Patent ID: 8818881

Claim:
A method for integrating isolated components into an auction, comprising: selecting a plurality of isolated components operating on a computer system by an auction participant support system operating on said computer system based on input from an auction participant's user-device, wherein at least one of said plurality of isolated components is an online auction application component that permits participation in an online auction, said online auction application component being directed to an online auction; configuring, by the computer system, attributes and display of said plurality of isolated components for a single auction item within a single user interface window of said auction participant support system operating on said computer system based on input from an auction participant's user-device; obtaining identification information from said online auction application component, the identification information being indicative of a current auction item that is currently being auctioned in said online auction; communicating, by the auction participant support system operating on said computer system, said identification information to said plurality of isolated components except said online auction application component; prompting, by the auction participant support system operating on said computer system, each of said plurality of isolated components to update in nearly real-time information for each of said plurality of isolated components, except said online auction application component, based on said identification information; and supplying, by the computer system, auction decision support information for said current auction item via said single user interface window, said auction decision support information is included in said updated information for said current auction item and is obtained from said plurality of isolated components.