Patent ID: 8700485

Claim:
A method in an auction system comprising a server computer for bidding on an item being auctioned, the method comprising: transmitting a description for display on a client computer, the client computer having authentication information previously stored thereon, the authentication information corresponding to the user, and the description comprising: information identifying the item to be auctioned, an enter bid field prefilled with a suggested bid amount for the item, the suggested bid amount generated for a user associated with the client computer, and an indication of an action that is to be performed to submit a bid on the item, wherein performing the action submits the bid without requiring the user to provide additional authentication information; in response to the action being performed, receiving, from the client computer, a submit bid request including the suggested bid amount for the item and including the authentication information; determining whether the user can be automatically authenticated based on the authentication information in the submit bid request, the authentication information corresponding to identification information associated with the user, the identification information previously stored on the auction system; and in response to a determination that the user can be automatically authenticated based on the authentication information in the submit bid request, automatically authenticating the user and placing the bid on behalf of the user at the suggested bid amount.