Importance

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Abstract

A system, method and program of the invention enables a client in a network of computers to participate with a plurality of merchants across several Web servers in electronic transactions for the purchase of products from the merchants. The client is enabled to make one transaction with one merchant dependent upon the results of another transaction with another merchant. More specifically, each item that is available from any merchant and is selected by a customer using the client is represented at the client as a separate object having states associated therewith. A buy, hold, or conditional state will set a lock on the corresponding object at the Web server such that no other transactions with other customers can take place for that specific item while the current customer is actively using it. A conditional state sends a signal to the merchant to assist in contacting another merchant in order to cancel a previous transaction that the other merchant had with the current customer.

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First Claim