Patent ID: 6847939

Claim:
A system for conducting on-line auctions of products such that the quantity of products offered for auction varies, the system comprising: (a) a database server system being for storing and providing on demand, information pertaining to a plurality of products to be auctioned, said database server system further being for receiving a number of competing bids on a product of said plurality of products when said product is auctioned; (b) a plurality of user clients each being operable by a specific user and each being for establishing communication with said database server system, each of said plurality of user clients being for receiving from said database server system information pertaining to said product auctioned and for relaying to said database server system a bid on said product auctioned; and (c) an executable program stored in the server system to implement the following functions: (i) receiving via an electronic communication medium competing bids from a plurality of bidders, each of said bids pertaining to at least one of the products, each of said bids having a bid value which exceeds values of all previously received bids; and (ii) automatically varying said variable quantity of the products offered for auction responsively to at least a number of said bidders who have placed said bids such that said variable quantity of the products increases with an increasing number of said bidders.