Patent ID: 7483852

Claim:
A computer implemented method of evaluating values of different terms in online auctions comprising: obtaining an interest rate and a period from a buyer for a lot, the lot having a predetermined value; receiving a first bid from a first bidder and a second bid from a second bidder on the lot, the first and second bids each having a payment time and a rebate; transforming the first bid into a first value and the second bid into a second value using the interest rate, period, and predetermined value from the buyer and the payment times and rebates from the first and second bidders; and providing as output the first and second value to allow the first value to be compared with the second value to choose the best bid for a particular situation; wherein the transforming comprises: determining a factor from the interest rate and the period; and generating a first and second adder from the first and second payment times, respectively, the interest rate, the period, and the predetermined value; and wherein the generating comprises: calculating the adder (b) according to equations (2) and (3): b = ∑ q = 1 g ⁢ ⁢ b q ( 1 + interest ⁢ ⁢ rate ) ( total ⁢ ⁢ time ⁢ ⁢ units ⁢ ⁢ i ⁢ ⁢ n ⁢ ⁢ a ⁢ ⁢ time ⁢ ⁢ peirod + period ) ( 2 ) b q = ( predetermined ⁢ ⁢ value / total ⁢ ⁢ time ⁢ ⁢ periods ) * interest ⁢ ⁢ rate * payment ⁢ ⁢ value ; ⁢ ( 1 + interest ⁢ ⁢ rate ) extra ⁢ ⁢ time q ( 3 ) wherein: q=1 to total time periods; payment value=payment time−period; and extra time q ,=total time units from 0 to q time periods+payment value.