Patent ID: 8700481

Claim:
A processor-implemented method of processing the sale of goods or services, comprising: obtaining, by a processor, a purchase offer from a customer for the purchase of goods or services, said purchase offer containing at least one customer-defined condition including a price; identifying one or more rules from a plurality of sellers, each of said rules containing one or more seller-defined restrictions including a price, wherein the price is not disclosed to the customer; preventing said customer from identifying said price, wherein preventing comprises one of: (i) limiting the number of said purchase offers which may be obtained from said customer in a time period; (ii) assessing a penalty to said customer if said customer does not purchase said goods or services if a seller accepts said purchase offer; (iii) evaluating a rating of said customer containing information regarding the likelihood that said customer will purchase said goods or services corresponding to said purchase offer; and (iv) binding said customer to purchase said goods or services if said customer-defined conditions satisfy said seller-defined restrictions; and comparing by the processor said purchase offer to said rules to determine whether any of said sellers is willing to accept said purchase offer if said customer-defined conditions satisfy said seller-defined restrictions.