A methodology, system and business model are disclosed for facilitating a
fully automated buyer's auction in which the major types of transaction
costs are significantly reduced by providing the buyer and the sellers
with near-perfect information about one another, including information
about buyer preferences and competing sellers' offers. The system
implements a buyer's auction with multidimensional bidding that minimizes
market intelligence, search, bargaining and transaction execution costs
and thus creates more competitive, frictionless markets. Buyers and
sellers can efficiently conduct the buyer's auction within a unified
environment, thereby minimizing buyer integration costs as well. The
buyer's auction generates commercially marketable proprietary information
and a revenue stream for the auctioneer providing such a service.