Patent ID: 7165046

Claim:
A method for conducting an auction of at least two types of items, each of the types of items including plural items, the method comprising: a. communicating a price vector, including a price for each of the types of items subject to the auction, to a plurality of bidders, b. receiving, bids from plural bidders wherein at least some of said bids identify quantities of items of different types, c. determining, based on the received bids, whether the auction should continue, and in the event that the auction will continue, d. sending to one or more bidders a revised price vector, e. receiving, further bids from plural bidders in response to the revised price vector and, in response to the further bids, f. crediting at least one item of a particular type with a particular bidder at a price in a closed interval between the price contained in the price vector and the price contained in the revised price vector.