KR100458939B1 - Time-Variable Auctioning Method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a time varying auction method via the Internet. Since the conventional auction method focuses on the end of the auction period, the auction proceeds continuously during the auction period initially set by the seller, and the buyer has to continuously search for the auction situation. In addition, there is a lack of means to ensure the reliability of the auction. The present invention prevents the delay of the auction by quickly proceeding the auction by changing the auction period according to the purchase price input by the buyer, and using the avatar (AVATAR) to shorten the auction period and the creditworthiness of the seller and the buyer. By ensuring the reliability of the auction transaction by displaying, and using the avatar as a forced bidding means for the seller's short selling, it is possible to proceed faster auction.

Description

Time-Variable Auctioning Method

In general, the Internet is an open network that can be connected freely by applying a common protocol called TCP / IP to the other computer that anyone wants to connect anywhere in the world. Various services such as e-mail, file transfer, and the World Wide Web (WWW) can be used, for example, to be used for the delivery of information.

As the use of the Internet is rapidly increasing in Korea and around the world, it is rapidly increasing in importance as a strategic tool for improving efficiency and productivity in all parts of the existing industry, and new business opportunities are continuously created through the Internet. As the market is expanding, the number of operators using the Internet is also increasing.

That is, in recent years, as part of the business through the Internet, sites that provide various contents such as internet advertising, internet broadcasting, online games, internet newspapers / magazines, search services, portal services, and e-commerce have been rapidly increasing.

Among such sites, the number of auction sites that provide services by introducing an auction method for buying and selling goods or real estate that are needed on the Internet is greatly increasing, and has attracted much attention to users.

1 is a schematic diagram of providing an auction service via the Internet, where the auction site 10 generally allows subscribers to participate in the auction. Therefore, users who want to use the auction service through the Internet 20 first access the auction site 10 and sign up, and then register the goods or services they want to sell and the price they want to receive.

Then, the auction site 10 affixes the goods or services to the auction, and each subscriber who accesses the auction site 10 through the Internet 20 (hereinafter, becomes a seller) is the first seller's computer ( 30-1) to the N-th seller's computer 30-N to register the item for sale, and the auction site 10 posts the auction through the Internet 20. The buyer who wants to purchase the goods having obtained the information on the auction at the auction site 10 can himself or herself through the first purchaser's computer 40-1 to the M-th buyer's computer 40-M. The price you can call. At this time, calling the price that he can afford is called 'quota'. The bid price is transmitted to the auction site 10, and the auction period (3 days, a week, etc.) is generally determined for each item. During the auction period, when the buyer with the highest price (or the buyer with the lowest price) expires, the contract is concluded between the seller who registered the article on the auction site 10. do.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a conventional auction service procedure. In detail, the auction site 10 receives the quotation information regarding the auction item from the buyer's computer 40-1 through 40-M. In operation S202, the price information is updated to update the current price of the auction item in the auction site 10 (S202). Then, it is determined whether the auction period has expired (S203), and if the auction period has not expired, the process returns to step S201 again and waits for new quote information to be received. However, if the auction period has expired, the auction ends. (S204)

This conventional auction procedure is not able to know the progress of the auction, that is, do not know the price of the auction unless the buyer continues to access the auction site 10 until the auction period expires. Therefore, there is an economic loss due to continued access to the auction site until the expiration of the auction period. That is, the conventional auction causes the loss due to the focus at the end of the auction period.

In addition, the conventional auction procedure is the auction method in which the buyer is the center, the seller has to wait until the end of the auction once manually register the auction target on the auction site, and also the low bid price due to the operation of the buyer If this is received, economic damage will result. In addition, if the seller is not able to easily recover the purchase price from the buyer after the auction object is sold to a certain buyer, there is a lack of defense means of the seller in advance.

In addition, the auction proceeds for a predetermined period of time determined by the auction site 10 in the conventional auction process, so that it is unable to meet the demand of the seller and the buyer who wants to sell or buy.

In addition, the conventional auction procedure is insufficient to cope with the frequent rejection of the sale and the rejection of the purchase, it is pointed out as a problem of electronic commerce on the auction site.

The present invention relates to a time-varying auction method for varying the auction time on the Internet. In particular, the auction period is reduced according to the buyer's purchase price and the auction participant's credit rating is posted on the auction site to secure an efficient auction and reliability On how to make auctions on the Internet.

1 shows a schematic diagram of a system for providing an auction service via the Internet.

2 shows a flowchart of a conventional auction service.

3 shows a block diagram of a system implementing a time varying auction method in accordance with the present invention.

4 shows a flow chart of a time varying auction method according to the present invention.

FIG. 5A shows a detailed flowchart of the seller registration step S41 of FIG.

FIG. 5B shows a detailed flowchart of the buyer registration step S42 of FIG.

FIG. 5C shows a detailed flowchart of the auction proceeding step S43 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5D shows a detailed flowchart of the auction end step S44 of FIG.

FIG. 6A illustrates an embodiment of sell data input by the seller in step S502 of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6B illustrates a price range divided by the sell data of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 6C shows a flowchart of the auction proceeding step of step S523 of FIG. 5C.

FIG. 6D illustrates another embodiment of the auction proceeding step of FIG. 6C.

7A illustrates one embodiment of the appearance of the avatar that the seller and the buyer must select.

FIG. 7B illustrates one embodiment of a seller's and buyer's credit rating indication using the avatar of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C shows a layout view of the avatar of FIG. 7A in progress.

FIG. 7D illustrates an embodiment of a warning message using an avatar in the resetting step S66 of the auction period of FIG. 6C.

FIG. 7E illustrates one embodiment of another warning message using the avatar in the resetting step S66 of the auction period of FIG. 6C.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fast auction proceeding by allowing the fixed auction period to be flexible to solve the above problems so that the auction can be terminated even before the first set auction period.

The present invention shortens the remaining time of the auction period as the auction price rises and informs the seller and the buyer of the shortening of the auction period, so that the server of the auction site continues to perform the auction while proceeding with the wired or wireless network. The purpose is to provide real-time progress of the auction.

In addition, the present invention has an object to improve the reliability of the auction, and further improve the reliability of the e-commerce by calculating the credit ratings of the seller and the buyer to provide on the auction site.

Figure 3 shows a block diagram of a system for implementing a time-varying auction method according to the present invention, in detail the manager server 30 to open and operate the auction site; Seller connection means (31) for accessing the auction site of the manager server (30) to sell a property or real estate (hereinafter referred to as an auction object); Buyer access means 32 for accessing the auction site of the manager server 30 to purchase the auction object. The manager server 30 and the central processing unit 300; Receives and stores information about the auction object (item, quantity, quality, year of production, etc.) from the seller connection means 31, two or more selling prices for the auction object, and an auction period for auctioning the auction object. Auction target storage means 301; A dynamic that divides into three or more price ranges divided according to two or more said selling prices and reduces the remaining period of the auction period by a predetermined ratio when the purchase price presented by the buyer enters a specific price range of the divided price range. A progress processor 302; Credit rating display means (303) for displaying the credit ratings of the seller and the buyer on the auction site only before or during the auction according to a predetermined credit calculation method; Avatar display means (304) for allowing the seller and the buyer to select a specific avatar representing themselves before the auction time so as to display the selected avatar on the auction site; And a warning message delivery means 305 for delivering a warning message to the seller and the buyer informing that the purchase price is above the specific price range, that is, the auction period is shortened, and displaying the warning message on the auction site. . The avatar is a word having the meaning of self-incarnation or an incarnation, and refers to an animated character that replaces the role of a person in a virtual community. In other words, it is "another me" in cyberspace.

The manager server 30, for example, establishes an auction site on the Internet and provides a means for the seller and the buyer to access the seller, and the seller connects to the auction site through the seller connection means 31 and Information about an auction object to be sold and two or more auction prices of the auction object are input, and an auction period for selling the auction object is input, and the manager server 30 stores the input information in the auction object storage means. Save to 301. In addition, the buyer accesses the auction site through the buyer access means 32, searches for an auction object he / she wants to purchase, inputs a purchase price within the auction period, and the manager server 30 sets the purchase price. Store in the auction target storage means (301). The dynamic progress processing unit 302 divides the price range based on the input selling price, that is, when two selling prices are input, divides the price range into three price ranges, and the purchase price of the buyer is the most in the price range. When in the low price range, the auction period passes in real time, and when the purchase price enters a price range higher than the lowest price range, the remaining time of the auction period is shortened. At this time, when there is a change in the auction period, that is, when the purchase price enters a different price range, the warning message transmitting means 305 is provided for informing the seller and the buyer of the change. The alert message delivery means 305 carries out the delivery of the message using wired or wireless communication, for example a general landline telephone, a pager, a handset, a display or auction dedicated on the auction site. Wireless devices can be used. The manager server 30 is provided with the credit rating display means 303 to provide the seller and the buyer with data on the reliability of the auction site only before or during the auction. The credit rating display means 303 divides the degree of credit of the buyer under the seller by a predetermined credit rating, and the manager server 30 stores the credit when the seller and the buyer apply for an auction to the auction site for the first time. The same credit rating is given and displayed among the ratings. For example, if the total grade consists of five grades, it means that all sellers and buyers participating in the first auction are given three grades. The credit rating is raised when the manager server 30 ends the auction of a predetermined number of times or more, and the seller delays the delivery of the auction object or cancels one side, or the buyer delays the transfer of money or receives the auction object. In case of delay the credit rating is lowered. The manager server 30 provides the avatar selecting means 302 so that the seller and the buyer can select one representing the user from the avatar so that the seller and the buyer participating in the auction can be visually viewed. do. In addition, while the auction is in progress, the avatar may be moved to inform that the auction is currently in progress through the operation of the avatar. The auction target storage means may use various recording storage media such as a floppy disk, a hard disk or a compact disk, or a magnetic tape. The avatar display means, the credit display means and the warning message display means may be stored in the recording storage medium. An avatar, a credit rating picture, and a warning message are read and displayed when the user wants to display them on the auction site. In particular, the credit rating method is calculated by the credit rating program.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a time-varying auction method according to the present invention, in detail (S40) opening an auction site; Registering by the seller (S41); The purchaser registers (S42); It consists of an auction progress step (S43) and the auction end step (S44). The step S40 is a step of opening a site for the auction in the manager server 30 as in the prior art.

5A shows a detailed flowchart of the seller registration step S41 of FIG. 4, in which the seller connects to the auction site (S501); Inputting sell data into the auction site (S502); The manager server 30 stores the sell data (S503) and publishes the sell data on the auction site (S504). In step S501, the manager server 30 allows the seller to sell the auction object to access the auction site through the seller connection means 31, and in step S502, the manager server ( 30), the seller inputs information on the auction object (item, quantity, quality, production year, etc.), one or more selling prices for the auction object, and sell data including auction period for which the auction object is to be auctioned. Do it. The selling price may be, for example, 20 $ as the selling price and 10 $ as the lowest selling price. The auction period is input as year / month / day / hour as in the prior art, for example, from 10:00 on July 3, 2000 to 10:00 on July 4, 2000. In step S503, the manager server 30 stores the sell data, and in step S504, the manager server 30 publishes the sell data on the auction site and the buyer for the auction target. Will be attracted.

FIG. 5B is a detailed flowchart of the buyer registration step S42 of FIG. 4, and details of the sell data retrieval step S511; A purchase price input (S512) and a purchase price publication step (S513) are included. In step S511, the manager server 30 allows the buyer to access the auction site through the buyer connection means 32 so as to search for the auction object. In step S512, the manager server 30 receives a purchase price when the auction time progresses when the buyer finds a desired auction object. The entry of the purchase price is possible within the auction period. In step S513, the manager server 30 posts the purchase price input by the buyer to the auction site in real time.

FIG. 5C shows a detailed flowchart of the auction proceeding step S43 of FIG. 4, in detail an area division step S521 of selling price; A purchase price publication step (S522); Auction period publication step (S523) at the time of entry of each area and a bidding step (S524) to the highest purchase price inputter. In step S521, the manager server 30 forms two or more price ranges by dividing an auction price based on one or more selling prices input by the seller. For example, when the first selling price, the second selling price, and the third selling price are presented in ascending order of the seller's selling price, the first price range is 0 to the first selling price, and the second price range is the first selling price. It is 1 selling price-2nd selling price, 3rd price range is 2nd selling price-3rd selling price, and 4th price range is more than 3 selling price. In step S522, the buyer proposes a purchase price for the auction target, starting with a purchase price of a price lower than the first selling price. The manager server 30 causes the auction period entered by the seller to flow in the first price range in the same manner as the prior art period, and when the purchase price enters the second price range, the first price The remaining auction period excluding the auction period flowing out of the range is shortened to 1/2 or 1/3, and when entering the third price range, the auction period excluding the auction period flowing in the second price range from the shortened auction period is Proceed to the auction by cutting to 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc. In step S524, the manager server 30 allows the bidder to win the bid to the buyer who presented the highest purchase price at the end of the auction period.

FIG. 5D illustrates a detailed flowchart of the auction end step 44 of FIG. 4, and includes a successful bid confirmation message, a successful bid price, a successful bidder's publication step S531, and an auction execution step S532. In step S524, the auction is not in progress, and in step S531, the manager server displays a successful bid confirmation message notifying the end of the auction on the auction site, and a successful bid price and successful bidder for the auction target. In the step S532, the seller delivers and receives the auction object for the auction object, and the buyer remits the money and receives the auction object according to the rules of the auction site. .

FIG. 6A illustrates the sell data input by the seller in step S502 of FIG. 5A, in which the seller selects an auction target (item, quantity, quality, production year, etc.) and one or more auction prices (eg, the first Selling data stored in the manager server 30 by inputting a selling price, a second selling price) and an auction period. Like the sell data above, the seller may enter one or more sell prices.

FIG. 6B shows the price range divided by the sell data in FIG. 6A, which includes a first price range (0 won to 2nd selling price), a second price range (2nd selling price and 1st selling price), and FIG. It is divided into a third price range (first selling price to ∞ won).

FIG. 6C shows a flowchart of the auction proceeding step of step S523 of FIG. 5C, which includes an auction start step S61; An input determination step (S62) of the purchase price; Displaying the purchase price (S63); Determining auction period expiration (S64); It is comprised of the fluctuation determination step S65 of a price range, and the resetting step S66 of an auction period. The central processing unit 300 of the manager server 30 controls the dynamic progress processing means 302 to start an auction at 14:00 on January 20, 2000 on the selling data (step S61). If the buyer has entered the purchase price in step S62, the purchase price is displayed (step S63). If no purchase price is entered, the flow proceeds to step S64. If it is determined in step S64 whether the current time is within the auction period and the auction period has been exceeded, the auction ends and the buyer who inputs the highest purchase price becomes a successful bidder (step S67). If the current time falls within the auction period in step S64, it is determined in step S65 whether the price range to which the purchase price entered by the buyer belongs has changed, and if so, the dynamic progress processing means 302 In step S66, the auction period remaining at the current time is shortened to a predetermined rate, and the auction continues, and if there is no change, the remaining auction period proceeds with the same time flow. For example, if the purchase price of the buyer starts at $ 8 and the buyer enters 10.01 $ at 16:00 on January 20, 2000, the 10.01 $ is in the second price range, so that the manager server (30) reduces the current remaining time (20-16: 00 = 4 hours) to a predetermined ratio (for example, 1/2), and resets the remaining time to 2 hours on January 20, 2000, 16:00. do. If the purchase price of the buyer is still within the second price range, the auction ends at 18:00 on January 20, 2000, and the buyer who entered the highest purchase price becomes a successful bidder. If the buyer enters 20.01 $ at 17:00 on January 20, 2000, the manager server 30 similarly sets the remaining auction time (18:00-17:00 = 1 hour) at a predetermined rate (for example, Shortened to 1/4), the remaining time at 17:00 on January 20, 2000 is reset to 25 minutes. Thus, the auction ends at 17:25 of 20 January 2000.

In the step S66 of resetting the auction period, that is, in the resetting of the remaining time of the auction period, the manager server 30 displays the reset fact (hereinafter, Alert message), and the alert message to the seller and the buyer. In other words, the warning messages would be "2 hours left until the end of the auction" and "25 minutes left until the end of the auction." The delivery may be performed using wireless or wired communication. The delivery of the warning message is for informing the remaining time of the auction period, and the seller and the buyer can alleviate the inconvenience of having to stay connected to the auction site until the auction ends.

FIG. 6D illustrates another embodiment of FIG. 6C, further including the step of closing the auction by the seller (S68) during the auction. In other words, whether or not the auction is in progress, the seller quickly terminates the auction, or a method for bidding a bidder with a relatively high credit rating among buyers participating in the auction. The seller may terminate the auction by a forced bidding means provided by the manager server 30.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example of an avatar that a seller and a buyer should select, and selects one of the avatars provided by the avatar display unit 304 as a symbol of oneself.

FIG. 7B illustrates the credit ratings of the seller and the buyer using the avatar of FIG. 7A. The avatar display means 304 and the credit rating display means 303 are, for example, when the credit rating is five levels. If the 5th grade is the same avatar, the avatar may be discriminated in appearance (eg, attire), so that the seller and the buyer's credit rating can be easily visually identified.

FIG. 7C illustrates an arrangement during the auction of the avatar of FIG. 7A. The avatars selected by the buyer are arranged according to the purchase price input by the buyer. In other words. The avatar display means 304 is arranged in descending or ascending order according to the purchase price to visually display the auction progress. In addition, while the auction is in progress, the avatar may perform a specific action (for example, a running motion) to mean that the auction is in progress. It also shows that the auction can be terminated by clicking on the avatar or name of the buyer (or bidder) by the forced bidding means.

FIG. 7D illustrates a warning message using the avatar in the reset step S66 of FIG. 6C. When the purchase price of the buyer enters the second price range, the remaining time of the auction period is shortened. For example, there is a way to make the avatar blink red. Through this, the seller and the buyer accessing the auction site can easily recognize the resetting of the auction period.

FIG. 7E illustrates another warning message using the avatar in the reset step S66 of the auction period of FIG. 6C, when the purchase price of the buyer enters the third price range, for example, the avatar is red. To change.

According to the present invention, by changing the auction period fluidly, it is possible to proceed auction quickly without having to wait until the first designated auction period. That is, the auction delay problem is solved through a quick auction by flexibly shortening the designated auction period according to the current auction price.

In addition, the progress of the auction and the credit ratings of the seller and the buyer can be visually presented using the avatar to display the progress of the auction and the reliability of the auction quickly and easily on the auction site. Therefore, the present invention has the effect of activating the e-commerce through the rapid progress of the auction and secure the reliability.

Claims (19)

delete delete delete delete A seller registration step on an auction system including a seller access means, a buyer access means, and a manager server for managing an auction site for auctioning through the Internet; A buyer registration step; An auction method on the Internet comprising an auction proceeding step, wherein in the seller registration step, the manager server allows the seller to access the auction site through the seller access means; Receiving and storing, by the manager server, selling data including an auction object to be sold by the seller, at least one selling price for the auction object, and an auction period for the auction object; The manager server posting the sell data to the auction site, Registering, by the manager server, the buyer server to retrieve the selling data from the auction site; The manager server receiving and storing a purchase price for an auction target to be bought by the buyer during the auction period; The manager server posting the purchase price of the buyer to the auction site, Each time the purchase price exceeds any one of the one or more selling prices input by the seller as the selling price increases by the manager server in the auction proceeding step, respectively, the remaining period of the auction period Reducing at a predetermined rate; The manager server posting the purchase price of the buyer to the auction site during the auction period in real time; And bidding, by the manager server, the auction object to the buyer who inputs the highest purchase price at the time when the auction time expires. The method of claim 5, wherein the manager server further comprises an avatar display step of allowing the seller and the buyer to select a specific avatar representing the user before the auction time to display the selected avatar on the auction site. Variable Auction Method. The credit rating step of claim 5 or 6, wherein the seller registration step and the buyer registration step are performed by the manager server granting the same credit rating when the seller and the buyer first access the auction site and participate in an auction. Wow; A credit rating updating step of raising the credit rating when the auction of more than a certain number of times is terminated and lowering the credit rating when the selling and rejection is more than a certain number of times; And displaying the credit rating on the auction site while the auction is in progress. The method of claim 6, wherein the avatar is displayed in the order of the purchase price input by the buyer during the auction. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the avatar shows an operation indicating that the auction is in progress until the end of the auction. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the avatar indicates the seller's and buyer's credit ratings during the auction. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the manager server displays the credit rating through the appearance of the avatar. The time varying auction method according to claim 5, wherein the manager server further includes transmitting a warning message to the seller and the buyer informing that the remaining time of the auction period is shortened. 13. The time varying auction method according to claim 6 or 12, wherein the manager server further comprises displaying the occurrence of the warning message by changing the appearance of the avatar. The auction system of claim 5, wherein the manager server divides the auction price based on the one or more selling prices to form two or more price ranges, and when the purchase price input by the buyer rises and enters a different price range, the auction. Shortening the remaining period of the period by a predetermined rate different from the previous price range. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of: the manager server posting a successful bid confirmation message, a successful bid price, and a successful bidder on the auction site after the auction proceeding step; Executing the seller's delivery and receipt of the auction object to the auction object, the transfer of the buyer's money and the receipt of the auction object, according to the rules of the auction site. Way. 6. The time-varying auction as claimed in claim 5, wherein the one or more selling prices are a selling price lowest price that is the lowest price at which the seller can sell the auction object and a selling registration price that is an appropriate selling price for the auction object. Way. 17. The method according to claim 14 or 16, wherein the price range is a first price range indicating a price range below the available minimum price, a second price range indicating a price range between the available minimum price and the selling registration price, And the selling registration is a third price range representing the above price range. The time varying auction method according to claim 5, wherein the manager server further comprises a step in which the seller can bid the auction object to the specific buyer even before the auction period ends. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of authenticating the seller and the buyer in the seller and buyer registration step.