KR100399656B1 - Method of intermediating auction information in an internet - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to auctions, particularly in electronic commerce on the Internet, and relates to auction information brokerage method that allows the flexible determination of the price and the point of merit between the buyer and seller.

To this end, the mediation method registers auction information input from a seller who wants to sell the goods on the homepage, registers bid information of at least one buyer's goods on the homepage according to the registered information, and sends the bidding information to the seller. In addition, the price information changed by the seller according to the price information among the buyers' bidding information is transmitted to the buyers and registered on the homepage, so that the buyers decide whether or not the meridians according to the price information provided by the seller or the seller Determine whether or not meridians according to the price information provided by the. Therefore, the auction conditions can be variably set and registered to effect the auction / reverse auction in consideration of each other's conditions so that the short term and optimal conditions are achieved.

Description

{Method of intermediating auction information in an internet}

The present invention relates to a mediation method for registration of information for auctions / reverse auctions performed on the Internet, and in particular, an information registration intermediation method that allows a user to flexibly determine and register a purchase / sales price by a buyer or a seller during auction / reverse auction. And to the system.

In recent years, the number of Internet users is increasing rapidly, and the commercial use of the Internet is also expanding. The homepage following the conventional commercial use of the Internet is mainly used for sending product information from a supplier who wants to grasp the needs of customers. In addition to the commercial use, the homepage was used as an information exchange between individuals such as some bulletin boards.

Recently, e-commerce through the Internet has been actively conducted between B2B (Business to Business) as well as B2C (Business to Customers). In particular, such an e-commerce is rapidly expanding because it is effective not only to reduce the number of stores for the purchase or sale of goods, but also to the cost of labor costs, as well as between individuals or between companies.

As one of such electronic commerce, electronic commerce by auction or reverse auction method has attracted attention. An auction means that when a producer or seller presents their goods at a certain price, the number of consumers who want to buy them presents their purchase price and the goods are delivered to the person who offers the highest price among them. It is a type of transaction in which the price is paid.

In addition, the reverse auction adopts a process opposite to that of the auction, and the process is performed. In other words, the buyer is one person and the seller is plural. When a buyer who wants to purchase a particular item registers for the desired item, the price is provided by a plurality of suppliers who can provide the item, and the buyer purchases the product of the person who has offered the lowest price.

The general form of auction / reverse auction was made in a closed space by a specific location and extremely limited personnel, so it was limited by the actual buyers or suppliers and did not make a price that was sufficiently desirable for them. However, since the auction / reverse auction by the e-commerce is made in the communication, especially on the Internet network there is an advantage that is made without restriction of the place and time.

An example of such an auction / reverse auction by e-commerce will be described in more detail as follows.

In the case of auction look at the method made in http://www.auction.co.kr, one of the famous domestic sites with reference to an example of the homepage in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, one screen is divided into four areas, auction information 20, item price information 30, item picture 60, and item information 70. In addition, it is divided into a product name (10), auction records and buttons (40, 50) for informing bid participation.

The auction information 20 includes information on auction period, present time remaining, seller ID, quantity sold, payment method and shipping cost, etc. The commodity price information 30 includes a start price, a present price, and an upper sale price of a product to be auctioned. Information on the number of people bidding at the auction up to the present time.

In addition, when the button 40 for the auction record is pressed, a list including information on the simple personal details (member ID, name, etc.), bid time, and bid of the people who have participated in the auction so far is displayed. In addition, a person who wants to participate in a direct bid on the current homepage can participate by pressing the button 50 for the bid participation. In order to participate in the auction, it is basically required to register as a member of the site or to provide his / her personal information as well as to check credit information and the like beforehand.

The process performed in the above homepage will be described sequentially. First, a person who wishes to provide his goods at the auction registers his goods. At the time of registration, information on the goods is provided, for example, photographs of the goods, detailed information on the properties of the goods, quantity and desired price. When the data provided by the seller is registered, the broker in charge of the auction process typically sets the auction period (auction period, start time and end time) and displays the data on the homepage.

The auction information is registered on the homepage and those interested in the auction item can register their desired purchase price. In other words, at the time of auction, a starting price is set for the corresponding item, and a price which is equal to or higher than this starting price may be proposed. The item price information indicated by 30 in FIG. 1 records the latest price and auction status information. In the commodity price information 30, the total bid number for the current auction item is opened 10 times, and the current price is 143,000 won.

Such auction proceeds from 12:35 on June 15, 2000 to 12:35 on July 3, 2000, as shown in the auction information (20). Meridian about auction pool is made.

However, the auction in the above manner has the following problems. By default, the auction period is set. For example, a person who offers an item at an auction is forced to wait until the period is complete. In other words, when the auction proceeds, the broker must be fully authorized and in accordance with the policy. That is, because the auction period is set, the supplier of the goods cannot take any action within this period.

Also, even during the period, it is desirable for the supplier to process the goods more quickly by adjusting the price in consideration of the situation of those who participate in the auction. You cannot choose who buys the goods.

In addition, in providing a plurality of goods, the person providing the goods sells before the completion of the auction period even though the priority or price is discounted to those who apply for more than one person who purchases the goods, it is more helpful for the inventory management of the goods. However, no consideration is given to these conditions.

The above process describes the problem on the basis of the auction method, and the problem seen from the opposite viewpoint can be equally applied to the reverse auction method.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an auction method in which the goods supplier participating in the auction at the auction can freely change and register the auction conditions in favor of the buyer during the auction. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is that if the goods supplier participating in the auction at the time of auction accepts the terms of those who participate in the bidding, and at the same time selectively terminates the auction according to their terms or the buyer accepts the price suggested by the goods supplier, It is to provide an auction method to close the auction.

In addition, the same can be applied to the reverse auction method that can be reversed with the purposes provided by the auction method.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an auction-related homepage made by a conventional auction method.

2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a general auction system.

3 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a registration process of a buyer, a seller, or an auction participant for applying an auction information brokering method according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart showing a process of registering an auction object as a preliminary preparation for auction.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of electronic commerce by the auction method according to the present invention.

6 is a flowchart showing a process of registering a reverse auction target as a preliminary preparation for reverse auction.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of electronic commerce by the reverse auction method according to the present invention.

8 is a flowchart schematically showing a processing procedure after completion of an auction.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10 ... Product Name 20 ... Auction Information

30 ... Price Information 40 ... Auction Record Button

50 ... Bidding Button 60 ... Photo

70 ... Product Information

In order to achieve the above object, the auction information brokering method according to the present invention, in the auction information brokering method for brokering through a homepage in a system for performing electronic commerce between a plurality of computers connected through the Internet network,

a) registering the auction information input from the seller who wants to sell the goods on the homepage;

b) registering bid information of the at least one buyer on the homepage according to the registered information and transmitting the bid information to the seller;

c) registering price information changed by the seller according to price information among the bidding information of the buyers to the buyers and registering the information on the homepage;

d) determining whether the buyer is in accordance with the price information provided by the seller.

Also, step (c) above

If the price provided by the seller is not appropriate for the buyer, entering a predetermined price desired by the buyer;

Recording the input data into a database of the system;

Notifying the seller of the data after the recording;

The seller lowers and inputs a predetermined price for the reported price; And

Updating the data of the database with the reduced price data and transmitting it to the buyers.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a general system to which the present invention can be applied will be described with reference to FIG. 2 before explaining the auction / reverse auction method according to the present invention. 2 schematically illustrates a relationship between a buyer 110, a seller 120, and a service center 130 that provides services to them through an internet communication network. That is, the buyer and seller can register their desired information by accessing the web page of the service center, that is, the homepage of the company providing the information and services about the auction / reverse auction, using the internet browser program executed on the terminal. Can be. That is, in case of a buyer, a request for detailed information on the goods listed at the auction or a price information that can be purchased by the buyer is provided, and the seller provides price information and detailed information about the goods to be sold and corresponding information on the homepage. Request registration of information in the field. The information provided by the buyer 110 and the seller 120 serves to mediate this in the service center.

The present invention can be applied to a general system as described above. First, a registration process for a buyer, a seller, or an auction participant will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 as a basic process for implementing the auction / reverse auction method according to the present invention. .

In general, most homepages that conduct e-commerce have a registration process for all buyers, sellers, or auction participants who participate in the auction / reverse auction as a preliminary procedure for clarification of transactions or credit maintenance of commerce. Looking at the registration process, for example, personal information, for example, personal information such as name, resident registration number, address, etc. In addition to the address for contact information and the e-mail address is entered. Of course, since most transactions on the Internet are made of cards, not cash, there are many cases of requesting information for card payment (step S10).

After the input of personal information, the user ID to be used as a member in the corresponding homepage is input (step S20). After the input, the information is transmitted to the web server through the Internet network (step S30). In the web server, when the information about the user is input, the user ID is compared with the user list stored in the database (step S40). Comparison result (step S40) When there is a duplicate user ID, a different user ID is transmitted and a message is requested to be input again (step S20).

If there is no person using the same user ID in the comparison result at step S50 is requested to enter a password, and accordingly a new user ID is given a password (step S50). The inputted information is transmitted to the web server through the internet network again, and various information is stored in a database so as to give a status as a member to use the auction information and the like later along with the user's personal information (step S60). Once the information is stored, one process for user registration is complete. When the user registration is made in this way, the product is recognized as a member at the time of auction or purchase of goods, and free registration or transaction can be performed.

The process of electronic commerce by auction in the state of completing the user registration that can use the auction / reverse auction service will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.

First, a user registers basic matters as a seller in a database of a server (step S100). After registration, the type of goods to be auctioned is selected (step S110). When selecting an article, it is classified into large, medium, and lights in more detail according to the characteristics of the article. In addition, in order to help the third party to understand the article input the picture with the detailed information (step S120). In this case, the picture may be any type of picture format in a general form. You can also add pictures later.

When the information on the article is input as described above, the unit price to be sold is set (step S130). The unit price at this time sets the highest price for the goods, and one of the basic features of the present invention is that the seller can change the setting of the price at any time during the auction period in consideration of the conditions for the users participating in the auction. However, it is unfair to raise the price as the number of participants in the bid increases, so it is possible only to change the price. Therefore, the price set by the seller at this time sets the highest price and cannot be raised later.

When the input of information on the price of the goods by the seller is completed, this data is recorded in the database of the server. Then, the server assigns a registration number to the corresponding input content and automatically sends the registration number to the seller for confirmation of registration by e-mail (step S140), and terminates the registration process of the article.

When the registration of the auction item by the seller is closed, the server loads the auction data on the homepage and starts the auction. When the auction starts, bidding participation of a plurality of buyers occurs and a procedure performed in this process will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

When the auction is started, those who wish to purchase for the auction items register as a bidder (step S200). At this time, since the registration process has been completed as a previous member, authentication is possible only with a user ID and a password. After registration, select the kind of goods you want to bid. At this time, since the goods are divided according to size or characteristics, they select the goods they want to purchase (step S210).

When an item is selected, details about the item, for example, details such as size, weight, and function are displayed, and the bidder examines the item in detail (step S220). After the review, it is determined whether to select the corresponding article (step S230). If the article is desired by the user, the process proceeds to the next step. Otherwise, after selecting the article from the following list (step S225), the process returns to step S220 again. The details of the item may be reviewed or deviated from the process.

After reviewing and selecting the details of the goods, if there are questions about other matters not registered on the homepage, the process goes through steps S250 to S70. When the bidder prepares and registers a predetermined questionnaire to the seller on the bulletin board (step S250), the bidder is automatically stored in the server and left as an auction record and the same content is transmitted to the seller by email at the same time (step S260). ). When the seller receives the questionnaire by e-mail from the intermediary server, a response to the corresponding content is written and sent to the intermediary server, and the contents are stored in the bulletin board (S270).

In addition, when it is determined that the price (highest price) suggested by the seller is not appropriate, the buyer may suggest a price that he or she wishes to purchase directly (step S290). At this time, the proposed price is recorded in the database of the server (step S300), and simultaneously notified to the seller (step S310). In this case, the notification method will be sent by e-mail in the same way as before. Of course, it is possible to simply record the price desired by the buyer on the bulletin board, but in this case, the seller does not see the details recorded on the bulletin board so that the seller can automatically receive an email for all the prices suggested by the buyer. do.

The seller may adjust the price if the buyer intends to lower the highest price (the highest price of the current state) set by the buyer for the new price proposal (step S330). In other words, in all forms of auction on the Internet, bidders after a certain period of time have passed after the seller initially sets the lowest price at a constant low level and starts all auctions from the lowest price, or sets the highest price. Meridian was made by selecting the highest price among the prices they suggested. However, in the present invention, even when the auction period is set at any time, even if the seller is lower than the maximum price set by the buyer to propose a lower price so that the buyer can conclude the transaction at the price proposed separately to close the auction early There are advantages to it.

As such, when the seller changes the price information, the contents are immediately notified to the bidders that the price has been changed, and at the same time, the seller brings a change of the auction information stored in the server (step S340).

After performing step S340, the process proceeds to step S280 again to perform a process as described above, that is, determining whether the price suggested by the seller is appropriate. At this stage, the bidder's suggested price matches either the buyer's best price or the bidder's suggestion of a price acceptable to the seller. That is, when the bidder's suggested price matches the seller's highest price, the auction is automatically closed and the transaction is approved, or from the seller's point of view, the buyer's offer is acceptable, even if the price is lower than the current price. If it is determined that the price is within the range, that is, it is determined that the appropriate price can be selected from the corresponding bid list to end the auction.

In the present invention, in order to allow the seller to end the auction selectively from the bidding list of the homepage in the form as described above, a separate button on the left of each list, for example, bell-shaped button (hereinafter referred to as "electronic bell") ), At any time during the auction, the seller may terminate the auction by pressing this e-bell. That is, the use of the electronic bell has the advantage that can be activated auction work more. Of course, since the above embodiment allows the seller to select a bidder, an electronic bell is formed in each of the bidder lists, but in the case of the reverse auction method described later, the seller is formed in each of the seller lists to sell the goods.

As another embodiment of the present invention, the process of electronic commerce by the reverse auction method will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The process of the flowchart of FIG. 6 is the same as that of the flowchart of FIG. 4, but there is a difference in registering as a buyer rather than a seller in S400 and setting a lowest price rather than the highest price in recording a product price in S430. . That is, in the case of reverse auction, the buyer sets the lowest price because the buyer sets the desired price, and the seller proposes the lowest price or higher price than the price suggested by the buyer and auctions the goods by adjusting the price with each other. Suggests the lowest price, which may go up later, but not below it.

When the auction is started by the electronic auction by the reverse auction method, bidding participation of a plurality of sellers occurs, and a procedure performed in the process will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

The procedure for bidding to sell the goods in the auction in FIG. 7 is the same as the procedure for bidding to buy the goods in the auction in FIG. However, there is a difference in that it is an order from the seller's point of view of selling goods. That is, from step S500 to S580, the bidder is registered, the product is selected, and the buyer who is interested in the list to purchase the product is selected. The process of receiving is the same.

In addition, when the price initially proposed by the buyer is appropriate, that is, when the buyer agrees with the price suggested by the lowest price, as described above, the reverse auction process may be completed by pressing the electronic bell.

However, if it is determined that the seller is not appropriate for the buyer's suggested price, the price may be adjusted through steps S590 to S640. The price adjustment suggests a possible price that the seller can sell, and this price is newly updated with the contents of the database, recorded on a bulletin board, and simultaneously notified to the buyer by email. If the buyer intends to increase the price suggested by the buyer with respect to the price notified, the price is newly registered and the price change is notified to the bidder, and a determination is made as to whether the price is appropriate (S580). However, if the price of the buyer is not adjusted, the process is terminated because the price adjustment is not made between the buyer and the bidder.

After auctions and meridians by reverse auctions according to the present invention in FIGS. 5 and 7 are performed, the process illustrated in FIG. 8 is performed in common.

In other words, if the transaction is approved due to the agreement between the buyer and the seller, that is, the electronic bell rings (step S700), both of them confirm by sending an email that the transaction was made under the corresponding conditions (step S710). In other words, the contents of the e-mail are to inform the buyer that the transaction has been approved under the agreed terms in the auction / reverse auction process, the buyer will deposit the amount, and the seller will send the item. This process is illustrated in steps S720 to S760, which illustrates an example of a normal transaction.

As described above, the existing auction / reverse auction system was made within the same basic condition until the condition is achieved or the period has elapsed without changing the condition to the seller or the buyer within a certain period of time. In the present invention, it is possible to set a condition in a variable rather than a fixed condition so that the auction / reverse auction may be performed in consideration of each other's condition to achieve a shorter period and an optimal condition. In addition, the target that meets the conditions on the home page can be completed by auction / reverse auction by clicking directly on the screen, it is possible to perform e-commerce more efficiently.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the above embodiments, it has been used for the purpose of illustration and those of ordinary skill in the art, having the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Various modifications can be made without departing.

Claims (9)

In the auction information brokering method for brokering through a homepage in a system for performing electronic commerce between a plurality of computers connected through an internet network, a) registering the auction information input from the seller who wants to sell the goods on the homepage; b) registering bid information of the at least one buyer on the homepage according to the registered information and transmitting the bid information to the seller; c) registering price information changed by the seller according to price information among the bidding information of the buyers to the buyers and registering the information on the homepage; d) determining whether or not the buyer is in accordance with the price information provided by the seller, Step c) Inputting a predetermined price desired by the buyer if the variable price provided by the seller is not suitable for the buyer; Recording the input data into a database of the system; Notifying the seller of the data after the recording; The seller lowers and inputs a predetermined price for the reported price; And Updating data in the database with the reduced price data and transmitting it to the buyers, B) c) may be repeated until the meridians are determined, The auction information brokerage method, characterized in that the presentation of the changed price can be made before the auction period expires. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the step d) is performed by clicking a button formed on each seller in the seller list. The auction information brokering method of claim 1, wherein the price information of the auction information input in the step a) is the highest price. In the auction information brokering method for brokering through a homepage in a system for performing electronic commerce between a plurality of computers connected through an internet network, a) registering the auction information input from the buyer who wants to purchase the goods on the homepage; b) registering bid information about the goods of at least one seller on a homepage according to the registered information and transmitting the bid information to the buyer; c) registering price information changed by the buyer according to price information among the bidding information of the sellers to the sellers and registering them on the homepage; d) determining whether or not the seller is in accordance with the price information provided by the buyer; Step c) Inputting a predetermined price desired by the seller if the variable price provided by the buyer is not suitable for the seller; Recording the input data into a database of the system; Notifying the buyer of the data after the recording; Inputting by the purchaser a predetermined price with respect to the reported price; And Updating data in the database with the reduced price data and transmitting it to the sellers, Steps b) and c) may be repeated until mercury is determined. The auction information brokerage method, characterized in that the presentation of the changed price can be made before the auction period expires. delete 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step d) is performed by clicking a button formed on each of the buyers in the list of buyers. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the price information of the auction information input in the step a) is a lowest price. 9. The auction information brokerage method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the decision point of the meridians is variably determined.