U.S. patent application number 14/250167 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-25 for computer-based right distribution system with temporal variation.
This patent application is currently assigned to Ticketmaster, L.L.C.. The applicant listed for this patent is Ticketmaster, L.L.C.. Invention is credited to Kenton F. BRETT.
Application Number | 20140289067 14/250167 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34705232 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140289067 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BRETT; Kenton F. |
September 25, 2014 |
COMPUTER-BASED RIGHT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WITH TEMPORAL
VARIATION
Abstract
An automated ticket auctioning system receives and evaluates bid
information records received from a plurality of remote terminals.
Each bid information record corresponds to at least one bid for one
or more desired seats at a venue. Each bid information record may
also include a plurality of additional bids identified for
different seats in the venue. The separate bids in each bid
information record are prioritized. The automated ticket auctioning
system includes a central controlling computer operable to receive
the bid information records and determine, in order of priority,
whether any of the bids in a bid information record is accepted. If
one bid in a bid information record is accepted, all lower priority
bids in that bid information record are dismissed.
Inventors: |
BRETT; Kenton F.;
(Indianapolis, IN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ticketmaster, L.L.C. |
Beverly Hills |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Ticketmaster, L.L.C.
Beverly Hills
CA
|
Family ID: |
34705232 |
Appl. No.: |
14/250167 |
Filed: |
April 10, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11502344 |
Aug 10, 2006 |
8732033 |
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14250167 |
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11059990 |
Feb 17, 2005 |
7747507 |
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11502344 |
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09778606 |
Feb 7, 2001 |
6907405 |
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11059990 |
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09586927 |
Jun 5, 2000 |
6704713 |
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09778606 |
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PCT/US00/03136 |
Feb 7, 2000 |
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09586927 |
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08862547 |
May 23, 1997 |
6023685 |
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PCT/US00/03136 |
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60018211 |
May 23, 1996 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/08 20130101;
G06Q 30/0601 20130101; G06Q 20/367 20130101; H04L 12/1809 20130101;
G06Q 40/04 20130101; G06Q 10/02 20130101; G06Q 40/025 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26.3 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/08 20060101
G06Q030/08 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for allocating a plurality of
priority rights, the method comprising: storing, in a memory, data
associated with the plurality of priority rights, the data
including priority right rank data and priority right time data;
receiving bid records that include bidder identification
information, bid amount information and a bidder time preference;
ranking the bid records based on the bid amount information and the
bidder time preference, such that the bid records have a bid record
rank associated therewith; and associating a selected bid record
with a selected priority right based on the selected bid record
rank and the selected priority right rank data.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected bid record is
associated with the selected priority right data based further on
the selected priority right time data and the bidder time
preference.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of priority rights
correspond to a plurality of event tickets.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of priority rights
correspond to a plurality of tickets to one or more.cndot.events,
and the priority right time data corresponds to times at which the
one or more events occur.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected bid record is
received from a user, the method further comprising distributing
the selected priority right to the user.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected bid record is
received from a user, the method further comprising notifying the
user that the selected bid record has been associated with the
selected priority right.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the bid
records are received via the Internet.
8. A computer-implemented method for distributing a plurality of
priority rights in an auction, the method comprising: storing, in a
memory, data associated with the plurality of priority rights, the
data including event identification data that corresponds to one or
more events; receiving a plurality of bid records, the bid records
including bid amount data and a bidder event preference; and
correlating a selected bid record with a subset of priority rights,
wherein (a) the subset of priority rights is selected from the
plurality of priority rights at least partially based on the
selected bid record bid amount data, and (b) the subset of priority
rights has associated therewith event identification data
corresponding to the bidder event preference.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the event identification data
includes event time data.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the event identification data
includes event venue data.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of priority rights
correspond to a plurality of event tickets.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more events
correspond to a plurality of golf tee times.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the selected bid record is
received from a user, the method further comprising receiving
registration information from the user before receiving the
selected bid record.
14. The method of claim 8, wherein the selected bid record is
received from a user, the method further comprising distributing
the subset of priority rights to the user.
15-21. (canceled)
22. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a
non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including
instructions configured to cause one or more data processors to
perform actions including: storing, in a memory, data associated
with the plurality of priority rights, the data including priority
right rank data and priority right time data; receiving bid records
that include bidder identification information, bid amount
information and a bidder time preference; ranking the bid records
based on the bid amount information and the bidder time preference,
such that the bid records have a bid record rank associated
therewith; and associating a selected bid record with a selected
priority right based on the selected bid record rank and the
selected priority right rank data.
23. The computer-program product of claim 22, wherein the selected
bid record is associated with the selected priority right data
based further on the selected priority right time data and the
bidder time preference.
24. The computer-program product of claim 22, wherein the plurality
of priority rights corresponds to a plurality of event tickets.
25. The computer-program product of claim 22, wherein the plurality
of priority rights correspond to a plurality of tickets to one or
more.cndot.events, and the priority right time data corresponds to
times at which the one or more events occur.
26. The computer-program product of claim 22, wherein the selected
bid record is received from a user, the actions further comprising
distributing the selected priority right to the user.
27. The computer-program product of claim 22, wherein the selected
bid record is received from a user, the actions further comprising
notifying the user that the selected bid record has been associated
with the selected priority right.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.
No. 11/502,344, filed Aug. 10, 2006, which is a continuation of
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/059,990, filed Feb. 17, 20015, now
(U.S. Pat. No. 7,747,507), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/778,606, filed Feb. 7, 2001, (now, U.S.
Pat. No. 6,907,405), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/586,927 filed Jun. 5, 2000 (now U.S. Pat.
No. 6,704,713), which is a continuation of PCT application Ser. No.
PCT/US00/03136 filed Feb. 7, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part
of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/862,547, filed May 23, 1997 (now
U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,685), which claims the priority of provisional
patent application No. 60/018,211, filed May 23, 1996. Each of
these applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety for all purposes.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The present invention relates to the field of auctions and,
in particular, networked systems for conducting specialty auctions
using computers.
[0004] 2. Background
[0005] An important goal of anyone attempting to sell the right to
attend an event, to own a product, or to perform an activity is to
receive in return for that right the true market value of the
right. For some rights, the market values of similar rights are all
equal. For example, under normal conditions, the fair market value
of two identical radios, both of the same brand and model, is the
same. Thus, if a consumer were given the opportunity to purchase
the right to obtain one of the radios instead of the other, there
would typically be no incentive for the consumer to pay for that
right. Therefore, the market value of the rights to obtain the
radios are equal. However, the relative market values of some
rights to similar products, services, or events are not the same,
but are dependent upon a difference in some characteristic of the
rights. For example, when purchasing tickets to a concert, although
each of two tickets may allow the holder to see the same performer,
on the same night, in the same venue, the market values of those
tickets differ depending upon the location of the ticket within the
venue. Therefore, the market value of the right to sit in a
particular seat at a concert depends at least in part upon the
characteristic of the proximity of the seat to center stage.
[0006] The right to perform an activity, or obtain a product, or
attend an event wherein the difference between the market value of
the right and the market value of another similar right is
dependent upon the difference in some characteristic of the rights
shall be referred to herein as a "priority right". A ticket is one
example of a priority right used throughout the specification.
However, it is to be understood that tickets are not the only
priority rights applicable to the present invention.
[0007] Too often, the established methods of selling priority
rights do not result in prices for these rights that are equal to
their true market value. Therefore, these established methods are
incapable of maximizing the revenue of those selling priority
rights.
[0008] For some priority rights; the manner in which differences in
the pertinent characteristic affect the market value of the right
are apparent. For instance, for most sports or concert
performances, the market value of the ticket rights, i.e., the
right to sit in a particular seat at a particular event, is greater
if the seat is closer to the stage. Thus, it may be relatively easy
for a seller to rank the ticket rights prior to any sale of the
rights. However, for other priority rights, although the
characteristic that affects the market value of the right may
itself be obvious, the manner in which variance in the
characteristic affects the market value is not apparent. For
example, when an individual wishes to purchase the right to play a
round of golf at a particular course, the time that the round
begins will likely affect the amount that the individual is willing
to pay. The golfer may wish to be the first to tee off and would be
willing to pay more for such a time than for any other. On the
other hand, the golfer may have another commitment in the morning
and be interested only in tee times in the afternoon. Therefore,
the amount the individual would be willing to pay for a time in the
afternoon varies greatly from the amount for a time in the morning.
Due to this variability in consumer preference, any ranking of the
rights to play a round of golf at particular times on a particular
day by the owner of the golf course may not result in sales prices
for these rights that are equal to their true market values.
Therefore, a system is needed whereby the true market values of all
priority rights can be achieved, including both those rights with
relative values that can be easily pre-ranked and those rights with
relative market values dependent upon consumer preferences that are
difficult to discern prior to the commencement of sales.
[0009] Types of Priority Rights
[0010] As discussed above, the right to sit in a particular seat
for a particular event is a priority right wherein the market value
of similar rights can be ranked prior to the sale of the rights, by
ordering the seats in large part according to their proximity to
center stage. The current manner of selling the right to sit in a
particular seat for a particular event involves selling tickets to
the event. However, the established method of selling tickets to
sporting and entertainment events involves pre-setting inflexible
prices and then releasing the tickets for sale at a box office or
by phone. This method has a number of shortcomings. Typically, each
sale involves employees taking time-consuming individual orders and
trying to describe the prices and seat locations to customers.
Another shortcoming with this method is that it can be highly
inconvenient and sometimes impossible for the purchaser to access
the sale due to demand. This is especially true for premium "high
demand" events. Moreover, for practical reasons, prices are
assigned to tickets in large blocks, while, in reality, purchasers
often consider tickets within a block to have a wide ranging
continuum of values; and these market values can be very hard to
estimate before the tickets are sold. Largely because of these
shortcomings, many premium tickets are sold for substantially less
than their market value. Generally, these shortcomings exist even
with new automated methods involving phone or Internet sales since
the number of tickets is limited and the selling system is still
fundamentally the same; with "first-come-first-served" orders taken
for pre-priced tickets.
[0011] Another priority right with a relative market value that can
be fairly easily determined prior to sale is the right to obtain a
product for which the market demand far exceeds the supply.
Occasionally, a manufacturer underestimates the demand for its
product and thus creates too few units for the product's initial
market release. Examples of this occurrence in the recent past
include the Cabbage Patch Kids.TM. doll, the Tickle-Me Elmo.TM.
doll, and the Sony PlayStation 2.TM. video game system. When such a
situation exists, the manufacturer generally maintains a fixed
selling price and offers the products on a
"first-come-first-served" basis. The manufacturer not only loses
revenue from the sales it could have made if it had produced more
units, but it also loses revenue by selling the units it did
produce at a price below their true market value. This difference
between the original sales price and the market value is typically
realized by an entity other than the manufacturer, e.g. one who
buys the product and then resells it at a higher price. The
pertinent characteristic that determines the market value of such
highly desired products is the time of availability of the product
to the consumer. In other words, a consumer would pay more to have
the first product off the assembly line than to have the
five-hundredth. Therefore, a system is needed so that when a
manufacturer realizes that it has produced too few of a highly
desired product, the manufacturer may maximize its revenue on those
products by selling them at their true market value.
[0012] Other priority rights with market values that can be ranked
prior to their sale are rights to obtain services wherein the value
of those rights are dependent upon the order in which the services
are received. For example, many consumers hire companies or
individuals to remove snow from their property after an
accumulation of snow. However, the value of this service is
dependent upon the time at which the service is performed and,
therefore, is dependent upon the order in which the properties are
serviced. For instance, a consumer would likely be willing to pay
more to be the first serviced after the accumulation of snow has
stopped than to be the twentieth to receive the same service.
Therefore, a system is needed wherein this discrepancy in market
value may be realized by the provider of the service.
[0013] Another example of a service with a market value dependent
upon the order of its performance is admittance through a toll
booth. Currently, the administrator of a toll booth receives a set
price for each vehicle that passes through the toll booth. That
price is often dependent upon the type of vehicle, but the price
does not reflect the true market value of the right to pass through
the booth. The true market value depends upon how quickly the
consumer is able to pass through the booth, i.e., the consumer's
order in the line at the toll booth. Therefore, a system is
required whereby the price of the right to pass through a toll
booth is dependent upon the order in which the consumer is allowed
to pass through the toll area.
[0014] Another right for which the current sales system does not
return the true market value of the right is the right to obtain a
certain numbered product of a limited edition series of products.
For example, a popular artist may sell only 100 prints of one of
her paintings. The current established method for such sales is
offering all of the prints for sale at a set, inflexible price on a
"first-come-first-served" basis. However, this sales approach may
not achieve the full market value for all of the prints. Many
consumers may be willing to pay more for the first numbered print
than for the fiftieth. Therefore, because only one price is set for
all of the prints, many of the prints are likely being sold at a
price below their true market value. Also, by basing the
availability of the prints upon "first-come-first-served," the
additional profit that could be gained by selling a print to one
who comes later but is willing to pay more is lost. Because the
lower the number on the limited edition item, the higher its value,
the relative market values of the rights to obtain items with
different numbers can be determined prior to any sales activity. A
system is needed whereby the true market value of limited edition
items may be realized by the seller of the items.
[0015] Other markets in which the priority rights that are sold are
often purchased for less than their market value are those markets
containing products whose true market value depends on the
product's location. For example, the rights to stay in cabins on
cruise ships or hotel rooms or bungalows in vacation resorts are
often assigned a sales price based on the amenities available in
the room. However, among rooms containing the same amenities, the
true market value of the right to stay in each room may differ
depending upon the distance from the room to some desired location,
such as a pool, beach, or lounge. The established method for
determining the price of the right to stay in such rooms is to
simply set a fixed price and make the rooms available on a
"first-come-first-served" basis. A system is needed whereby the
market values of these priority rights, which can be ranked
according to the distance from some desired attraction or
attractions, can be fully realized.
[0016] Another characteristic which determines the value of some
priority rights is the time of entry into some venue. The
established methods for selling these priority rights are not
capable of garnering the full market value of the rights. For
example, theme parks, such as Disneyland.TM. and Busch Gardens.TM.,
sell tickets at an inflexible price for a day's admission to the
park. However, the actual time of admission to the park on any
particular day is generally determined by how early the patron is
willing to arrive at the park to stand in line. An earlier time of
admission is desired by many patrons because the most popular
attractions at theme parks often fill up quickly and maintain long
lines for the entire day. The desirability of early admission is
evidenced by the current practice of some theme parks, such as Walt
Disney World.TM. in Orlando, Fla., which allow customers who stay
at resorts affiliated with the theme park to enter the park earlier
than customers who do not. However, this practice consists of
allowing all patrons of the affiliated resort to enter the park at
a set time, such as one hour prior to the admittance of the general
public. This practice does not maximize the profit that may be
obtained by the selling of these rights. Some of those customers
who stay at the affiliated resorts may be willing to pay more to
enter the park before other affiliated resort patrons. Further,
this system does not account for the profit that could be gained by
allowing members of the general public to purchase the right to
enter the park at a time prior to other members of the general
public. The relative value of these rights can be easily ranked,
with earlier times of admittance having higher market values.
[0017] Another priority right with a market value dependent upon
location, but for which pre-ranking of the relative market values
may not gamer the true market value of the rights, is the right to
sit at a particular table in a restaurant. A patron is likely to
pay more to obtain a table closer to a window, for example, and is
likely to pay less for a table close to the kitchen. However,
individual patrons may prefer one window view to another or may
desire to sit at a table in a corner for more privacy. Therefore, a
complete, objective ranking of such rights to sit at a particular
table may not be entirely accurate. There is a need for a system
which would enable the seller of these rights to obtain their full
market value.
[0018] As discussed above, the right to begin a round of golf at a
particular time is a priority right for which the relative market
values of related rights are difficult to determine prior to the
sale of the rights. The tee time itself is the pertinent
characteristic that determines the relative values of the rights to
begin rounds of golf throughout a particular day. However, it is
unclear prior to the sale of the rights which times are most
desired by individuals wishing to play golf that day. The
established method for determining tee times at a golf course is to
set an inflexible price for playing a certain number of holes and
then offering tee times on a "first come first served" basis. At
premier golf courses, the system may be slightly different,
requiring consumers to stay at a particular resort or be a member
of an association in order to purchase a round of golf. However,
even within these premier systems, the tee times are generally
offered on a "first-come-first-serve-d" basis. These systems fail
to gamer the most profit for the golf course owners because
individuals who attempt to reserve tee times after all the times
have been reserved may be willing to pay more than the owner has
currently received for a particular time. Also, some individuals
may prefer to tee off at certain times of the day and, therefore,
would be willing to pay more for the right to tee off at those
times. For example, a golfer may wish to be the first person to tee
off on a particular day, or a golfer may wish to tee off later in
the afternoon to avoid the heat of the day and to view the sunset
on the golf course. Therefore, the current system for selling golf
tee times is sub-optimal because it does not account for
individuals who would pay more to play at a particular time or for
individuals who attempt to make reservations after all tee times
have been reserved.
[0019] Another priority right with a relative value dependent upon
individual consumer preference, therefore, difficult to rank prior
to a sale is the right to sit in a particular seat to view a movie
in a theater. When viewing a movie, many individuals prefer to sit
in the exact middle of the theater. However, others, such as those
with small children, may wish to sit on an aisle, and others may
prefer seats in the back of the theater. Therefore, the market
value of the right to sit in a particular seat is not determined by
some easy calculation, such as the distance from the center of the
screen, but is dependent upon each potential movie-goer's personal
preferences. The current system of selling tickets to the movie and
then allowing admission on a "first-come-first-served" basis does
not gamer the full market value of the right to view the movie in a
particular seat. Therefore, a system is needed whereby the full
market value of the right to sit in a particular seat to see a
particular movie at a particular time can be recognized by the
theater owner.
[0020] Some priority rights are unique in that it may be relatively
easy in one situation to determine the relative market value of
related rights prior to their sale while in another situation it is
very difficult. One example of such a priority right is the right
to view an art exhibit. For highly anticipated art exhibits, many
individuals would be willing to pay a premium for the right to be
one of the first to view the exhibit. Therefore, the true market
value of the right to enter the art exhibit is not being achieved
by the current system of either issuing select invitations to a
premiere night or simply allowing admission to ticket holders on a
"first-come-first-served" basis. In this situation, the priority
rights could easily be pre-ranked with the earliest time of
admittance being the most valuable. Thus, a system is needed
whereby the exhibit organizer may realize the full market value of
the right to view such an exhibit.
[0021] However, on any day after the opening day of an art exhibit,
the relative values of different times of admittance may vary more
widely due to the schedules of potential viewers. For example, one
individual may be willing to view the exhibit late in the afternoon
because work precludes any other time of attendance. Therefore, to
that individual, the right to view the exhibit in the late
afternoon is more valuable than the right to view it in the
morning. The current system of selling tickets for an art exhibit
does not account for this variance in market value due to
individual viewers' preferences. Therefore, there is a need for a
system that does yield the full market value of the rights
sold.
[0022] Priority Right Auctioning System Options
[0023] In selling priority rights where the relative market values
of the priority rights can be easily pre-ranked, there also exists
a need for a system that can allow the purchaser to override the
pre-ranking to denote the purchaser's own personal preference. For
example, although seats in the front row at a concert are widely
regarded as the best seats and would be pre-ranked as the seats
with the highest relative market value, an individual may wish to
sit on the side of the stage to be near a particular member of the
performing group. If that individual was willing to pay handsomely
for the right to sit in a seat on the side, but not one in front of
the stage, then the full market value of the right to sit in a seat
on the side of the stage would only be captured by a system which
allowed the individual to denote his own ranking of desired seats.
Also, a bidder may be willing to pay a premium for the right to sit
in the first few rows but not for the right to sit in all the seats
in a section specified by the seller of the rights. Therefore, a
system is needed whereby a bidder may personally designate one or
more priority rights and then offer to pay up to a certain amount
for those rights.
[0024] Additionally, when purchasing priority rights consumers
often wish to designate alternative bids. For example, an
individual who wished to purchase the right to sit in a seat at an
event may only be interested in sitting in the first few rows if it
would cost below a particular price. If that person's bid was
unsuccessful for that section of priority rights, however, he may
be willing to sit in one of a group of seats in another location
for some lesser amount of money. The current method of selling
priority rights does not accommodate this desire by the consuming
public to designate individually-tailored alternative priority
right bids. Therefore, there is a need for a system that satisfies
this desire.
[0025] Shortcomings of Current Auctioning Systems
[0026] Logistically, auctioning of priority rights has not always
been feasible due to the large quantity of unique rights and even
larger quantity of buyers wishing to purchase them. A few auction
systems have been developed that operate using the Internet as the
communications mode. These systems have been used to auction items
such as computer equipment, artwork, and special items for charity.
However, these systems are not suitable for use in connection with
a real-time mass auction of priority rights. With the currently
operating systems, generally the items being sold are of a small
quantity or individually unique. In most of the currently operating
systems, the items for sale are individually listed and
individually bid upon using e-mail over a period of days or weeks.
While, the currently operating systems are useful for such limited
purposes, they have several shortcomings.
[0027] One such shortcoming arises from the use of e-mail to place
bids and to update participants of their bid status. While in
theory e-mail is instantaneous, there are occasional routing delays
of which the sender is often not immediately aware. In an auction
of a slow, deliberate nature such as those presently operating,
this is not a great concern. However, in a fast pace auction with
numerous participants some bids could be lost as delayed e-mail,
unbeknownst to the participant.
[0028] An additional problem with the e-mail approach is that time
may elapse before the bid information is read and applied.
Therefore, the participant may not get instantaneous feedback on
other bids which may be taking place simultaneously. The
participant often must wait for some period of time to learn if the
bid is successful. If the participant has a strategy for bidding on
a very desirable item, the participant must return to the auction
numerous times to follow its progression.
[0029] Most currently operating systems provide some general bid
status data, usually a minimal. amount of information such as
"current" high bid. This "current" high bid is updated by
periodically reviewing the bids received, and entering the highest
bid to date. Therefore, these "current" bids are not current up to
the second. Moreover, if there are many of a particular item, such
as event tickets or golf tee times having a continuum of values,
participants need to know considerably more than the high bid
information in order to make an informed bidding decision.
[0030] Currently operating systems do not provide bid status
information updates independent of solicitation of the information
from participants. Once the Internet auction site is accessed, the
information conveyed may become outdated as it is being viewed.
Again this would be quite unfavorable for fast-paced auctions.
Therefore, even with auction sites which were actually being
updated real-time, a participant would need to continually
re-access the site in order to keep information truly updated.
[0031] One Internet auction system, "onsale" at
http://www.onsale.com/ attempts to overcome the e-mail auction
problems by automatically updating its Internet site. However, like
the other Internet auction sites, "onsale" conducts relatively
slow, deliberate sales, and still relies on e-mail to transmit some
of the bid information. In addition, although the "onsale" auction
site is automatically updated, it does not automatically present
this information to participants. As explained above, participants
need to continually re-access the site in order to keep information
truly updated.
[0032] U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,928 details an auction system for used
cars that is capable of interactive, essentially real-time
auctioning. Instead of being Internet based, this used car
auctioning system is constructed with a 4-level hierarchy of
computers networked to a plurality of auto dealers terminals. At
each level, the bids received by the computer are processed and
only select bids are transmitted to the next level. The bids are
raised in increments of 3000 yen and the participants may bid via a
single signal indicating a "yes" in response to the bid being
raised. This system is based on the traditional auction format, and
is used to sell one item or lot at a time. When a car has been
auctioned, a disc is loaded by each dealer into his terminal which
shows the photograph of the next car to be auctioned. Bidding is
limited to a predetermined group of auto dealers. Because the
structure of this system is hierarchical, i.e. not on the Internet,
it is not practical for use in wide-spread auctions available to
consumers. Because of the methodical nature of this system, selling
a progression of single items with incremented bids, it is geared
for low volume sales of items with relatively high values.
[0033] Recently tickets have been made available for purchase on
the Internet, for example at http://www.ticketmaster.com and
http://www.tickets.com. However, at these Internet sites, sales are
of the traditional pre-set pricing, "first-come-first-served"
format. Some Internet sites do offer tickets in an auction format,
but only a few tickets to select events sold by individuals who
have purchased the tickets and are attempting to resell them.
Examples of such sites are http://www.ebay.com,
http://auctions.yahoo.com, http://www.allsoldout.com, and
http://www.busyrhino.com.
[0034] Considering the selling of a large number of priority
rights, there are unique circumstances which present challenges not
manifested in selling other types of rights. Since the values of
priority rights vary widely depending upon the difference in a
pertinent characteristic, it is not practical to mass the priority
rights into simple generic blocks to be auctioned. Nor is it
practical to list and auction each priority right individually,
since this could present auction participants with a prohibitively
large number of individual auctions, and no practical way to obtain
contiguous priority rights. In other words, if a bidder wished to
purchase the right to sit in four adjacent seats at a show or
movie, and the right to sit in each seat was sold in a separate
auction, it would be virtually impossible for the bidder to monitor
every combination of four adjacent seats and make appropriate bids.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system which can, within a
single, clear format, auction a large number of rights with a
continuum of values, each at its market price. Furthermore, this
system needs to apply logic in sorting bids based not only on
price, but on clustering requirements to ensure that within a
multiple priority right bid, the priority rights are contiguous.
This would require a database configuration unlike that employed by
the prior art.
[0035] Moreover, given the furious pace of sales for many premium
priority rights, there exists the unique and as yet, unmet
challenge of providing instant, automatic, comprehensive feedback
for the status of a relatively complex arrangement of standing
bids. Frequently the more popular sporting and entertainment events
sell all available tickets in a matter of a few minutes. The number
of tickets to these events may reach into the hundreds of
thousands. A practicable auction of priority rights for such an
event would require a system uniquely designed to process this
large volume while presenting an updated, clear and informative
view of the proceedings to all participants. It would be logical to
presume that efficient conveyance of bid information for a large,
complex pattern of bids would require a graphical representation of
the bid standings. Although some Internet auctions employ graphical
representation of objects for sale, none employ graphical
representation of bid status.
[0036] Another need for on-line auction systems is a method of
convincing bidders to place their bids early instead of waiting to
bid at the last minute before the auction closes. As mentioned
previously, on-line auctions are typically conducted over a set
period of time. With these systems, bidders often wait until the
last possible second before auction closing to place their bids in
an attempt to block subsequent bidders from making higher bids.
Such actions by bidders not only keeps the price of the auctioned
item undesirably low, but sometimes results in a large quantity of
bids just before auction closing which the on-line system is not
capable of handling. Thus, it would be advantageous for an on-line
auction system that provides incentives for bidders to place their
bids early in the auction rather than waiting until the last
minute.
[0037] In addition, ticket auction participants occasionally need
to have two or more mutually exclusive ticket purchase options
available to them. Ticket purchase decisions are often made based
on price and availability of seats having acceptable locations.
Even the number of tickets a consumer wishes to order may be
dependent on price. For example, a consumer may desire two front
row tickets if they are within his budget, otherwise he desires
four tickets in a different location within budget, otherwise he
desires ten tickets anywhere available within budget. But with
auctions of pre-ranked seats, some such information cannot be known
until the auction has ended, unless the auction close is phased-out
from the best to the worst seats. There exists a need to make
solutions available in the form of mutually exclusive, prioritized
bids simultaneously entered by a consumer in a ticket auction.
[0038] In addition, not all ticket auction customers will agree
with the exact seat pre-ranking assigned for an auction. For
example, a race fan may prefer seats behind his favorite driver's
pit stop. An older fan at an arena concert may wish to be as close
as possible without being on the floor, where he assumes fans will
stand during much of the show. Again, there exists a need for
mutually exclusive, simultaneous prioritized bidding in order to
provide this flexibility to fans.
[0039] Another shortcoming of currently established methods for
selling tickets and other priority rights is their inability to
reap for the priority right seller the dramatic increases in market
value of priority rights immediately prior to their usage. For
example, in the days immediately preceding a popular concert or
movie premiere, the market value of tickets to those events
typically increase dramatically as publicity increases and the
public focuses on the event. However, because a large percentage of
the public must plan their schedules far in advance, it is not
feasible to only sell tickets to these events in the few days
before the event occurs. Therefore, tickets are sold months in
advance and popular events sell out before the true market value of
the rights to attend the event can be determined. A system is
needed that permits individuals to reserve priority rights a
sufficient amount of time in advance but that also garners for the
priority right seller the full market value of those rights.
[0040] A potential negative effect of a system that places primary
emphasis upon the maximum amount of money an individual is willing
to pay for a particular right is that less affluent members of the
consuming public will be unable to procure desired priority rights.
Under current established methods for selling priority rights which
offer rights on a "first-come-first-served" basis, individuals of
limited means may still purchase rights if they are willing to
stand in line for an extended period of time. Also, a system that
only seeks the highest profit margin in priority rights sales would
not permit special treatment of certain bidders, such as alumni
group members, company employees, or frequent purchasers. Such
special treatment may be important to the public image of a
priority right seller, and, thus, its long-term economic success.
Therefore, there is a need for a priority right sales system that
may. be modified to favor members of a selected group, such as
those of limited means or company employees.
[0041] Additionally, to achieve the full market value of a group of
priority rights, the administrator of a priority right sales system
must be equipped with certain statistical information regarding the
progress of the sale. Therefore, a system for selling priority
rights should be capable of real-time statistical analysis to aid
the system administrator in regulating the system to achieve
optimal results.
[0042] In spite of their shortcomings, the above mentioned prior
art systems are useful for their respective intended purposes.
However, given their limitations, and the above noted unique
circumstances for mass priority right sales, it is simply not
practical or feasible to apply any of the prior art to the
particular task of auctioning a large volume of priority
rights.
SUMMARY
[0043] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to
provide a computer controlled auctioning system, in which a large
number of participants may have simultaneous access to bid on to
the desired priority rights. The above stated needs as well as
others are fulfilled by the present invention through a system
constructed to sell a large number of priority rights in a very
short time, each said priority right being sold for a value set by
existing market forces. The system provides participants with
simple, yet informative graphical standing bid information on the
entire stock of priority rights available, and allows them
real-time bidding interaction. This system can achieve such sales
even for priority rights garnering extremely high public interest,
without excluding any potential purchasers.
[0044] The present invention achieves said objectives by employing
a computer controlled priority right auctioning system which
receives and evaluates bid information records received from a
plurality of remote terminals, said bid information "records
corresponding to bids for one or more priority rights.
[0045] The automated priority right auctioning system is comprised
of a memory storing a plurality of previously accepted bid
information records, said records each including identification
information, section information, quantity information, and bid
price information. The automated priority right auctioning system
is further comprised of a central controlling computer operably
connected to the memory and operable to receive a message including
a received bid information record from one of a plurality of remote
terminals through a communication system, determine a lowest
minimum acceptable bid value corresponding to the received section
information using the previously accepted bid information records
stored in the memory, and store the received bid information record
if a value represented by the received bid price information
exceeds the lowest minimum acceptable bid value.
[0046] The central controlling computer is further operable to, in
a like manner, receive, evaluate and store, if acceptable,
subsequent bids received and to stop receiving subsequent messages
after a predetermined time period.
[0047] Within the automated priority right auctioning system, each
previously accepted bid information record includes rank
information based on the section information and the bid price
information, and the central controlling computer is further
operable to assign a rank to each received bid information record
based on its section information, its bid price information, and
the previously accepted bid information records.
[0048] After stopping receiving subsequent messages, the central
controlling computer is further operable to associate one or more
particular priority rights with a previously accepted bid
information record based on the rank information and the section
information of each of a plurality of previously accepted bid
information records.
[0049] The automated priority right auctioning system further
includes a programmed graphical representation method designed to
efficiently convey to auction participants useful standing bid
information across a spectrum of priority rights to be auctioned,
allowing current priority right bid prices to be quantified in an
effective manner.
[0050] The system further includes programmed methods for ensuring
contiguous grouping of priority rights within each multiple
priority right bid, and for ensuring that the standing bid
information is automatically updated on a real-time basis and
presented as such to all auction participants; said programmed
method employing HTML programming features such as the recently
available META refresh (a client pull type browser directive) or
the multipart/mixed MIME format (a server push type browser
directive).
[0051] Participants may access this system from remote sites using
terminals, such as personal computers, via telephone lines or other
means of communication. The status of bids and their corresponding
priority rights are conveyed on graphic displays which are updated
on a real time basis for all participants to view. Participants may
place bids of any amount, subject to predetermined limits, and
cancel, raise, or lower bids at will. In addition, participants may
view their personal bid standings and the updated overall bid
standings without having to continually re-access the auction site.
Through the participants' remote terminals, the personal bid
requests are sent to the host computer which immediately processes,
and sorts the bids according to section and price. The central
computer immediately updates and displays the new bid standing
order. When the auction is closed, the bids become fixed and the
physical transaction can occur.
[0052] The system further includes the ability for participants to
limit their bids to particular types of priority rights.
Additionally, the system will allow participants to lock-in their
priority rights before auction closing upon the payment of a
premium. Also, the system provides for proxy bidding which allows
participants to automatically increase bid amounts to match
subsequent higher bids. The system further includes the ability for
participants to define their own personal bidding sections and to
make alternative bids. Also, the system provides incentives for
compelling bidders to place bids well in advance of auction
closing.
[0053] In addition, it would be advantageous for the system to
further include the ability for each participant to place two or
more prioritized simultaneous but mutually exclusive bids in a
single ticket auction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0054] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system built in
accordance with the present invention.
[0055] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary system built
in accordance with the present invention.
[0056] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary participant
registration procedure used in a system built in accordance with
the present invention.
[0057] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary auction
procedure used in a system built in accordance with the present
invention.
[0058] FIGS. 5A and 5B show exemplary representations of at least
part of the main auction database storing the order of bids
received.
[0059] FIGS. 6A and 6B show exemplary representations of at least
part of a referring database which stores the available priority
rights for sale.
[0060] FIG. 7 is an exemplary representation of a referring
database which stores the participants identity and personal and
payment information.
[0061] FIG. 8 is an example of the statistical record of all bid
events received, for use in marketing studies and customer
service.
[0062] FIG. 9 is an example of the participant's terminal screen,
as it might appear before the beginning of an auction. The terminal
displays a graphical representation of a venue of seats, the rights
to which are to be auctioned, and the preset minimum bid price of
those rights.
[0063] FIG. 10 is an example of the participant's terminal screen,
as it might appear during an auction. The terminal displays a
graphical representation of the rights to be auctioned, the present
bid price of those rights, and the personal bid standing for this
particular participant.
[0064] FIG. 11 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
when the desired section is chosen for bidding. The bid form is
included on this screen.
[0065] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary algorithm
used to ensure contiguous priority rights within each bid in a
system built in accordance with the present invention.
[0066] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary algorithm
used to match the number of available priority rights with the
number of seats requested by winning bidders in a system built in
accordance with the present invention.
[0067] FIG. 14 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
requesting further information from the participant about
participant preferences.
[0068] FIG. 15 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
showing a bidding activity meter during open bidding.
[0069] FIG. 16 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
showing the bidding activity meter of FIG. 15 after bidding is
closed.
[0070] FIG. 17 is an example of the participant's terminal screen,
as it might appear during an auction. The terminal displays a
graphical representation of the rights to be auctioned and the
present bid price of those rights.
[0071] FIG. 18 is an example of the participant's terminal screen,
as it might appear during an auction; the terminal displays a
graphical representation of the rights to be auctioned and the
present bid price of those rights.
[0072] FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary algorithm
within step 50 of FIG. 4 for processing alternative priority right
bids.
[0073] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary algorithm
for sorting unranked priority rights.
[0074] FIG. 21 is an illustration of an auction for the right to
begin a round of golf at a particular time conducted using the
automated priority right auctioning system of the current invention
and the algorithm of FIG. 20.
[0075] FIG. 22 is a graph of the gross revenue of an automated
priority right auction versus the time over which the auction took
place.
[0076] FIG. 23 is a graph of the gross revenue of an automated
priority right auction versus the time over which the auction took
place denoting the duration and effect of various events on the
gross revenue.
[0077] FIG. 24 is the graph of FIG. 22 and a graph displaying the
change in the rate of growth of the gross revenue of an automated
priority right auction per minute of the auction.
[0078] FIG. 25 is the graph of FIG. 22 and a graph of the number of
priority right lock-ins ordered and the amount of the priority
right lock-in premium versus the time over which the auction took
place.
[0079] FIG. 26 is a graph of the average price per priority right
in an automated priority right auction versus the time have which
the auction took place.
[0080] FIG. 27 is a computer display of two graphs and two frames
displaying statistics pertaining to an automated priority right
auction of the rights to sit in a particular seat at an event.
[0081] FIG. 28 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
after selection of a priority bidding option.
[0082] FIG. 29 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
upon selecting a first priority location.
[0083] FIG. 30 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
after click-and-drag adjustment of a first priority boundary
area.
[0084] FIG. 31 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
after entering a first priority quantity and bid amount, and
submitting a first priority bid.
[0085] FIG. 32 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
upon selecting a second priority location.
[0086] FIG. 33 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
after entering a second priority quantity and bid amount, and
submitting a second priority bid.
[0087] FIG. 34 is an example of the participant's terminal screen
after entering a third priority location, quantity and bid amount,
and submitting a third priority bid.
DESCRIPTION
[0088] A computer controlled priority right auctioning system is
now described with reference to FIGS. 1-34. Although many of the
Figures anticipate that the priority rights being auctioned are in
the form of tickets for seats to a venue during a particular event,
as described herein the priority right auctioning system may be
used to auction any of a number of different types of priority
rights, examples of which are provided above in the Background.
Therefore, references in the Description to certain pieces of
auction information, such as "groups" and "subgroups" or "sections"
and "subsections", may not apply to all priority right auctions. In
addition, the term "priority rights" is used throughout the
Description to represent all such priority rights which may be
auctioned using the system.
[0089] FIG. 1 shows a computer controlled ticket auctioning system
10 which is built according to the present invention. As, shown,
the computer controlled ticket auctioning system 10 is comprised of
a central computer 12 such as an Internet server which sends and
receives information through a communication system 13 such as the
public telephone system, television cable system, or satellite
communications system to remote terminals 14.sub.1, 14.sub.2,
14.sub.3 . . . . 14.sub.n, such as personal computers or other
network accessing devices. In this embodiment, Internet sites are
constructed consisting of web pages of graphics and text stored as
html files, which present the necessary information pertaining to
upcoming events and ticket sales. These sites are stored in the
memory of the central computer 12. The construction and initiation
of these sites is shown as step 22 and step 23 in FIG. 2, which is
a flowchart illustrating the general operation of this exemplary
system.
[0090] Accordingly, consumers wishing to become participants (also
referred to herein as "bidders") in an upcoming auction may access
the central computer 12 of FIG. 1 through any remote terminal
14.sub.1, 14.sub.2, 14.sub.3 . . . 14.sub.n to receive a wide
variety of information about the auctions, the related events,
venues, performers or teams, schedules, and merchandise; and to
pre-register for the auction and payment. The registration process
is represented as step 24 in FIG. 2. Next, as FIG. 2 illustrates,
the auction operation 25 is executed; the transactions 26 take
place, and the system is ended 27. These steps are described in
more detail below.
[0091] Registration Procedure of Auctioning System
[0092] Referring again to FIG. 1, registration and bid information
originating in the remote terminals 14.sub.1, 14.sub.2, 14.sub.3 .
. . 14.sub.n, is transferred via the communication system 13 and
received by the central computer 12. The central computer 12
processes said information and stores it in databases:
specifically, the participant database 15 for registrations and the
main auction database 16 for bids. The word database, as used
herein, and in the appended claims is intended to refer to a
collection of information organized in such a way that the central
computer can quickly select and store desired pieces of data within
the database. The information in the database may be stored in any
of several ways, including, but not limited to, magnetic storage,
optical storage, or any other form of storage known in the art. The
central computer 12 also performs sorting and indexing operations,
described below, necessary to keep the information in the databases
current and correctly ordered. The central computer 12 processes
and controls the information flowing between the Internet sites and
the databases with programming written in the C++ programming
language or any of the other computer programming languages known
by one skilled in the art. Registration information may be received
and stored before and during operation of the auction. The
participant database, represented by FIG. 7 contains the name,
address, and payment information for all participants, and is used
as a referring database to the main auction database, represented
by FIG. 5, during the open auction and for billing purposes when
the auction is concluded. FIG. 5 and FIG. 7 are detailed below.
[0093] Referring again to FIG. 1, a master computer 11 is connected
to the central computer 12.cndot.for purposes of setting up,
initiating, monitoring and dismantling the auction, and its related
sites or pages. For example, in preparation for an auction,
numerous details specific to that auction, such as minimum initial
bids, event and sponsor names, dates and times, and arrangements
are generated using the master computer 11 and then transferred by
disk or modem or other means to the central computer 12 when
needed. The central computer 12 stores these parameters for later
application to the auction process. In particular, the central
computer 12 stores in the ticket database 17 a unique record for
each ticket available. The auction is then conducted by the central
computer 12, as described below. During the auction, the master
computer 11 can be used to monitor the auction progress, make any
necessary spontaneous changes to existing parameters, and to
generally ensure that the auction is conducted with a minimum of
problems. In practice, it may be possible to combine the functions
of the central computer 12 and the master computer 11.
[0094] Step 24 in FIG. 2 is illustrated in detail by FIG. 3, an
exemplary participant registration flowchart. The potential
registrant begins in step 28 by interfacing with one of the
terminals, for example, terminal 14.sub.1, of FIG. 1. When the
rules and registration Internet site is accessed at step 29 of FIG.
3, the registrant is encouraged to read the auction rules
thoroughly, and agree to their terms. This site includes a
registration form which will contain that registrant's personal
information including records for the fields illustrated in the
participant database of FIG. 7, as well as a checkbox for agreement
to the terms of the auction rules, and a password, if desired, to
protect access. The password may be chosen for use when accessing
the auction, in lieu of re-entering the credit card number. This
allows the participant to have an agent place bids, without
disclosing the credit card number.
[0095] The central computer 12 of FIG. 1 performs all remaining
steps in this registration process depicted in FIG. 3. In step 30,
of FIG. 3, the registration information is received and in step 31,
a determination is made as to whether the information is
satisfactorily complete. If not, a message to that effect is sent
in step 32 back to the registrant, and the registration process is
ended at step 39. If the registration information is satisfactorily
complete, then in step 33, the credit information is obtained
through existing credit card systems for comparison to the
information given by the registrant. In step 34, said comparison is
performed and if the credit information does not match or the limit
is exceeded, a message to that effect is sent in step 35 back to
the registrant, and the registration process is ended at step 39.
If in step 34 the card is determined to be valid and the limit not
to be exceeded, then in step 36, an `authorization only` hold is
placed on the registrant's credit card, for an amount specified by
the participant. This limit, also stored in the participant
database of FIG. 7, will be that registrant/participant's maximum
allowable bid during the upcoming open auction. The authorization
hold verifies and reserves the payment means for the seller, while
limiting unauthorized bids made by agents of the
registrant/participant. Referring again to FIG. 3, in step 37, the
registrant is notified that the registration was accepted and then
in step 38, the records are sent to the participant database before
the registration is ended in step 39.
[0096] At step 22 of FIG. 2 before the auction is opened, an
Internet site is constructed and initiated to provide viewing of
graphical displays of the priority right and sale information to
the participants. FIG. 9 represents one such view, with initial
minimum bids displayed in each section of a venue for an auction of
rights to sit in particular seats at an event (i.e., "tickets").
All potential participants may access and view this site before the
auction is opened. When the auction is opened, the central computer
12 of FIG. 1 activates the site to become interactive, so
participants can use it to place bids on tickets. The site
activation is represented as step 40 in FIG. 4 which is discussed
below. When a participant places a bid, the information is received
and then processed by the central computer 12 of FIG. 1 according
to the flowchart outlined in FIG. 4.
[0097] Auction Procedure of Auctioning System
[0098] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary auction
procedure which is step 25 in FIG. 2. The central computer 12 of
FIG. 1 performs all steps in this auction process depicted in FIG.
4. In addition, all bid information received by participants'
remote terminals is generated by the central computer 12 of FIG. 1
as web-pages constructed of html programming code. The auction
procedure illustrated by the flowchart in FIG. 4 is useful in
auctioning all priority rights with relative market values that can
be easily ranked prior to the start of the auction. This auction
procedure is also capable of auctioning the rights to sit in
particular seats in a movie theater if each right is sold as the
right to enter the theater at a certain time and freely select from
all available seats. Larger bids permit their bidders to enter the
theater at earlier times to select seats. Therefore, the entrance
times into the theater are easily ranked, with earlier times more
valuable than later times. Other priority rights that may be
auctioned using this procedure include the right to be in a
particular location, e.g., a seat, during a concert, a theatrical
event, a sporting event, or any other live entertainment event. The
auction procedure of FIG. 4 is also, with slight modification,
capable of auctioning rights with relative market values that are
largely dependent upon individual consumer preference and,
therefore, cannot be easily ranked prior to the sale of the rights.
These modifications are described in more detail below.
[0099] Referring again to FIG. 4, in step 41 a bid information
record (bid) is received as a response to a web-page form: an html
programming tool commonly used to submit information from a
personal computer to a server. A bid information record includes
received identification information, received section information,
received quantity information, and received bid price information.
When a bid is received, as in step 41, then in step 42 a check is
made to ensure participant's registration is on record. This is
accomplished by conducting a query on the participant database 15
of FIG. 1, detailed in FIG. 7, using the received bid
identification information as the query criterion. If the query
finds the participant is not registered, a message to that effect
is sent in step 43 back to the participant, and the bid is not
recorded.
[0100] If the query finds the participant is registered, then in
step 44 of FIG. 4, a check is made to ensure the participant's bid
exceeds the standing minimum bid for the particular section
requested. This is accomplished by conducting a query on the main
auction database 16 of FIG. 1, detailed in FIG. 5, using the
received section information and bid price information as the query
criteria. If the query finds the bid price too low, a message to
that effect is sent in step 45 back to the participant, and the bid
is not recorded. If the query finds the bid price is not too low,
then in step 46, a check is made to ensure the participant's bid is
less than the established maximum; specifically, the amount of the
`authorization only` hold established in the participant
registration and stored, for example, under the field name "SLIMIT"
in the participant database of FIG. 7. Again, this is accomplished
by conducting a query on the participant database using the
received bid price information as the query criterion. If this
maximum is exceeded, a message to that effect is sent in step 47 of
FIG. 4 back to the participant, and the bid is not recorded. Upon
receipt of such a message, the participant may choose to
re-register in order to raise the set maximum. However, an agent of
the participant would be unable to do so without the credit card
information. Thus, protection is afforded by use of the password
established in the participant registration and stored, for example
under the field name "SETPASS" shown in the participant database of
FIG. 7.
[0101] Referring again to FIG. 4, if the comparison in step 46 is
positive, then the bid is accepted and displayed as in step 48. In
step 49, the bid information record is recorded to the main auction
database of FIG. 5 and indexed to the corresponding participant in
the participant database of FIG. 7. In step 50 of FIG. 4, again
using the received bid price information as the query criterion,
the bid is then inserted at the appropriate rank in the ticket
database of FIG. 6, described below, and indexed to the
corresponding bid record in the main auction database of FIG. 5,
with lower standing bids being reordered to reflect the new
standings. At this step, the lowest bid(s) are removed from the
order, (bumped), unless additional tickets are still available.
Bumped bids are stored in a market research database, represented
in FIG. 8, the format of which is similar to that of the main
auction database. An added function of this database is to ensure
that an accurate record of each bid event can be identified for
customer service purposes. Next, participants whose bids become too
low are notified.
[0102] As shown in step 51 and step 52, if the standing bid price
of a pre-selected key ticket in the graphical representation has
changed as a result of the latest bid, this change is reflected
immediately by automatically updating the display of the current
bid standings. These prices are displayed within the graphical view
of the priority right and sale information, just as the initial
minimum bids were displayed in FIG. 9. A representation of this
real-time bid status view is shown in FIG. 10. This interactive
view gives participants clear, useful information sufficient to
make bid decisions, regardless of the number of tickets for sale or
what ticket is desired. More precise information is readily
obtainable by simply clicking the mouse on the desired section of
seats. This action summons the bid form along with a more precise
bid status graphic such as shown in FIG. 11. The standing prices
represented on these interactive sites are obtained by the central
computer 12 of FIG. 1 from records stored in the ticket database 17
and inserted into the html file for display to participants. This
task is step 52 of FIG. 4 and is repeated each time a change has
occurred in the standing bid price of one of these key tickets.
This determination is represented as step 51 of FIG. 4. These
changes are automatically presented to the participants by means of
META refresh, a client pull type html programming feature which
directs the browser to automatically refresh the information every
x seconds, where x is a variable programmed into the html file
code. If no key ticket prices have changed, no further action is
taken until the next bid is received or the auction is ended.
[0103] FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 illustrate two alternative methods for
displaying the current bid values for the available tickets in an
auction for the right to sit in a particular seat at an event.
Referring to FIG. 17, the auction participant may scroll through a
list 350 of available tickets and their current standing bid
values. As the participant highlights a particular seat, a red star
352 appears on the graphical representation of all available seats
354 to display the highlighted seat's location. In FIG. 18, the
auction participant may also scroll through a list 400 of available
seats and their current standing bid values. In the graphical
representation of all available seats 402 in FIG. 18, though, all
the available seats are visible at all times. As the auction
participant highlights a particular seat in the list 400, the same
seat is highlighted in the graphical representation 402.
[0104] Referring again to FIG. 4, in step 53 the auction may be
ended in response to a signal which may be sent from the master
computer 11 of FIG. 1 or from an internal timer or some other
predetermined means. In step 54, of FIG. 4, finalizing the ticket
assignments involves application of an algorithm designed to ensure
that seats within a bid are contiguous. Prior to the start of the
auction, the seats may be organized into specific sections and
subsections, or groups and subgroups, of rights. For example, if
the rights to be sold are the rights to sit in particular seats at
an event, those rights may be grouped by section number and then
divided into subsections by row number. Alternatively, during the
pendency of the auction, each bidder may define seat sections or
subsections. FIG. 12 is an example of an algorithm that ensures
contiguous seats within a bid..cndot.For each section, or group, of
seats in the auction this algorithm is executed, starting with the
highest bid, obtained in step 121, and working back. If the bid
presently under evaluation is the last in its section, then a
different algorithm is used. This determination and action is step
122 and step 123. If the bid presently under evaluation is not the
last in its section, then in step 124, it is determined if the
number of tickets required by the bid is more than the number
available in its subsection, or subgroup. If so, it is impossible
for all the seats to be contiguous, and the process begins for the
next bid, in step 128. If not, in step 125 the next decision is to
see if there are any breaks in the seats grouping. If not, the
process begins again for the next bid, in step 128. If so, the
group of seats is moved to the next subsection back, step 126, and
the resulting seat vacancies are filled by moving the next lower
bid(s) forward, step 127. In unusual circumstances, this could
result in the moved group spanning two subsections again. In this
exemplary algorithm, the group will not be moved again, it will
remain split. When the last active bid is processed, the
last-priority-right algorithm shown in FIG. 13 is applied. If the
number of tickets in the bid is greater than the number of seats
remaining in the section, step 131, then in step 132 the bidder is
notified of the cut-off and asked it the reduced number of tickets
will suffice. In step 133 and step 134 if the reply is negative or
if there is no reply within 2 minutes, the bid is removed. If there
is a positive reply, the number of tickets is reduced to the
available amount, and the algorithm is ended.
[0105] Referring again to FIG. 2, step 26, upon auction closing,
successful bidders are immediately notified at their terminals and
payment is confirmed. The credit cards are debited for the
appropriate amounts, and the excess amount from the `authorization
only` hold is released. Proof of the bidder's ownership of the
ticket is then delivered by any of a number of conventional
means.
[0106] FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b represent the main auction database
which stores and ranks all active bid records and pairs the
associated participants and priority rights accordingly, by
referencing the two referring databases. FIG. 5a is the design view
of this database, defining the fields and their parameters, while
FIG. 5b is the table view showing sample bid records for the first
bids in a hypothetical auction. FIG. 6 depicts the ticket database,
which is the other referring database. In auctions for easily
ranked tickets, the ticket database of FIG. 6 contains a record of
each ticket in the auction arranged in order of preference as
predetermined by the promoter or ticket seller. In auctions for
tickets with relative market values that are not easy to rank, the
ticket database of FIG. 6 contains a record of each priority in the
auction arranged in an order enabling efficient indexing of the
ticket records to the bid records in the main auction database.
[0107] The databases shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 contain
records for a hypothetical auction that is greatly simplified for
illustration purposes. This hypothetical event venue contains only
12 available tickets, each defined by a record in the ticket
database (FIG. 6b). As shown, minimum bids had been pre-set at $15
and the highest bid received was bid #1 of $30, with a quantity of
2 tickets. The first field in the ticket database, "RIGHTID"
contains the unique ticket identification number which is indexed
to the main auction database (FIG. 5b) by the fields "FRIGHTID"
(first ticket identification number) and "LRIGHTID" (last ticket
identification number). The last field is "BIDDERID", in which are
stored indices referencing records in the participant database. As
shown in FIG. 5b, the lowest bid was #3, requesting 2 tickets at
$15. However, only one seat was reserved, since only one was
available at that bid level. As detailed in FIG. 13 above, when the
auction is ended, if one ticket is not satisfactory, this
participant will be given the opportunity to cancel the bid.
[0108] FIG. 10 is a sample participant interface to the auction
system during the open auction, represented here as a web page with
graphical links to forms for placing bids on tickets to sit in
particular seats for an event. As exemplified here, the participant
wishing to bid, simply uses a mouse to click on the desired ticket
section, calling up a bid form and a more precise view of standing
bids to use as a guideline. FIG. 11 shows this more precise view
for a participant who clicked on section C. The form on the right
confirms this selection and prompts the participant for the
specific bid information; while the diagram on the left shows that
if, for instance, the bid placed is $73, then the tickets will be
in the middle of section C, unless future (higher) bids push it
back. Likewise, in practice it is possible, albeit tedious, to
display bid prices in every subsection or even for every seat.
[0109] Accordingly, a ticket seller could promote numerous ticket
sales simultaneously at one network site, with the added step for
the registrant/participant of choosing the desired sale from those
presented.
[0110] In one embodiment, a template may be loaded into
participants' terminals prior to their accessing the auction site,
said template providing text or graphic information that does not
change during an auction or between auctions, such as background
art, forms or instructions. Said template maybe downloaded from the
Internet, or installed from a disc or by some other means. Use of a
template allows the bid status updates to be made with transmission
of only the numerical data, which in combination with the template,
presents the comprehensive auction status update to participants.
In another embodiment, the bid status changes are automatically
presented to the participants by means of the multipart/mixed MIME
format, a recently available server-push type programming feature
which takes advantage of a connection that is held open over
multiple responses, allowing the server to send more data at will.
This method can be more efficient, since new HTTP connections do
not have to be reopened.
[0111] Participant Preference Options of Auctioning System
[0112] Various other alternative embodiments of the invention are
also possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, after a
participant places a bid, he or she is presented with participant
preference options on a participant preference screen 200, which is
a terminal screen that asks the participant a number of questions
concerning the participant's bid. Under a priority right options
block 202 on the participant preference screen 200, the participant
is given the participant preference option of canceling the bid or
moving back to another section if the participant is unable to
secure a bid in the desired section. The system will generally
default for the participant to be moved back a section unless the
participant changes this option to cancel the bid in the event of a
bump. Thus, if a participant has bid on tickets in Section B, but
that bid is bumped, the participant will automatically be moved
back to Section C upon being bumped from Section B, unless the
participant instructs the system to completely cancel the bid in
the event the bid is bumped.
[0113] Another participant preference option presented to the
bidder under the ticket options block 202 is the option for a
premium subsection ticket, such as the right to sit in a front row
seat at an event. Certain bidders may be exclusively interested in
a premium subsection ticket. Under this option, the participant may
instruct the system to cancel the bid if the bid is bumped from the
premium subsection. Thus, if a participant makes a bid and
specifies that he must be in the premium subsection, the system
will cancel the bid if the bid is bumped from the premium
subsection. Alternatively, the participant may state that he simply
prefers the premium subsection, but will take other tickets. Thus,
under this option, the system will leave the participant with a
premium subsection ticket so long as his bid is consistent with the
other premium subsection bids. If the participant is bumped from
the premium subsection, the participant's bid will not be canceled,
but he will simply be moved back. This will generally be the system
default. Finally, the participant may state that he absolutely does
not want a premium subsection ticket, and.cndot.he should be moved
back if his bid lands him in the premium subsection. Thus, under
this option, the system will place the participant in another
subsection even if his bid qualifies him for the premium
subsection.
[0114] Another example of a premium subsection ticket is the right
to sit in an aisle seat at an event. The ticket options block 202
would allow the participant to specify aisle seat preference as a
participant preference option. The system may present the
participant with a number of choices concerning the aisle,
including the following options: (i) must have an aisle seat and
will move back to get on the aisle, (ii) will not accept an aisle
seat, (iii) prefer the aisle, but will accept other seats, (iv) do
not prefer the aisle, and (v) don't care. The "don't care" option
is generally the system default. Based upon the participant's
input, the system will attempt to place the participant in the
desired location either on an. aisle or away from an aisle.
[0115] A number of other participant preference options other than
those described above may also be specified in the ticket options
block 202. For example, if the priority right is the right to sit
in a particular seat at an event, the system may give participants
options for being placed near concession stands, restrooms, exits,
or the rear of a section. Other preference options are also
possible and may be easily incorporated by those of ordinary skill
in the art.
[0116] The participant's preference screen 200 also includes an
option 204 that allows the system to receive lock-in ticket
information. This option 204 allows the participant to secure a
ticket, upon payment of a premium, regardless of any subsequent
bids for the ticket during the auction. This premium may be
expressed in any number of ways such as a flat dollar amount (e.g.,
$25) or a percent of the bid value (e.g., 50%). The premium is
expressed on the preferences screen 200 by lock-in premium line
208. Thus, if the participant makes a bid of $80 per ticket for
five seats, and this bid currently places the bidder in a
particular subsection of seats, the participant may lock-in these
five tickets upon payment of the premium. If the premium is 50% of
the bid value, the participant would be required to pay $120 per
ticket, or $600 total dollars to secure these five seats until the
close of the auction. If the participant does choose to lock-in his
bid by paying the premium, the participant will retain all five
tickets throughout the auction even if a subsequent bidder offers
$120 or more for the same tickets.
[0117] The participant's preference screen 200 may also include an
option that allows the system to receive proxy bid information. The
proxy bid options are shown under proxy block 206. According to the
proxy bid options, the participant may enter a maximum proxy bid
amount in addition to the current bid amount. The maximum proxy bid
amount is the amount that the bidder authorizes the system to bid
in his absence in order to keep the bidder in the preferred seat or
location. Under this block 206, the bidder has the following three
options: (i) keep the bidder in the bidding for the same tickets
for up to the maximum bid amount, (ii) keep the bidder in the same
section of seats for up to the maximum bid amount, and (iii) keep
the bidder in the bidding for any ticket in the auction for up to
the maximum bid amount. Thus, if the participant bids $80 for a
ticket in a certain section, but authorizes proxy bidding up to
$130, the participant may leave the auction, knowing that proxy
bids will be made for him up to $130 should a subsequent bid exceed
his bid. If the participant chooses the option to stay in the
bidding for the same ticket for up to the maximum bid, the system
will keep the participant in the bidding for that ticket until
subsequent bids for that ticket are received exceeding $130. At
that time, the participant's bid will be bumped. If the participant
chooses the option to stay in bidding for the same section of seats
for up to the maximum bid, the participant will be bumped to the
rear of the section as subsequent bids are received for greater
than $80. Once bids for the rear of the section reach $80, the
participant's bid will automatically increase to keep him in the
section up to a value of $130. Once all bids in the section exceed
$130, the participant's bid will be bumped. Finally, if the bidder
chooses to simply stay in the overall bidding for up to $130, the
participant's $80 bid will be continually bumped to less
preferential tickets, as bid values exceed $80. Once the least
preferential ticket reaches $80, the participant's bid will
automatically increase to keep him in the bidding for up to a bid
of $130. If bids for the least preferential ticket exceed $120, the
participant will be completely removed from the bidding.
[0118] The participant's preference screen 200 may also include an
option that allows the auction participant to individually
designate those seats upon which the participant wishes to bid.
Instead of selecting to bid within the sections or subsections
defined by the auction organizer, each participant may define his
own personal bidding section. One embodiment of this invention is
to allow the auction participant to define the bounds of his
personal bidding section by using a mouse to "click and drag" a
cursor over a portion of the graphical representation of the
available seats. Another embodiment involves permitting the auction
participant to define his personal bidding section by entering the
first and last seat identification numbers in the desired personal
bidding section.
[0119] The participant's preference screen 200 may also include an
option that allows the auction participant to place alternative
bids. For example, in an auction for the right to sit in a
particular seat at an event, an auction-participant could designate
that she wished to stay in the bidding for the right to sit in a
seat in Section A for up to $50, but if that bid was bumped then
she wished to stay in the bidding for the right to sit in a seat in
Section D for up to $25.
[0120] This option to place alternative bids may be used with the
seat sections designated by the auction organizer, as in the
previous example, or with the participant's personal bidding
sections. Therefore, the auction participant could designate that
she wished to stay in the bidding for a right in her first personal
bidding section for up to $45, and if that bid was bumped then she
wished to stay in the bidding for a right within her second
personal bidding section for up to $25. Additionally, more than two
alternative bids may be placed.
[0121] FIG. 19 is a flowchart of an exemplary algorithm that
permits the tickets auction system to properly process alternative
bids. This algorithm is step 50 of FIG. 4. In processing this
algorithm, the automated ticket auction system processes each
alternative bid as a separate bid. For example, if an individual
designated a bid of $50 for rights within a first section, a first
alternative bid of $30 for rights within a second section, and a
second alternative bid of $20 within a third section, the system
would record all three bids. However, the system would only
activate the $30 bid after the $50 bid was bumped and would then
activate the $20 bid only after the $30 bid was bumped.
[0122] Referring to FIG. 19, in step 400, all tickets bids are
sorted. As a result of this process, some bids may be bumped. In
step 402, the central computer 12 determines whether any bids have
been bumped. If no bumped bids exist, the control is passed, in
step 404, to step 51 of FIG. 4. If a bid has been bumped, in step
406 the central computer 12 determines whether the bumped bid is
part of a series of alternative bids. If not, in step 408 it is
determined whether any other bids were bumped by the sorting
undertaken in step 400. If other bids were bumped, control is
passed back to step 406. If no additional bids were bumped, the
central computer 12 proceeds to step 404. Referring again to step
406, if the bumped bid is part of a series of alternative bids, the
central computer 12 then determines, in step 410, whether the
bumped bid was the last alternative bid in the series. If the
bumped bid was the last alternative bid in the series, the central
computer 12 proceeds to step 408. If not, the central computer 12
activates, in step 412, the next alternative bid in the bumped
bid's series.
[0123] Then, in step 414 the central computer 12 determines whether
the activated bid exceeds the standing minimum acceptable bid for
the tickets identified in the activated bid. This is accomplished
by conducting a query on the main auction database 16 of FIG. 1,
detailed in FIG. 5, using the received section information and bid
price information as the query criteria. If the query finds the bid
price too low, a message to that effect is sent in step 416 back to
the participant, and the bid is not recorded. If the query finds
the bid price is not too low, then in step 418, a check is made to
ensure the participant's bid is less than the established maximum;
specifically, the amount of the `authorization only` hold
established in the participant registration and stored, for
example, under the field name "SLIMIT" in the participant database
of FIG. 7. Again, this is accomplished by conducting a query on the
participant database using the received bid price information as
the query criterion. If this maximum is exceeded, a message to that
effect is sent in step 420 of FIG. 19 back to the participant, and
the bid is not recorded. Upon receipt of such a message, the
participant may choose to re-register in order to raise the set
maximum. However, an agent of the participant would be unable to do
so without the credit card information. Thus, protection is
afforded by use of the password established in the participant
registration and stored, for example under the field name "SETPASS"
shown in the participant database of FIG. 7.
[0124] Referring again to FIG. 19, if the comparison in step 418 is
positive, then the bid is accepted and displayed as in step 422. In
step 424, the bid information record is recorded to the main
auction database of FIG. 5 and indexed to the corresponding
participant in the participant database of FIG. 7. In step 426, the
central computer 12 determines whether any additional bids were
bumped by the sorting of step 420. If so, the central computer 12
returns to step 406 so that all bids bumped by the sorting of step
420 can be examined for related alternative bids before all of the
bids are re-sorted. If the comparison in step 426 is negative, the
central computer 12 returns to step 420 to re-sort all of the
ticket bids with the inclusion of the newly accepted bid. This
algorithm is only one of various available means to enable the
proper processing of alternative bids by the ticket auctioning
system of this invention.
Alternative Embodiments of Auctioning System
[0125] In another alternative embodiment of the invention, a
bidding activity meter 302 is used as shown in FIG. 15. The bidding
activity meter shows a graphical representation of the rate of
bidding on tickets (e.g., bids per hour or total bid revenue
increase per minute). The meter shows a number of different bidding
rates from left to right across the meter. A bar extends from the
left side of the meter toward the right side of the meter to
represent the current bidding rate. In this manner the participant
can see the current rate of bids placed for tickets. The bidding
activity meter allows the system to have an adjustable bidding
window based upon bidding activity. The adjustable bidding window
may be defined as an adjustable period of time that may be
immediately terminated upon the bidding rate reaching a predefined
low threshold. For example, the system may set up an auction for
tickets starting at 10 a.m. on a particular day. The auction may be
set up to accept bids for at least five hours, until 3 p.m., but
for no more than fourteen hours, until 12 p.m. Bidding will remain
open after 3 p.m., so long as the bidding continues above the
predetermined threshold (e.g., 1000 bids per hour). However, if the
bidding drops below that threshold, the auction will be closed
immediately. Thus, the auction will definitely accept bids from 10
a.m. until 3 p.m. If the total bidding from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
exceeds the threshold rate, the bidding will remain open. However,
if at any time before 12 p.m., the bidding rate drops below the
threshold, the bidding will immediately cease. Thus, if the
threshold is 1000 bids per hour and the total bidding during the
hours of 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. drops to 900 bids, the auction will
close, and no further bids will be taken.
[0126] Because the auction may be conducted over an adjustable time
period using the bidding activity meter, the bidding activity meter
encourages bidders to place their bids early and not wait until the
very last minute before auction closing to place their bids. When a
large number of bidders wait to bid at the very last minute before
auction closing, the system may be unable to handle the large
number of bids and all bidders may not be allowed to place their
bids. If all bids are not placed, the market price per ticket is
not realized. However, the bidding activity meter prevents this
problem by encouraging bidders to place their bids early. With the
bidding activity meter 302, bidders will monitor the bidding
activity meter and place their bids immediately when they realize
that bidding is reaching the low threshold level. Because bidders
will likely have a continuum of different interpretations as to
when the bidding activity meter is reaching the low threshold
level, bids will be more evenly distributed over time and the
intensity of the final bidding will be decreased.
[0127] In a further embodiment of the invention, bidding may be
split into a first session and a second session. In this first
session, bids are taken to determine which bidders will receive the
tickets. In this session, a market price is determined for the
least preferential ticket in the auction. Alternatively, bidders
may bid on the least preferential ticket in each section. Bidders
making bids in excess of the market price are guaranteed a ticket
and allowed to bid in the second session. In the second session of
bidding, bidders place bids on particular tickets in the auction.
The most preferential tickets in the auction are awarded to the
highest bidders, consistent with the method of conducting an
auction described herein. The bid activity meter 302 may be used in
both the first and second session of bidding to define the time
limits that bidders have to place bids during the first or second
sessions.
[0128] In yet another embodiment of the invention, priority bidding
may be offered. In the ticket auction context, priority bidding
allows the bid participant to place a prioritized bid that acts as
a packet of bids and includes a first bid as well as at least one
back up bid in the event that the first bid or other higher
priority bid in the prioritized bid is rejected during the auction.
By way of example, FIG. 28 shows the participant's terminal screen
400 after selection of the priority bidding option. The participant
first selects and clicks a location on the venue map, which
generates a colored area defining the area boundaries of this first
priority bid. FIG. 29 shows the participant terminal screen 402 at
this point. The first priority bid area may then be adjusted by the
participant by clicking and dragging the boundaries, as shown in
FIG. 30, terminal screen 404. In this example, the participant's
first priority bid is for tickets to seats near the stage in the
first section, but does not include tickets on the right side or
toward the rear of the front section. Next, the participant enters
the desired number of seats and bid amount he wishes to place, and
submits the bid.
[0129] After submission of the first priority bit, a terminal
screen such as screen 406 in FIG. 31 is shown that allows the
participant to enter a second priority bid. As shown in FIG. 31,
the participant is prompted to enter a second priority bid
location, number of seats desired and bid amount, and is allowed to
adjust the second bid location area according to his or her wishes.
FIG. 32 shows the participant terminal screen 408 after the
participant has entered the second priority bid location, but has
yet to enter the information about the number of desired seats and
the bid amount. FIG. 33 shows the participant terminal screen 408
after the participant has entered quantity and bid amount
information and submitted the second priority bid.
[0130] After submission of the second priority bid, the participant
may choose to enter a third priority bid or any number of priority
bids. Entering third or additional priority bids is performed in
generally the same manner as described above for the first and
second priority bids. Right clicking with the mouse selects an
entire section for the area of a bid, as shown in FIG. 34 with
participant terminal screen 410.
[0131] When the first priority bid of a prioritized bid has been
entered by the bid participant, it becomes active immediately, and
is either accepted or rejected by the system. When the lower
priority bids are entered, they remain inactive unless other
bidders bump the first priority bid out such that the bid is no
longer acceptable within its defined area. If the first priority
bid is bumped or otherwise rejected during the auction, the second
priority bid is then activated. If the second priority bid is
bumped, the third is activated and so on. If all priority bids are
bumped, the participant must raise one or more bids or enter a new
bid in order to purchase tickets.
[0132] As mentioned above, the auction procedure illustrated by the
flowchart in FIG. 4 may be modified to permit auctioning of
priority rights with relative market values that are difficult to
rank prior to their sale. In the auction of a group of such
priority rights, two consecutive priority rights may have widely
different market values due to individual consumer preference. For
example, the value of the right to begin a round of golf at 9:00
a.m. may be significantly greater than the value of the right to
begin a round of golf at 9:15 a.m. if an individual consumer's
schedule dictates that he must begin at 9:00 a.m. Therefore,
instead of classifying such priority rights into sections and
subsections and determining the amount of an acceptable minimum bid
by viewing the lowest bid in a particular section, the minimum
acceptable bid for each priority right must be evaluated
individually as a bid is placed upon the priority right. The
auction procedure illustrated by the flowchart in FIG. 4 will
satisfy this requirement if each priority right is treated as its
own section in the bidding process and some modification is made to
the central computer's sorting algorithm.
[0133] In an auction for priority rights that are not easily
pre-ranked, the sorting algorithm of step 50 in FIG. 4 and step 400
of FIG. 19 is slightly modified. One exemplary algorithm that
illustrates this modification is shown in FIG. 20. In step 428, the
central computer 12 performs a search over the entire spectrum of
received priority right bids to determine the highest bid among all
the priority right sections. This search may be performed
expeditiously if in step 49 of FIG. 4 the bid rank of each received
bid is determined relative to all other bids received in the
auction. Therefore, in the main auction database of FIG. 5, the
"RANK" field of the highest overall bid received in the auction
would contain a "1", the "RANK" field of the second highest overall
bid received in the auction would contain a "2", and so on.
[0134] Referring again to FIG. 20, in step 428, after the central
computer 12 has determined which bid is the highest, the priority
right designated in that bid's bid information record is assigned
to that bid. This process is completed by indexing the
corresponding bid record in the main auction database of FIG. 5 to
the corresponding priority right record in the priority right
database of FIG. 6. In step 430, the central computer 12 determines
whether any priority rights are still available for auction. If the
answer is negative, the central computer 12 determines if any bids
have been bumped, step 432, and then exits the sorting algorithm,
step 434. If any priority rights are still available for auction,
the central computer 12 determines whether any bids have yet to be
processed in step 436. If not, the algorithm proceeds to step 432.
If there are remaining bids to be processed, the central computer
12 conducts another query to determine which bid is the next
highest overall bid, step 438. The central computer 12 then assigns
to that bid the priority right designated in that bid's bid
information record. If the priority right designated in that bid
information record has already been assigned to a higher bid, then
the available priority right that is the closest to the designated
priority right is assigned. After assigning a priority right to the
bid, the algorithm returns to step 430. The process is continued
until all available priority rights have been assigned or until all
bids have been processed, whichever occurs first. The algorithm
illustrated in FIG. 20 is simply one of various algorithms that
permit the priority right auctioning system of the present
invention to sort unranked priority rights so as to obtain for
those rights their true market value.
[0135] FIG. 21 illustrates an auction for the right to begin a
round of golf at a particular time that is conducted using the
automated priority right auctioning system of the current invention
with the sorting algorithm of FIG. 20. Frame 440 in FIG. 21
contains the bids received during the auction. In this auction,
participants were permitted to designate one of four golf tee
times: 8:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 9:30 a.m. The central
computer 12 then utilized the sorting algorithm in FIG. 20 to
assign twenty-seven available tee times to the highest of these
bids.
[0136] First, the central computer 12, in step 428, determined that
priority right bid 442 for $300 was the highest of all the bids
received. Therefore, that bid was assigned the priority right to
tee off at 8:00 a.m., and the bid record corresponding to bid 442
in the main auction database of FIG. 5 was indexed to the priority
right record corresponding to the 8:00 a.m. tee-off time in the
priority right database of FIG. 6. The result of this assignment
can be seen in frame 444 of FIG. 21.
[0137] The central computer 12 then determined that there were more
available priority rights, step 430, and that there remained bids
that had not yet been processed, step 436. Therefore, the central
computer 12 queried the main auction database of FIG. 5 to
determine that priority right bid 446 for $260 was the highest
unprocessed bid. The central computer 12 thus assigned the priority
right to tee off at 8:30 a.m. and indexed the bid record
corresponding to bid 446 in the main auction database of FIG. 5 to
the priority right record corresponding to the 8:30 a.m. tee-off
time in the priority right database of FIG. 6. The result of this
assignment can be seen in frame 444 of FIG. 21.
[0138] Returning to step 430 in FIG. 20, the central computer 12
determined that there were more priority rights available and, in
step 436, that more unprocessed bids existed. So, in step 438, the
central computer 12 queried the main auction database of FIG. 5 to
discover that the highest unprocessed bid was bid 448 for $250.
However, because bid 448 designated 8:00 a.m. as its desired
priority right and bid 442 had already been assigned the 8:00 a.m.
priority right, the central computer 12 assigned to bid 448 the
available priority right closest to the 8:00 a.m. priority right,
the 8:05 a.m. priority right. The central computer 12 then indexed
the bid record corresponding to bid 448 in the main auction
database of FIG. 5 to the priority right record corresponding to
the 8:05 a.m. tee-off time in the priority right database of FIG.
6. The result of this assignment can be seen in frame 444 of FIG.
21.
[0139] The central computer 12 continued processing this algorithm
until all priority rights were assigned to received bids. The final
result of all priority right assignments can be seen in frame 444.
During the process of assigning priority rights, if a desired
priority right was already assigned the central computer 12 then
selected the closest available priority right to the desired
priority right. Other embodiments of this invention may vary this
selection, opting to only choose priority rights in one direction,
e.g. later tee times. Additionally, the priority rights auctioning
system could be modified to permit, as discussed above, alternative
priority right bids, personal priority right bidding sections; and
participant preference options, such as the option to designate
which direction the bid is bumped. The priority rights auctioning
system of the present invention, utilizing a sorting algorithm such
as that illustrated in FIG. 20, is thus. capable of obtaining the
true market value of priority rights that have relative values that
are difficult to rank prior to their sale.
[0140] Statistical Analysis of Auctioning System
[0141] The automated priority right auctioning system of the
present invention may be used in connection with other computer
programs to create graphs and tables to enable real-time
statistical analysis of the auction. FIG. 22 through FIG. 27 are
examples of such graphs and tables for a ticket auction. FIG. 22 is
a graph of the gross revenue of the auction versus the time over
which the auction takes place. It displays the dollar amount that
the auction organizer must obtain to break even, eleven million
dollars in this example, and the time at which the gross revenue
reaches that amount 450. A legend 452 is included in FIG. 22 which
denotes that each of the points on the graph labeled A through H
shows the gross revenue at the exact time that a section was
filled. The section of the graph labeled II, i.e. between dotted
line 454 and dotted line 456, displays how the rate of increase of
the gross revenue decreases as the auction nears its end.
[0142] FIG. 23 is also a graph of the gross revenue of the auction
versus the time over which the auction takes place. FIG. 23 denotes
the duration of multimedia presentations on the Internet website
affiliated with the auction and their effect on the gross revenue.
Other information may also be placed on the graph. For example,
dotted line 500 may denote the time at which ticket lock-ins become
available, and dotted line 502 may denote the time at which a
promotional commercial airs on a local radio station.
[0143] FIG. 24 is the graph of FIG. 22 with an additional graph 550
below it displaying the change in the rate of growth of the gross
revenue per minute of the auction. Thus, the auction organizer can
assess not only the effect of each promotional activity upon the
total gross revenue but also its effect on the rate of growth of
the revenue.
[0144] FIG. 25 is the graph of FIG. 22 with an additional graph 600
below it of the number of lock-ins ordered and the amount of the
lock-in premium versus the time over which the auction takes place.
Lines 602 and 604 in FIG. 25 display the changes in the level of
the lock-in premiums over the term of the auction. Prior to the
time denoted by dotted line 606 in FIG. 25, no lock-in premiums
were available. Lines 608 and 610 display the number of lock-ins
ordered at different times during the auction. FIG. 25 is useful to
an auction organizer because it enables the organizer to analyze
the effect of the timing and magnitude of the changes to the
lock-in premium on the number of lock-ins ordered.
[0145] FIG. 26 is a graph of the average price per ticket versus
the time over which the auction takes place. Dotted line 650
denotes the time at which this graph was created, 10:09 a.m., and.
separates the graph into a part that is based on actual sales and a
part that consists of average price forecasts based upon those
actual sales. Dotted line 652 marks the end of the auction, and all
lines in the graph that intersect with dotted line 652 are
projections of the average price of tickets at the end of the
auction. For example, line 654 plots the average price of a seat in
Section A in an auction for the right to sit in a seat at an event.
As of 10:09 a.m. the average price of a seat in Section A is about
$400. A forecasting algorithm has predicted with 95% certainty,
based on the rate of growth of the average sale price of a seat in
Section A from the start of the auction until 10:09 a.m., that the
price of the average seat in Section A at the end of the auction
will not be below $650. The algorithm calculates that to obtain
this amount for a ticket at 10:09 a.m., the lock-in premium should
be set at 40%. Likewise, the forecasting algorithm has predicted
with a 50% certainty that the final average price will not be below
$1050 and has calculated its related lock-in premium of 125%. The
forecasting algorithm has also predicted with a 5% certainty that
the final average price will not be below $1850 and has calculated
the related lock-in premium of 300%. The auction organizer may use
graphs such as FIG. 26 throughout an auction to determine a
reasonable lock-in premium amount.
[0146] FIG. 27 contains two graphs displaying real-time ticket sale
stats for an auction of the rights to sit in a particular seat at
an event. Graph 700 in FIG. 27 plots the number of bids received
per minute during the time that the auction takes place. In
addition, statistics frame 702 contains numerical data useful to
the auction organizer, including the total number of bids received,
the total number of bumped bids, the average number of seats per
bid, and the number of lock-ins ordered. Graph 704 in FIG. 27 plots
the distribution of bids at a certain. point of time in the
auction. The minimum, maximum, average, and median bid amounts are
denoted by label 706, label 708, label 710, and dotted line 712,
respectively. Additionally, graph 704 distinguishes between
standing bids and bumped bids by graphing each in a different
color. The auction organizer may create multiple versions of graph
704 for various times during the auction, enabling the organizer to
view the progression of bids during the auction. Statistics frame
714 contains numerical data such as the number of sections filled,
the average standing bid amount, the high bid amount, and the low
bid amount.
[0147] It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments
of the invention are merely illustrative. Other implementations may
readily be devised by those of ordinary skill in the art which will
embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit
and scope thereof. For example, the exemplary contiguous ticket
algorithm of FIG. 12 may readily be modified to allow repeated
movements of a group to ensure contiguous tickets or to allow
block-style groupings, or other variations. Moreover, this ensuring
of contiguous tickets shown at step 54 of FIG. 4, could be
performed as each bid is placed, rather than only at the close of
the auction. Likewise, the last ticket cut-off in step 55 of FIG. 4
could be executed with each bid made. Additionally, the auction
system may readily be modified to sell each section of seats in
succession or at different Internet locations. Other embodiments
may provide additional incentives for bidders to bid early in the
auction. For example, if the auction is for the right to sit in a
particular seat at an event, those bidding within the first ten
minutes from the auction opening may be awarded cash value
certificates for redemption at the event for concessions or gift
shop items. Larger awards may be granted for earlier bids (e.g.,
$10 for a bid within the first ten minutes after auction opening)
and smaller awards may be granted for later bids (e.g., $2 for a
bid within the first hour after auction opening). In other
alternative embodiments, certain classes of people may be awarded
preferential treatment during bidding. For example, alumni bids
maybe augmented by a given dollar amount, alumni may be given
access to a certain portion of the tickets, or alumni may be
allowed to place bids after the auction closes. In any event,
although auctions for priority rights such as event tickets and
golf tee times have been used in the above description, the
invention is not limited to systems auctioning those priority
rights, and the system may be designed to auction any number of
different types of priority rights.
* * * * *
References