verification fee and the system usage fee are deducted is registered. Of course, the credit card used for settlement of the successful bid price by the settlement service can also be used for payment of these fees, and for members who wish to pay by credit card, the credit card number required for the settlement, expiration date, etc. It is assumed that card payment information is registered.
[0023]
<Auction database>
The auction system 10 identifies all auction items being held by an auction ID, and stores and manages the progress of each auction and information on exhibition, bidding, successful bid, and settlement in an auction database 15. Then, the auction database 15 is updated as needed while associating the exhibitor's member ID and product for sale, the bidder's member ID and the bid amount, and the like.
[0024]
<Shipping database>
The postage database 2 attached to the supplementary cost management system stores and manages a delivery fee system for a plurality of delivery companies. That is, it manages a table that describes the shipping cost according to the delivery company according to the size and weight of the package to be delivered and the delivery section (shipping area and receiving area). An outline of a delivery fee table for the delivery company shown in FIG. 2 is shown.
[0025]
=== Exhibition information ===
The auction system 10 receives various kinds of information (exhibition information) required for exhibiting an auction through exchange with a user computer (exhibitor computer) 51b of a member who desires to exhibit through a Web page, and stores the information in an auction database. Register at 15. In this embodiment, when a seller sells a product in an auction, in addition to information on the product itself (category, description of the product, image data of the product, etc.) and information on the holding of the auction (minimum contract price, holding period, etc.), In addition, information relating to the delivery of the product (product delivery information) is registered as exhibition information. Note that, as the product delivery information, information for designating the payer of the postage, information on the package size and weight at the time of product delivery, designation information of the home delivery company, and the like are registered. The product may be perishable food, etc., and conditions for sending (designation of delivery by freezer or refrigerator) may be registered.
[0026]
=== Collateral cost management processing ===
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a process related to the incidental cost management method in the incidental cost management system 1. Upon receiving the auction ID of the successful auction item from the auction system 10, the incidental cost management system 1 searches the auction database 15 based on the auction item ID and acquires exhibition information (s1, s2). Then, the member IDs of the exhibitor and the successful bidder who are parties to the auction transaction are acquired based on the auction ID, the member IDs are referred to a personal information database, and the addresses of the exhibitor and the successful bidder are acquired (s3, 3). s4). Then, the area of the exhibitor (shipping area) and the area of the successful bidder (receiving area) are specified from the prefecture names of both addresses (s5).
[0027]
Next, the shipping company 2 refers to the shipping database 2 for the shipping company designation information described in the product delivery information in the exhibition information, the packing size or weight of the product, and the previously specified shipping area and receiving area, and specifies the shipping cost. (S6). That is, by referring to the delivery charge table for the designated delivery company, the corresponding postage is acquired based on the packing size or weight of the product, the shipping area and the receiving area. Then, the acquired postage is notified to the auction system 10 together with the corresponding auction ID (s7).
[0028]
When the postage is notified together with the auction ID from the ancillary cost management system 1, the auction system 10 creates Web pages describing the contents of the successful bid and the postage for the auction for the exhibitor and the successful bidder, respectively. . In connection with this Web page creation process, the incidental expense management system 1 may acquire payer designation information of the shipping fee and notify the auction system 10 of the designation information together with the calculated shipping fee. Accordingly, if the successful bidder is designated as the payer, the auction system 10 describes the postage together with the content of the successful bid on the successful bidder's Web page, and makes a successful bid that a postage other than the price equivalent to the successful bid is required. Can be recognized. FIG. 4 shows an outline of a Web page created for a successful bidder. In this example, the case where the successful bidder is designated as the payer of the postage is shown. If the seller pays the shipping fee, the shipping fee is not described on the Web page for the successful bidder, but is written on the Web page for the payer. Of course, it is not necessary to describe the postage on the exhibitor's Web page.
[0029]
There may not be any information specifying the payer of the shipping fee. The incidental cost management system 1 only needs to calculate the postage and notify the auction system 10 of it. If the auction system 10 presents the notified postage to both the exhibitor and the successful bidder, it is possible to eliminate the trouble that the party involved in the auction transaction mistakes the calculation of the postage.
[0030]
The auction system 10 sends, to both the successful bidder and the exhibitor, an e-mail (a notice of a successful bid) stating that the auction has been awarded and a URL to each Web page in parallel with the Web page creation processing. Notice. That is, when a browser of the successful bidder computer 51a or the exhibitor computer 51b receiving the notice of the successful bid specifies the URL described in the notice and accesses the auction site, the Web page on which the successful bid is described is displayed on the successful bidder's Web page. It is delivered to the computer 51a and the exhibitor computer 51b. The successful bidder or exhibitor browses this Web page and confirms the contents of the successful bid and the shipping fee.
[0031]
Further, the auction system 10 requests the settlement system 20 to settle the auction item that has won the bid. That is, the settlement system 20 is notified of the auction ID, the seller ID, the successful bidder ID, and the total payment amount of the successful bidder. If the successful bidder pays a shipping fee, the breakdown of the total payment amount (successful bid price and shipping fee) may be notified. The settlement system 20 obtains account information and card settlement information of the exhibitor and the successful bidder by inquiring the seller ID and the successful bidder ID into the personal information database, and exhibits a price equivalent to the total payment amount from the successful bidder's account. Processing to transfer to the seller's account or transfer to the seller's account by the payment service. Of course, even without using the settlement system 20, after confirming the contents of the successful bid on the Web page, the seller requests the successful bidder to transfer the total payment amount to the designated account via e-mail or the like. Then, the processing may be appropriately shifted to the post-processing. In the exchange between the parties after a successful bid, only the necessary minimum contact is required because the shipping fee has already been calculated.
[0032]
=== About the designation of the delivery company ===
The seller is allowed to designate a plurality of delivery companies, and the incidental cost management system 1 notifies the auction system 10 of the designated delivery company with the lowest shipping cost and the shipping cost. 10 may present the trader and the shipping cost to the parties of the auction transaction through a Web page or the like.
[0033]
=== About incidental expenses ===
The incidental costs associated with an auction are not limited to shipping. If the exhibitor is a taxable trader such as a store, the winning bid is equivalent to the sales, and a consumption tax is imposed on the winning bid. If this consumption tax is borne by the successful bidder, this consumption tax is also an incidental cost. Accordingly, information indicating whether or not the company is a taxable company is registered in the personal information database 13 as member information, and whether the seller or the successful bidder bears the consumption tax burden as product information is specified. The information is registered in the auction database 15 at the time of exhibition. Then, the incidental cost management system 1 acquires information indicating whether or not the exhibitor is a taxable trader, the designation information of the consumption tax bearer, and the successful bid amount for the auction item for which the successful bid was made. When the exhibitor is designated by the taxable trader so that the successful bidder bears the consumption tax, a predetermined ratio of the consumption tax is added to the acquired successful bid price, and the amount is notified to the auction system 10. The auction system may notify the parties involved in the auction transaction of the consumption tax as well as the shipping fee. For the settlement system, the amount including the consumption tax may be transferred to the seller's account.
[0034]
The seller does not always bear the system usage fee. In the same way as in the case of the consumption tax, if the information specifying the bearer of the system usage fee can be registered as exhibition information, and if that usage fee is borne by the successful bidder, the system usage fee will also be a party to the auction transaction Can be notified. The system usage fee may have a different rate depending on the category of the sold product in addition to the successful bid price. Alternatively, depending on the category, a uniform fee may be collected regardless of the winning bid. Therefore, the fee system of the commission is made into a database, and the incidental cost management system 1 accesses the auction database 15 and acquires the successful bid amount and the category of the successful bid item for the auction item that has been awarded. Then, the system usage fee may be calculated based on the acquired information and the fee system of the system usage fee, and the usage fee may be notified to the auction system 10.
[0035]
The auction system 10 notifies the settlement system 20 of the auction ID and the member ID of the party, the successful bid price, the system usage fee, and the payer's designation information. The payer's designation information may be obtained in advance from the auction database 15 by the incidental expense management system 1 and the designated information may be notified to the auction system 10 together with the calculated system usage fee.
[0036]
Then, if the highest bidder pays the system usage fee, the settlement system 20 adds the system usage fee to the successful bid price (the amount including the postage and consumption tax as necessary for the successful bid amount) from the successful bidder's account. Withdraw the amount and pay the seller a successful bid price. Transfer the system usage fee to the designated account of the auction company. If the seller pays the system usage fee, the successful bid price may be withdrawn from the successful bidder's account, and the amount obtained by subtracting the system usage fee from the successful bid price may be transferred to the seller's account.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
According to the supplementary cost management method in the net auction of the present invention, various supplementary costs required other than the price equivalent to the successful bid amount in the auction such as shipping fee are automatically calculated, and the calculation result is sent to the seller or the successful bidder when the auction is awarded. Can be presented. Therefore, there is no need for the parties involved in the auction transaction to communicate about various incidental costs such as shipping costs after a successful bid. Therefore, it is possible to avoid troubles between the parties due to misrecognition of the incidental cost (for example, which person is responsible for the incidental cost) or miscalculation of the incidental cost. Further, the labor and time required for communication after a successful bid can be minimized, and the time from the successful bid to payment of the price or arrival of the product can be shortened.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network system to which a supplementary cost management method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a charge system relating to a certain delivery company managed in a shipping fee database attached to an incidental cost management system constituting the network system.
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an incidental cost management process in the incidental cost management system.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a Web page describing the contents of a successful auction created by an auction system constituting the network system and a shipping fee.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 incidental expense management system
2 Shipping cost database
10 Auction system
13 Personal Information Database
15 Auction Database
20 Payment system
51a Successful bidder computer
51b Exhibitor Computer

Claims (10)

A computer linked to an auction system that manages a membership auction site on the Internet,
An auction information acquisition step of acquiring information for specifying the auctioned item, the exhibitor, and the successful bidder, respectively,
A delivery information acquisition step of inquiring the acquired auction item specific information into a database that manages information related to the listing in the auction, and acquiring delivery information including at least the packing size or weight of the listing;
The obtained information of the seller and the successful bidder is referred to a database that manages personal information about the auction participant to obtain the respective locations of the seller and the successful bidder, and based on the location, A delivery section obtaining step for specifying a shipping place and a receiving place;
A shipping cost acquisition step of referring to the shipping information, the shipping place, and the receiving place in a shipping fee database that accumulates and manages information related to a delivery fee system of the delivery target, and obtaining a shipping fee;
A postage notification step of notifying the auction system of the specific information of the acquired auction item and the acquired postage,
A method for managing incidental costs in an Internet auction characterized by executing 2. The shipping fee database according to claim 1, wherein the shipping fee database stores and manages information relating to a delivery fee system for a plurality of shipping agents, the shipping information acquiring step acquires shipping agent designation information, and the shipping fee acquiring step includes: A method of managing incidental costs in an online auction, wherein a corresponding postage is acquired based on the acquired information specified by the delivery company. In claim 2, the delivery information obtaining step obtains specification information of a plurality of delivery companies, and the postage obtaining step refers to a delivery fee system of the delivery company based on the obtained delivery company specification information, A method of managing incidental costs in a net auction, wherein the lowest shipping cost and a corresponding delivery company are obtained, and the shipping cost and delivery company are notified to an auction system in the shipping cost notification step. In any one of claims 1 to 3, in the delivery information obtaining step, information specifying the payer of the shipping fee is obtained, and in the shipping cost notifying step, the information specifying the payer of the shipping fee is notified to the auction system. A featured method of managing incidental costs in online auctions. The database according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the database for managing information relating to the auction in the auction is referred to the acquired specific information of the auction item, and information as to whether or not the seller is a taxable trader and information of the item in question. Acquiring a successful bid price, and, if the seller is a taxable company, calculating a predetermined percentage of the tax on the acquired successful bid price and notifying the auction system of the amount. Cost management method in the online auction. The exhibit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the acquired auction item specific information is referred to a database that manages information relating to the items in the auction, and information on the successful bid amount of the item and the contents of the exhibit are acquired. An information acquisition step, and a usage fee notification step of calculating a predetermined auction system usage fee based on the obtained successful bid price and the content information of the exhibit and notifying the auction system of the calculated usage fee. How to manage incidental costs at auction. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, in the step of acquiring information, information for designating a bearer of the auction system use fee is acquired, and in the use fee notification step, the designated information of the bearer is notified to the auction system. Ancillary cost management method. A supplementary cost management system configured with a computer system and cooperating with an auction system, wherein the supplementary cost management method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented. A computer program, which is installed and executed on a computer to cause the computer to function as the incidental cost management system according to claim 8. A computer-readable program storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 9.

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