Patent ID: 7089215

Claim:
A remote negotiation apparatus which allows, before a sale of a vehicle, a first operation terminal used by a salesman of the vehicle and a second operation terminal used by a customer to bi-directionally communicate and remotely negotiate in real-time through a communication environment, the remote negotiation apparatus comprising: a control unit; and computer-executable instructions stored in computer-readable memory which when executed by the control unit: cause a display of a predetermined form corresponding to a commercial transaction document related to the vehicle on the first operation terminal, cause a request of the salesman to input information content necessary for preparing the commercial transaction document, and cause storage of the input information content in a storage device, and which cause, on the basis of the information content stored in the storage device and updated in real-time, a display of a commercial transaction document on the second operation terminal having the same information content as the commercial transaction document prepared by the salesman, wherein the commercial transaction document is at least one of an estimate, a contract, and a purchase order, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the control unit, further cause a request for alternative selection between a temporary storage state and a final storage state as a storage state in storing the information content of the commercial transaction document in the storage device, and when the selected storage state is the temporary storage state, cause a condition in the apparatus whereby a change of the information content of the commercial transaction document by the customer is permitted, and the commercial transaction document is updated in real-time on the basis of the changed information content, and when the selected storage state is the final storage state, cause a condition in the apparatus whereby a change of the information content of the commercial transaction document by the customer is prohibited, and wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the control unit, cause a condition in the apparatus which prohibits, even when the selected storage state is the temporary storage state, a change of the information content of the commercial transaction document when a degree of the change of the information content of the commercial transaction document by the customer exceeds a predetermined range.