Patent ID: 7720745

Claim:
In an electronic commerce exchange hosted on a distributed computer network, an electronic auction method for specifying catalog contents for an electronic auction, comprising: receiving at an exchange server catalog contents for an auction from an operator of a catalog-based selling operation, the catalog contents having first been sold at catalog terms by the operator of the catalog-based selling operation, wherein the catalog contents are selected for the auction based on one or more factors selected from a group of factors comprising demand for the catalog contents, obsolescence of the catalog contents, and perishability of the contents; receiving at the exchange server from the operator of the catalog-based selling operation initial terms for a sale for the contents for the auction, wherein said initial terms are selected from a group consisting of delivery conditions and minimum opening bid; initiating the auction for the contents with the exchange server using said catalog contents and said initial terms; receiving, comparing, and updating continuously with the exchange server bids for the contents made to the exchange server from remote bidders via the distributed computer network; determining with the exchange server a most competitive bid out of the bids received for the contents; and; completing the sale of the contents with the exchange server based on the terms of the most competitive bid.