Patent ID: 8694412

Claim:
A method for conducting online auctions, the method comprising: receiving, at one or more computer system, one or more rules defining when rights and obligations for purchasing items up for auction are awarded, the one or more rules defining a first phase of multi-phase auctions during which an item up for auction will not be awarded and during which an asking price for the item decreases at predetermined intervals when the multi-phase auctions are configured as seller's auctions and increases at predetermined intervals when the multi-phase auctions are configured as buyer's auctions, the one or more rules further defining a second phase of the multi-phase auctions during which an asking price for the item starts at a level equal to at least one bid placed by at least one bidder during the first phase of the multi-phase auctions and periodically increases when the multi-phase auctions are configured as seller's auctions and decreases at predetermined intervals when the multi-phase auctions are configured as buyer's auctions; receiving, at the one or more computer systems, an asking price for an item up for auction that seeds the first phase of a multi-phase auction defined by the one or more rules; determining, with one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a succession of asking prices for the item during the first phase that periodically decrease when the multi-phase auction is are configured as a seller's auction and increase when the multi-phase auction is configured as a buyer's auction; determining, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems at the one or more computer systems, a succession of asking prices for the item during the second phase that start at a level equal to at least one bid placed by at least one bidder during the first phase and periodically increase when the multi-phase auction is categorized as a seller's auction and decrease when the auction is categorized as a buyer's auction; and generating, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, information indicative of the right and obligation for purchasing the item up for auction in response to a predetermined event that ends the second phase of the multi-phase auction.