Patent ID: 8521610

Claim:
An online auction system, comprising: (a) a computer programmed to host the auction, the computer being accessible to a user through a communications network and adapted to provide a user interface to allow a user to purchase bids, bid on, or sell an item on the auction; (b) a plurality of auction modules executed by the computer in response to a pre\-set event, the modules being adapted to conduct various stages of the auction such that a winner of the auction is determined, the auction modules comprising: (i) a Get-It-Now module executed by the computer when a user purchases the item being sold on the auction at a pre-determined price, thereby ending the auction; (ii) a bid module executed by the computer in response to the Get-It-Now module not being executed, the bid module programmed to receive bids previously purchased by the user and to control the auction such that: (a) if no bids are received, then the auction times out; or (b) if bids are received, then a sale price of the item being sold decreases by a value of the bids until the sale price reaches zero or too much time passes between subsequent bids causing the auction to time out; and (iii) a going once mode module executed by the computer in response to completion of the bid module, the going once mode module being adapted to continue the auction until the going once mode module times out or until no more bids are placed; and (c) wherein upon completion of the auction, the computer determines a winner of the auction.