Method, apparatus and article of manufacture for determining the end to a silent auction using a tiered strategy

Abstract

Systems and methods of an electronic auction system that receives at least one bid to purchase an item that is available for auction during a period of time. The period of time comprises a plurality of time increments. The system also uses a computing device to determine that the auction for the item has ended. The act of determining includes determining that at least one of the following events has occurred: a first quantity of bids received during a first time increment is less than a first pre-determined number; and a second quantity of bids received during a second time increment is less than a second pre-determined number. Based on pre-determined criteria, the system also determines a winning bid from a plurality of received bids. The system transmits to a remote device a notification of the winning bid. The system also processes a payment of the item.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving at least one bid to purchase an item that is available for auction during a period of time, in which the period of time comprises a plurality of time increments;   determining, using a computing device, that the auction for the item has ended, in which the act of determining further comprises:   determining that at least one of the following events has occurred:
 (ii) a first quantity of bids received during a first time increment is less than a first pre-determined number; and 
 (iii) a second quantity of bids received during a second time increment is less than a second pre-determined number; 
   determining, based on pre-determined criteria, a winning bid from a plurality of received bids;   transmitting to a remote device a notification of the winning bid, in which the remote device and the computing device are in communication via a network; and   processing a payment of the item.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the act of determining that the auction has ended further comprises:
 determining that the period of time for the auction has ended.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprises:
 selecting, based on pre-determined criteria, the item from a plurality of items stored on a server. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  further comprises:
 generating an electronic bidsheet that is associated with the item. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , in which the electronic bidsheet comprises a minimum bid that is used to deny any bid that does not meet a minimum amount. 
     
     
         6 . An apparatus comprising:
 a process; and   a memory, in which the memory stores instructions which, when executed by the processor, direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 1 .   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , in which the instructions further direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 2 . 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , in which the instructions further direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 3 . 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , in which the instructions further direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 4 . 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , in which the instructions further direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 5 . 
     
     
         11 . An article of manufacture comprising:
 a storage medium, in which the storage medium stores instructions which, when executed by a processor, direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 1 .   
     
     
         12 . The article of manufacture of  claim 11 , in which the instructions further direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 2 . 
     
     
         13 . The article of manufacture of  claim 11 , in which the instructions further direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 3 . 
     
     
         14 . The article of manufacture of  claim 13 , in which the instructions further direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 4 . 
     
     
         15 . The article of manufacture of  claim 14 , in which the instructions further direct the processor to perform the method of  claim 5 .