Patent ID: 7194427

Claim:
A system for carrying out an on-line group-buying sale of an item, the system comprising: an e-commerce data processing system configured to provide the on-line group-buying sale of an item, the e-commerce data processing system further configured to associate the sale of the item with a price curve defined by prices of the item with respect to quantities associated with the item and a value curve defined by values of a non-price attribute of the item and the quantities assocaited with the item, wherein the e-commerce data processing system is further configured to increase the value of the non-price attribute of the item as more buyers make offers in the on-line group-buying sale and wherein the e-commerce data processing system further configured to hold constant the price of the item in response to an increase in the quantity of buyer offers; a buyer data processing system coupled to the e-commerce data processing system and configured to receive buyer offers in the on-line group-buying sale of the item and to transmit the buyer offers to the e-commerce data processing system; and a module configured to determine the price of the item in the on-line group buying sale responsive to buyer offers and the price curve.