Ticket auction

Abstract

This computer-based Internet ticket auctioning method preregisters potential bidders and advises them that all bids are conditional offers to purchase tickets, and therefore cannot be lowered or canceled at will. The auction's organizer programs the computer that runs the auction with dates and locations of various events, and with auditoria layout and locations of seats to be auctioned. Each registered customer can view the layout of a particular auditorium and submit a bid for one or more seats. The bidder specifies whether a partially filled order and noncontiguous seat assignments are acceptable. The bidder is also provided with an option to engage a 'proxy bid' that will increase the bid amount up to a limit set by the bidder, in order to ensure purchase of tickets. Each customer can also choose to bypass the auction process entirely, by submitting a purchase order at a high, preset price. This preset price is automatically accepted and purchase of tickets is guaranteed. At the conclusion of the auction, the computer runs a seat allocation algorithm that assigns the seats to the bidders so as to maximize the total amount realized from the auction. The seat assignment algorithm is also run periodically during the auction in order to determine which bidders have already being outbid, and to allow them to raise their bids.