Patent ID: 9715708
Date: 2017-07-25
CPC Classifications: G06Q

Claim:
1. A computerized collaborative auction method, comprising: accepting bids, on a server, from a plurality of auction participants each using a computer to place the bids, the bids being placed on individual components of a multi-component ensemble; providing, for display on a consumer device associated with a consumer, an ordered list including the multi-component ensemble and a listing of a plurality of ensembles; determining, by the server, a maximum bid for each of the individual components of the multi-component ensemble, the maximum bids being provided by the plurality of auction participants; adding, on the server, the maximum bids to form a single bid on the multi-component ensemble, the single bid stored on the server; ranking, by the server, the multi-component ensemble within the listing of the plurality of ensembles, stored on the server, based on the single bid for the multi-component ensemble relative to single bids for other ensembles in the plurality of ensembles; updating the ordered list for display on the consumer device associated with the consumer in response to obtaining a rank of the multi-component ensemble; receiving a consumer inventory comprising branded components in possession of the consumer; determining a set of ensembles from the plurality of ensembles that can be created from the consumer inventory; determining an output ensemble from the set of ensembles, wherein the output ensemble requires a quantity of a given component; calculating a component bid total for the given component based on a plurality of bids for the given component, the plurality of bids for the given component selected from the bids placed on the individual components accepted by the server; and calculating, from the plurality of bids for the given component, a contribution to the component bid total of each of the plurality of bids for the given component by weighting each of the plurality of bids for the given component by an amount, wherein a sum of the amounts equals the quantity of the given component required in the output ensemble; wherein the auction participants are not aware of whether other participants' bids are being combined with their own bids to form the single bids.