Patent ID: 8799104

Claim:
A computer-implemented auction system for carrying out an auction in a computer network to which a plurality of devices are connected, comprising: a submitting node device configured to transmit to an auction management device: product information describing a product, re-auction information indicating whether the product is to be re-auctioned or not to be re-auctioned when an initial auction fails to result in a transaction, and sale conditions information including sale conditions for the product; the auction management device, which is configured to: receive said product information, said re-auction information, and said sale conditions information, present said product for auction, based on said product information, receive at least one bid indicating purchase conditions from at least one bidding node device, determine whether the purchase conditions indicated by any of the at least one bid match the sale conditions for the product, and (a) when (i) the purchase conditions indicated by none of the at least one bid match the sale conditions for the product and (ii) the re-auction information indicates that the product is to be re-auctioned when an initial auction fails to result in a transaction, re-present said product for auction, and (b) when (i) the purchase conditions indicated by none of the at least one bid match the sale conditions for the product and (ii) the re-auction information indicates that the product is not to be re-auctioned when an initial auction fails to result in a transaction, end the auctioning of said product such that said product is no longer for sale; and the at least one bidding node device, which is configured to view the product presented for auction by the auction management device and place the at least one bid indicating purchase conditions with respect to the viewed product.