Patent ID: 7584124

Claim:
A computer system comprising at least one server with one or more processors and memory for facilitating an electronic auction between a prospective buyer and a plurality of prospective sellers, wherein the computer system is configured to: receive a buyer's request for an offer; communicate the request for an offer to at least two of the sellers; receive offers, including terms of sale in response to the request for an offer, from at least two of the sellers; automatically generate rating information about seller offers based on a plurality of predetermined criteria, wherein the plurality of predetermined criteria include at least one criterion other than price; communicate information regarding at least some of the seller offers to at least one other seller; receive an adjusted offer from at least one of the sellers during a specified auction period; and communicate information regarding at least some of the seller offers and at least part of the rating information to the buyer, wherein a software process initiates the communicating of seller offers and rating information to the buyer when a buyer-specified event occurs, wherein the buyer-specified event is the receipt of a seller offer with a rating above a buyer-specified rating level.