WO2002013082A1

WO2002013082A1 - Auctioning method raising price automatically

Info

Publication number: WO2002013082A1
Application number: PCT/KR2000/000887
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young-Hoon Kim
Original assignee: Ectotal Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2000-08-10
Filing date: 2000-08-10
Publication date: 2002-02-14
Also published as: AU2000264794A1

Abstract

In an automatic price rising auction method, by rising the auction price on the basis of the auction start time, an auction on the Internet can be activated with rapid auction progress, and probability of successful bid can be heightened, and by rising the auction price by the unit time price rising range by a certain program of a server, time delay in auctioning can be solved by satisfying request of a seller and a buyer wanting rapid selling and rapid buying. In addition, by introducing credit points, a reliability of an auction can be improved, and impartial price determining opportunities can be given to the seller and the buyer.________

Description

AUCTIONING METHOD RAISING PRICE AUTOMATICALLY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an automatic price rising auction method over the Internet which is capable of proceeding an auction rapidly by placing great importance on an auction start time and rising a purchase price according to a price rising range by unit time at the same time with a start of auction and improving a reliability of auction and e- commerce by evaluating and providing a credit rating of a seller and a buyer.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, the Internet is an open network which makes possible anyone in anywhere to connect freely to a computer of the other party by adapting a common protocol such as a TCP/IP, and the Internet can provide various services such as an electronic mail, a file transmission, the WWW (World Wide Web), etc. not to speak of a basic character information transmission and a multimedia information transmission according to development of a data compression technology.

The importance of the Internet has been rapidly increased as a strategic instrument- for enhancing efficiency and productivity of the conventional industries while it spreads all over the world as well as domestic, new business chances through the Internet are continually generated as well as expansion of Internet business ranges, accordingly business proprietors using the Internet increase gradually.

In other words, recently Internet sites for providing various contents such as an Internet broadcast, an on-line game, an Internet newspaper/magazine, a search service, a portal service, an electronic commerce, etc. rapidly increase as a business model through the

Internet.

Among them, the number of auction sites which provide services for buying/selling needed products or real estates each other on the Internet by adapting an auction method is largely increasing, and these auction sites attract public attention.

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a auction service through the Internet. In general, only subscribers can join auctions on an auction site 10. Accordingly, a user who wants to use the auction service through the Internet 20 has to contact and join the auction site 10, and the user can register an item or a service to sell and a selling price.

And, the auction site 10 puts the item or service up at the auction, each subscriber (after, it is called as a seller) contacting to the auction site 10 through the Internet 20 registers an item to sell on the auction site 10 by using a computer 30-1 of a first seller or a computer 30-N of a N seller, and the auction site 10 announces the auction through the Internet 20.

A buyer who wants to buy the item announced on the auction site 10 inputs a purchase price for the auction item through a computer 40-1 of a first buyer or a computer 40-M of a M buyer. Herein, offering the price is called as a bid. The bid is transmitted to the auction site 10, and generally an auction period (such as three days, a week etc.) per each item is determined.

And, when the auction period ends, the buyer who calls the highest purchase price for the auction item concludes a contract with the seller who registered the auction item on the auction site 10.

Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating the conventional auction service process. The conventional auction service process will now be

described in detail with reference to accompanying Figure 2.

When the auction site 10 receives bid information about the auction item from the computers 40-1 ~ 40-M of the sellers as shown at S201 , it updates the present price of the auction item registered on the auction site 10 according to the bid information as shown at S202. And, it

judges whether the auction period ends as shown at S203, when the auction period does not ends, it is returned to S201 and waits new bid information reception. However, it finishes the auction when the auction period ends as shown at S204. In the conventional auction process, the buyer can not know the present bid unless he/she contacts to the auction site 10 continually in order to check the proceeding until the auction period is ends. Accordingly, economic loss due to the continuous contact to the auction site occurs until the auction period ends. In other words, the conventional auction causes the economical loss because it concentrates on the end time of the auction period.

In addition, the conventional auction process is the auction method which proceeds the auction with the buyer as the central figure,

the seller has to wait passively after registering the auction item on the auction site until the auction ends, and also may have economic loss when there is only low bids by an operation of buyers. In addition, when the seller can not take the item purchase money from a buyer after the auction item is knocked down to the certain buyer, there is short of protection means for the seller. .

In addition, in the conventional auction process, because the

auction continually proceeds for a certain period determined by the auction site 10, it can not satisfy a request of a seller and a buyer who want a rapid selling and a rapid buying.

In addition, in the conventional auction process, there is short of countermeasures about a buying reject and a selling reject.

TECHNICAL GIST OF THE PESENT INVENTION

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic price rising auction method which is capable of providing impartial opportunities to both a seller and a buyer in an auction performed on the Internet by offering two purchase

prices by a buyer and selecting a purchase price by a seller according to the rise of a purchase price from a lower purchase price to a higher purchase price.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic price rising auction method which is capable of selling an auction object quickly by proceeding an auction on the basis of a start time.

In addition, it is still another object of the present invention^' to

provide an automatic price rising auction method which is capable of improving a reliability of auction and e-commerce by including a method for measuring a reliability of a seller and a buyer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system contacting to an auction site, a seller and a buyer over the Internet;

Figure 2 is a. flow chart illustrating the conventional auction method;

Figure 3A is a block diagram illustrating a computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3B is a flow chart illustrating a price rising auction method in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4A illustrates a first embodiment of an auction time and the number of auction repetition times (auction timetable) in the step (S31 ) of Figure 3; Figure 4B illustrates a second embodiment of an auction time and the number of auction repetition times (auction timetable) in the step (S31 ) of Figure 3;

Figure 4C illustrates a third embodiment of an auction time and the number of auction repetition times (auction timetable) in the step (S31 ) of Figure 3;

Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of an auction time, an auction object, an auction price and the number of auction repetition times displayed on the auction site of the step (S32) of Figure 3; Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment showing a price fall during an auction progress in the step (S33 or S34) of Figure 3; and

Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating processes for knocking down an auction object in the auction progress of the step (S34) of Figure 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An automatic price rising auction method in accordance with the present invention prqvides an auction service over the Internet.

Figure 3A is a block diagram illustrating a computer system in accordance with the present invention, the computer system includes a server 30 opening and operating an auction site, a buyer contact means

31 contacting to a server 30 of the auction site and buying movable property and real property (hereinafter, they are called as auction objects), and a seller contact means 32 selling the auction object by contacting to the auction site. The server 30 includes an interface means (not shown) contactable with the buyer contact means 31 and the seller contact means 32, a CPU 300, an auction object storing means 301 being inputted information (item, quantity, quality, production year, etc.) about the auction object from the buyer contact means 31 , an auction price storing means 302 storing not less than one purchase price about the auction object, an auction progress information storing means 303 storing an auction period about the auction object, a time display means 305 being inputted the rest of the auction period from the CPU 300 and displaying it on the auction site, and a price display means being inputted the present auction .price of the auction object from the CPU 300 and displaying it on the auction site. In addition, the server 30 further includes a credit information storing means (not shown) storing a certain program calculating a credit of the buyer and the seller in order to calculate a credit of the buyer and the seller and report it on the auction site. The storing means can be a hard disc, a magnetic tape, a compact disc, various drives, etc. according to the prior art, and the auction progress information storing means 303 can have a certain program rising^" the auction price. The CPU 300 performs operations such as an rising an auction price in the auction progress by operating the program.

Figure 3b is a flow chart illustrating an auction method in accordance with the present invention, an auction method in accordance with the present invention includes an auction object storing means 301 , the auction price storing means 302 and the auction progress information means 303 (auction time, the number of auction repetition times) as shown at step S30, registering an auction object, an auction price, an auction time and repetition times on the auction site by the buyer as shown at step S31 , displaying the auction object, auction price, auction time and repetition times on the auction site in real time by the server 30 ^"of the auction site, participating in the auction of the auction object by the seller, and knocking down the auction object to the seller clicking a bid button first when the server 30 of the auction site rises the auction price of the auction object from the auction time on the auction site as shown at step S34.

In the construction of the present invention, in the step S30, the auction object storing means 301 is inputted information (production date, quality, quantity, etc.) about the auction object from the buyer and stores it, the auction price storing means 302 is inputted a purchase price (or a certain price) about the buyer request auction object, a highest purchase price, a lowest purchase price and stores it, the auction progress information storing means 303 stores at least one auction time information about the auction object according to kinds of the auction object, is inputted the number of auction repetition times from the buyer in order to prepare for a failure of auction and stores it, in order to purchase the auction object (movable property or real estate) in the step S31 , the buyer contacts to the auction site, inputs the information about the auction object to the auction object storing means 301 , inputs a purchase price, the highest purchase price and the lowest purchase price to the auction price storing means 302, selects the pre-stored auction time from the auction progress information storing means 303 on the auction site and inputs the number of auction repetition times, accordingly the buyer has registered the auction. The buyer can set freely the purchase price, herein the highest purchase price and the lowest purchase price can be determined within a certain price range determined by the auction site. For example, the highest purchase price can be one of +40%, +50%, +80%, +100% of the purchase price, and the lowest purchase price can be one of -20%, -40%, -60% of the purchase price. In the step S32, the server 30 of the auction site displays the auction object, the auction price (purchase price, the highest purchase price, the lowest purchase price) and the auction progress information (auction time, the number of auction repetition times) on the auction site in real time, in the step S33, the seller contacts to the auction site, participates in an auction by checking the auction object, the auction price and the auction progress information, in the step S34, when the server 30 of the auction site rises the auction price from the lowest auction price at the auction start time on the auction site, the auction object is knock down to the seller clicking a bid button first. Herein, the number of sellers contacting to the auction site is not disclosed.

When the seller and the buyer contact to the auction site and participate in the auction for the first time, in order to evaluate a reliability of the buyer and the seller, for example, credit points of 100 are provided to the buyer and the seller, when the seller and the buyer contact to the auction site at least one time, credit points of the seller is stored in the credit information storing means of the server 30 of the auction site.

Figure 4A ~ 4C illustrate the auction time and the number of auction repetition times (auction timetable) in the step (S31) of the Figure 3, in more detail, the server 30 of the auction site provides at least one auction timetable, which is first classified according to the auction object of the buyer, and then is classified according to an auction start time. The auction timetable is constructed with an auction start time, a buyer's name and the number of auction repetition times, herein the server 30 of the auction site pre-stores the auction start time, accordingly delay and duplication of the auction can be prevented. The buyer selects one of the auction timetables and inputs a buyer and the number of auction repetition times of the selected auction timetable. The number of auction repetition times means the number of performing an auction on the auction site, when the auction about the auction object is failed in a first auction, if the number of auction repetition times is 0, the auction is failed and ends, and if the number of auction repetition times is 2, the auction restarts. When the buyer selects the auction timetable of FIG.4A, the auction start time 09:00 and 10:00 are selected by the other buyer already, the buyer can select 10:40 or can search another auction timetable. When the buyer selects the auction timetable of FIG.4B, the buyer can select 11 :00 or has to search another auction timetable. When the buyer selects the auction timetable of FIG.4C, the buyer can select 10:50 or can search another auction timetable. In more detail, when the buyer contacts to the auction site at 10:35, the buyer can reduce the standby time by selecting the auction timetable of FIG.4A or FIG.4B. The server 30 can give .limitation in selecting of timetables to the buyer by differentiating credit grades in accordance with the credit points of the buyer in the auction timetable select process. In other words, it is possible to make an auction timetable in which only buyers having not less than a credit of 80 points can register.

FIG.5 illustrates the embodiment of auction time, auction object, auction price and the number of auction repetition times reported on the auction site in the step S32 of Figure 3. In more detail, the auction start time and the number of auction repetition times are based on the auction timetable stored on the auction progress information storing mean 303 and selected by the buyer, the auction object is based on the information stored in the auction object storing means 301 , and the purchase price, the highest purchase price and the lowest purchase price are based on the information stored on the auction price storing means 302, accordingly the server 30 makes out the information and displays it on the auction site. A seller retrieves the auction object and participates in the auction. The auction object is updated in real time, the present auction circumstances are provided to the all sellers and buyers. Herein, the auction site Gan give limitation in participating in the auction to the buyer in accordance with credit points of the buyer, accordingly the reliability of the auction can be improved.

FIG.6 illustrates the embodiment of displaying price rising in auction progress steps S33 and S34 of FIG.3. In more detail, the auction price display graph 60, bid button 61 , rest time display 62 are displayed. In addition, a purchase price, the highest purchase price and the lowest purchase price of the auction object are displayed. The auction starts from the lowest purchase price at the same time with the auction start time, when a seller clicks the bid button 61 , the auction ends. However, when the unit time is passed, the deviant line part of the auction price display graph 60 is increased according to the unit time price rising rate predetermined in the auction site, and the present auction price rising is displayed. When the auction price reaches to the highest purchase price by rising according to the unit time and any seller do not click the bid button 61 , the auction is failed. The unit time price rising rate can be determined as the price rising per the unit time or the rising percentage (%). The rest time display 62 means the time difference from the present time to a start time of a next auction in the auction timetable.

Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating a knocking down process of the auction object in the step S34 of Figure 3. In more detail, it includes logging in the auction site by a buyer and a seller as shown at step S700, starting an auction as shown ^'at step S701 , judging whether the seller clicks the bid button as shown at step S703, rising an auction price as

^■ shown at step S704, judging whether the click signal from the seller is a first signal arrived in the server 30 of the auction site as shown at step

5705, knocking down the auction object to the seller as shown at step

5706, judging the number of auction repetition time as shown at step S707, judging whether all auctions in the auction timetable proceed as shown at step S708, updating the auction timetable as shown at step S709, and ending the auction as shown at step S710.

In the logging in step as shown at step S700, the buyer and the seller log in the auction site by using a certification, provided from the auction site or ID/password, etc., and the auction starts at the auction start time of the auction timetable selected by the buyer in step S701. At the same time with the auction start, the server 30 of the auction site determines unit time price rising range and starts the auction, judges whether the seller clicks the bid button 61 in the judging step S702, when it is judged as 'no', judges whether a present auction price is the highest purchase price in the judging step S703, but when it is judged as 'yes' in the judging step S702, judges the number of auction repetition times in the judging step S707. When there are several bid button clicks for a few seconds by different sellers before displaying successful bid notification on the auction site, in the judging step S705 the server 30 checks the first arrival click and awards the contract to a pertinent seller. When it is judged as 'yes' in the judging result of step S705, the contract is awarded to the seller as shown at step S706, the result is instantly displayed on the auction site and the auction ends. When it is judged as 'no' in the judging result of step S705, it means the auction object is knock down to another seller and the auction ends as shown at step S710. The judgement of the judging step S707, the number of auction repetition times is inputted by the buyer before the auction starts, when the number of auction repetition times is 0, the buyer requests only one auction, and the auction ends as shown at step 710. When the number of auction repetition times is not 0, the auction restarts, in the judging step S708 it is judged whether all auctions in the auction timetable are performed, the number of auction repetition times subtracted 1 by the server 30 of the auction site is updated in the auction progress information storing means 303. When it is judged as 'no' in the judging step S708, the auction is standby, the standby means waiting until all auctions in the same auction timetable are performed. When all auctions are performed in the judging step S708, the server 30 updates the auction timetable in the step S709 and restarts the auction as shown at step S701. In the update of the auction timetable, the order (the order registered by the buyer) of the auction in the auction timetable before the update is not changed, only the buyer having the number of auction repetition times as 0 is deleted, a next buyer of the deleted buyer has the order of the deleted buyer. It is according to a queue data processing method as a FIFO (first in first out) method. For example, when a buyer DD selects an auction timetable of Figure 4B, the buyer registers the auction at 11 :00, when the buyer selects the number of auction repetition times as 4, there is no auction at 11 :30, an auction of a buyer AA is failed, an auction of a buyer BB is successful, an auction of a buyer CC is failed and an auction of the buyer DD is failed, the auction progress order of an auction timetable updated by the server 30 of the auction site is the buyer AA - buyer CC- buyer DD, the number of auction repetition times of the buyer AA is 1 , the number of auction repetition times of the buyer CC is 2, the number of auction repetition times of the buyer DD is 3, and the number of auction repetition times are inputted and stored in the auction progress information storing means 303. The server 30 provides new auction start time to the buyers and starts auctions according to the auction progress order. In addition, when the buyer designates the number of auction repetition times as a number not 0, the buyer can input the auction price again (a purchase price, the highest purchase price, the lowest purchase price) for the standby time in the judging step S708. The server 30 can transmit the auction start time about the auction object to the buyer and the seller through a wire or wireless communication network.

In the step S710, when the auction about the auction object ends on the auction site, in order not to proceed the auction about the auction object, the server does not receive bid display signals and click signals. In addition, after ending the auction, the manager of the auction site performs a delivery and a receipt of the auction object of the seller and a money transferring and a receipt of the auction object of the buyer according to regulations of the auction site. If, the seller delays the delivery of the auction object or cancels the contract unilaterally, or the buyer delays the money transferring or the receipt of the auction object, the server 30 can lower credit points of the seller/ buyer.

By rising the auction price on the basis of the auction start time, an auction on the Internet can be activated with rapid auction progress, and probability of successful bid can be enhanced. In addition, by rising the auction price by the unit time price rising range by a certain program of the server 30, time delay in auctioning can be solved by satisfying request of a seller and a buyer wanting rapid selling and rapid buying. In addition, by introducing credit points, a reliability of an auction can be improved, and impartial price determining opportunities can be given to the seller, and the buyer.

Claims

1. In an auction method for an auction site over the Internet, an automatic price rising auction method, comprising: a first process for constructing an auction object storing means being inputted and storing information about an auction object requested by a buyer, an auction price storing means storing an auction price about the auction object requested by the buyer and an auction progress information storing means storing an auction time about the auction in a server of an auction site; a second process for requesting an auction from the buyer to the server of the auction site by contacting to the auction site and respectively storing information about an auction object, an auction price and auction time inputted from the buyer in the auction object storing means, the auction price storing means and the auction progress information storing means; a third process for displaying the data respectively stored in the auction object storing means, the auction price storing means and the auction progress information storing means on the auction site in real time; a fourth process for participating in the auction by a seller for an auction period; and a fifth process for knocking down the auction object to a seller clicking a bid button first when the server of the auction site rises a price from one of the auction prices for the auction period on the auction site.

2. In an auction method for an auction site over the Internet, an automatic price rising auction method, comprising: a first process for constructing an auction object storing means being inputted and storing information about an auction object requested by a buyer, an auction price storing means storing an auction price about the auction object requested by the buyer and an auction progress information storing means being inputted and storing at least one auction time according to kinds of auction object and at least one auction time data having the number of auction repetition times; a second process for requesting an auction from a buyer to the server of the auction site by contacting to the auction site and respectively storing information about an auction object, at least one auction price and auction timetable inputted from the buyer in the auction object storing means, the auction price storing means and the auction progress information storing means; a third process for displaying the data respectively stored in the auction object storing means, the auction price storing means and the auction progress information storing means on the auction site in real time; a fourth process for participating in the auction for an auction period by a seller; and a fifth process for knocking down the auction object to a seller clicking a bid button first when the server of the auction site rises a price from one of the auction prices for the auction period on the auction site.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the auction timetable is constructed with at least one auction start time according to a certain time interval determined by a manger of the auction site and the number of auction repetition times inputted by the buyer and displays an auction start time and an auction end time in the first process, the server of the auction site stores the auction start time and an auction progress order and the number of auction repetition times selected by the buyer in the second process, the server of the auction site displays the auction timetable on the auction site according to kinds of auction object in the third process, and the seller participates in the auction at the auction time by selecting a request auction time in the auction timetable and the auction proceeds according to the auction progress order in the fourth process.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the fifth process includes the steps of:

rising a price of the auction object from one of the auction prices to a certain limitation price until there is a click signal from a seller for the auction period; displaying the rising price and the rest of time through the price display means and the time display means; knocking down the auction object to a seller clicking the bid button first before the price of the auction object reaches to the certain limitation price; and performing a delivery and a receipt of money by the seller and transferring of money and receipt of the auction object by the buyer according to regulations of the auction site.

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the auction price includes a purchase price the highest purchase price and the lowest purchase price inputted from the buyer.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: designating the highest purchase price and the lowest purchase price by the buyer by selecting one or two of price ranges provided from the server of the auction site after the buyer inputs the purchase price to the server of the auction site.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: designating the highest purchase price and the lowest purchase price within the certain range of the purchase price by the sever after the buyer inputs the purchase price to the server of the auction site and storing those prices.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the server of the auction site rises the auction price from the lowest purchase price to the highest purchase price stored in the auction price storing means.

9. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the server of the auction site rises the auction price according to a certain unit time price rising range.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the server of the auction site varies the unit time price rising range according to a present price.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein the knocking down step includes the sub-steps of: failing in the auction about the auction object when the auction price reaches to the limitation price in the knocking down step and ending all auctions of the auction timetable; updating the auction timetable according to the auction progress order of the auction timetable in accordance with the rest of the number of auction repetition times; storing the updated auction timetable in the auction progress information storing means; and proceeding an ^' auction according to the updated auction timetable.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the buyer can re-input an auction price right after failing in the auction and before an auction proceeds again according to the updated auction timetable.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the auction progress order of the auction object before the update is not changed by forming the auction timetable as a queue format.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the server of the auction site transmits the updated auction time to the seller and the buyer after updating the auction timetable.

15. The method of claim 1 , 2, 3 and 4, wherein same credit points are provided to a seller and a buyer when they participate in the auction for the first time.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the buyer having low credit points can have a handicap in selecting an auction time.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the seller having low credit points can have a handicap in selecting an auction time.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the seller can have a handicap in credit points when the seller does not delivery the object knocked down within a certain period determined by the auction site.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the buyer can have a handicap in credit points when the buyer does not transfer the purchase money within a certain period determined by the auction site.

20. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 4, wherein a first bidding buyer is determined according to a click signal of the bid . button transmitted first to the server of the auction site.