Importance

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Abstract

A challenge faced by the present invention concerns enabling an auction system using a communication network, such as the Internet, to allow a large number of persons to participate in the auction at the same time. In the present invention, which answers this challenge, a management server (M) for managing the auction is connected through the communication network (I) to terminals (C) owned by participants in the auction. The management server (M) includes a bidding management unit (M1) storing a supplied total number of products to be auctioned, and determining whether a demanded total number of products reaches the supplied total number of products or managing the number of bidding sessions, a time period of bidding and so on, and a calculating unit (M2) for calculating a distribution of prices bid by bidders. Thus, the management server calculates the bidding-price distribution at the calculating unit (M2) based on the prices bid by the bidders determined by limiting the supplied total number of products/service. In addition, the bidding management unit (M1) announces the calculated result to the determined bidders through the communication network to urge the determined bidders to bid at the next bidding session with reference to the announced price distribution, and uses the result to decide the bidding price.

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First Claim