Patent ID: 7958040

Claim:
A tangible computer storage medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed, directs a computer to perform a method for establishing an auction price for a quantity of items, the method comprising: determining that an opportunity to auction at least one of the items has been triggered by a network user using a search term for which one or more advertisers have bid wherein the quantity of items is not predetermined; receiving from each of a plurality of bidders a bid and an account limit; setting a current price equal to a first price based at least in part on a most desirable bid and one or more of the next most desirable bids; selling a first quantity of items to a bidder submitting the most desirable bid at the current price until the account limit of the bidder is reached; debiting from the bidder the current price for each of the first quantity of items; adjusting the current price to a lower price; crediting to the bidder, after a second quantity of items is purchased by another bidder at the current price, a difference between the first price and the current price for each of the first quantity of items sold to the bidder at the first price; selling additional items to the plurality of bidders that purchased at least one of the first or second quantity of items, wherein the additional items are sold at the lower price to the plurality of bidders in order of desirability of the bids received previously from each of the plurality of bidders such that the bidder that submitted the most desirable bid is sold at least a portion of the additional items before others of the plurality of bidders.