Consignment nodes

Abstract

A method and apparatus for creating a computerized market for used and collectible goods by allowing the electronic present of goods from one market to another in a trusted network, allowing the electronic auctioning of goods, enabling an electronic agent to search the markets for locate a good, and enabling an electronic agent to search for the owner of a hard to find good.

1 . An Internet-based transactional system for establishing multiple participant accounts that can be debited or credited corresponding to funds used or generated by participant transactions in the transactional system, the transactional system clearing transactions by connecting a participant to a participant account and transferring funds from an account associated with a participant acting as a buyer in the transactional system to an account associated with a participant acting as a seller in the transactional system, wherein the transaction is based at least in part on the seller participant posting a unique item for sale in an ascending bid auction format and the buyer participant authorizing a transfer of funds in response to winning the unique item for sale in the ascending bid auction format, the transactional system clearing the transaction by debiting the account associated with the buyer participant and crediting the account for the participant acting as the seller, the transactional system comprising: 
 (a) a computer system in communication with the Internet and capable of executing a plurality of substantially simultaneous processes;  
 (b) one or more processes executing on the computer system operable to perform the following: 
 (i) establish multiple participant accounts based on information received from multiple participants, the multiple participant account balances capable of being debited or credited with funds used or generated with participant transactions in the transactional system;  
 (ii) initiate an ascending bid format auction instance based on information received from a seller participant, each auction instance describing an unique item offered for sale in an ascending bid auction format;  
 (iii) connecting a buyer participant to at least one account maintained by the transactional system and associated with the buyer participant; and  
 (iv) clearing the transaction between the buyer participant with the seller participant by debiting the account associated with the buyer participant and crediting the account for the seller participant, the transaction between the buyer participant and the seller participant being based at least in part on a result of the buyer participant winning the unique item in the ascending bid format auction instance initiated based on the information received the seller participant.  
 
 
     
     
         2 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 1  wherein the initiated auction instance comprises an independent auction instance executing substantially simultaneously with a plurality of other auction instances.  
     
     
         3 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 2  wherein the plurality of auction instances correspond to a plurality of unrelated items.  
     
     
         4 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 2  wherein the plurality of auction instances correspond to unrelated participants acting as seller participants.  
     
     
         5 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 1  further comprising one or more processes to post the unique item by electronic presentment from a seller participant, the electronic presentment including an item description, and wherein the transactional system provides a unique code to confirm an auction listing.  
     
     
         6 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 1  wherein the transactional system charges a fee for the transaction between participants.  
     
     
         7 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 1  wherein the fee charged comprises a percentage of the final sales price of the item being auctioned.  
     
     
         8 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the transactional system is under a first entity's control;  
 the information describing the item offered for auction is received from a computer system independently operated by the participant acting as the seller; and  
 the auction instance for the seller participant is initiated while the item remains outside the first entity's possession.  
 
     
     
         9 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 8  wherein the auction instance is initiated while the item remains outside the first entity's control.  
     
     
         10 . The Internet-based transaction system of  claim 1  wherein the auction instance for the seller participant is initiated while the item remains in the seller participant's control.  
     
     
         11 . The Internet-based transactional system of  claim 1  wherein a participant can act as a buyer participant in one transaction and as a seller participant in another transaction.