Patent ID: 7505926

Claim:
A method of data processing for processing bids in an auction, the auction having a live phase during which bids are accepted and an auction close following which bids are no longer accepted, comprising: receiving at least one bid for an item in an auction; assigning a time stamp to each bid received; storing data comprising a bidder identity, the time stamps, and a bid amount for each bid; pre-processing each bid to obtain auction status information during the live phase of the auction; subsequently processing the stored data to determine at least one winning bidder, wherein at least one of the bids received is designated as a maximum value bid, the maximum value bid specifying a maximum purchase price for an item and wherein a bid value for the maximum value bid is determined in response to other bids, and wherein pre-processing each bid further comprises simulating a bid value for at least one maximum value bit; and providing as a live auction output at least one simulated proxy bid for at least one bidder having a designated maximum bid value at a value lower than the stored maximum value of the bidder's bid.