Patent ID: 8046269

Claim:
A method for performing an auction, comprising: receiving, through a network, a request for an item by a requester, from a first device; sending, through the network, the request for the item to a second device; receiving, through the network, a first bid from a first bidder via the second device, the first bid corresponding to the request for the item; sending, through the network, the request for the item to a third device; receiving, through the network, a second bid from a second bidder via the third device, the second bid corresponding to the request for the item; providing, through the network, bidder information to the requester, wherein the bidder information includes: (1) a description of at least one of a first performance alert associated with the first bidder from a previous auction involving the first bidder and a second performance alert associated with the second bidder from a previous auction involving the second bidder, the first performance alert indicating unsatisfactory performance by the first bidder or a negative comment regarding the first bidder, and the second performance alert indicating unsatisfactory performance by the second bidder or a negative comment regarding the second bidder, (2) for each previous requester in a previous auction who submitted a request for an item that resulted in a selection of a bid submitted by the first bidder: (a) an identity of the previous requester, and (b) a number of the first performance alerts by the previous requester, and (3) for each previous requester in a previous auction who submitted a request for an item that resulted in a selection of a bid submitted by the second bidder: (a) an identity of the previous requester, and (b) a number of the second performance alerts by the previous requester, ranking the first bid and the second bid based on a comparison of each bid, the ranking including a first status indicator for the first bid and a second status indicator for the second bid, each of the first and second status indicators indicating one of a leading bid and a lagging bid; initiating a re-bid for each lagging bid, the re-bid initiation including comparing each leading bid with a pre-set limit for the sender of the lagging bid; and determining a result of the auction based on the request for the item, the first bid and the second bid; wherein the result of the auction is based on a match between the request for the item and at least one bid, the at least one bid being selected from a plurality of received bids, the plurality of received bids including the first bid and the second bid, the match including at least one of (i) an exact match between the request for the item and at least one bid, and (ii) the at least one bid satisfying the request for the item.