Computer-based method and computer program product for setting floor prices for items sold at auction
US8781912B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 15, 2011 |
| Grant date | Jul 15, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 14, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q40/04
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An adaptive method for estimating the selling price for an item at auction in order to set a reserve. The method calculates the selling price as a function of selling prices for items previously-sold at auction and differential values attributable to feature differences between the item to be sold and comparative items previously sold. Distance metrics are calculated by comparing the item to be sold with each item in the set of comparative items, and a subset of most similar items is selected according to the calculated distance metrics. A weighting function is then calculated for each item in the subset based on its respective distance metric value, and the selling price is estimated as a function of the weighting functions and the differential values. The differential values are modeled as a linear dynamical system and updated using a Kalman filter as a function of an actual sales price for the item to be sold and a current estimate of uncertainty for the differential values.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.