PLAMUN: a platform for multi-user negotiation

This paper presents a web-based negotiation support system (NSS) that allows multiple buyers and multiple sellers to negotiate on a common platform. It has been implemented on the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur intranet to help students to trade old books and bicycles online. In this paper we discuss the architecture and the key features of the system. The system guides the participants to modify their perceptions and preferences and to make offers during the negotiation process. The suggestions are generated by the negotiation system so as to find buyer-seller allocations that benefit all parties in the trade and maximize the utility of the system.