Point-and-shoot product lister

• US 10,074,118 B1
• Filed: 08/29/2017
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Overstock.com Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Overstock.com Incorporated
• Inventors: Johnson, Peter K., Minnick, J. Doug, Robertson, Ian, Peterson, Samuel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Palavecino, Kathleen
• Application Number:
  US15/689,851
• Time in Patent Office: 378 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

Listing content is transmitted from a wireless mobile device to a server, where it is automatically posted in a listing database and made available on a network, such as the Internet, to third parties. The listing content may include both image data, captured by an integrated camera of the wireless mobile device, and text data, input by a user of the wireless mobile device. The wireless mobile device may provide an interface on its display to facilitate the capture of the listing content in discrete data components. After capture, the discrete data components for a single listing may be automatically associated together such that it is unnecessary for a user to manually associate them. The captured listing content may be automatically transmitted to the server in response to a single user selection received through the interface on the wireless mobile device.

Claims

1. A method of posting listing content using a wireless mobile device, the method comprising:

(a) generating a user interface on a display of the wireless mobile device in an offline environment via a mobile listing product;

(b) in response to user input received through the user interface in an offline environment, capturing at least one image about a product in a memory of the wireless mobile device via the mobile listing product;

(c) in response to user input received through the user interface in an offline environment, receiving descriptive product information regarding the product in a memory of the wireless mobile device, wherein the at least one image is automatically associated with the descriptive product information by the mobile listing product;

(d) transmitting the descriptive product information and the associated at least one image from the memory of the wireless mobile device to a computer server over a network;

(e) in response to receiving the descriptive product information and the associated at least one image from the wireless mobile device, automatically generating, by the computer server, proposed listing content based on the descriptive product information and the associated at least one image;

(f) receiving the proposed listing content for the product from the computer server over the network in the memory of the wireless mobile device;

(g) displaying the proposed listing content for the product on the display of the wireless mobile device;

(h) prompting a user to accept or reject the proposed listing content for inclusion in a listing with the captured listing content;

(i) forming a communication with the captured proposed listing content in a memory of the wireless mobile device in response to user input received through the user interface, said captured proposed listing content being automatically included in the communication;

(j) transmitting the communication from the memory of the wireless mobile device to the computer server over a communications network;

(k) forming the listing, the listing comprising the proposed listing content accepted by the user; and

(l) posting the listing on a listing database accessible by a third party.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless mobile device comprises a camera and step (b) comprises capturing image data using the camera of the wireless mobile device and displaying the captured image data on the display of the wireless mobile device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein step (b) further comprises capturing text data entered by a user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprises capturing the listing content as discrete data components.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising automatically associating the discrete data components of the listing content.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the discrete data components of the listing content comprise at least two of still image data, text data, video data and audio data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises:

displaying a live image feed on the display of the wireless mobile device;

capturing image data in the memory of the wireless mobile device; and

displaying the captured image data on the display of the wireless mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises capturing listing content for multiple listings.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting a user to enter user account information through the user interface.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises automatically transmitting the communication from the wireless mobile device to the computer server.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises establishing a direct link between the wireless mobile device and the computer server and transmitting the communication over the direct link.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said communication comprises an e-mail.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said communication comprises one of an SMS message and an MMS message.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the listing content in the memory of the wireless mobile device in association with a unique listing ID.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said communication further comprises user account information.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a preview of the listing on the display of the wireless mobile device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication formed at step (I) comprises listing content for multiple listings.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein said proposed listing content comprises one of comparative pricing information for the listing content, a proposed taxonomy or classification for the listing content, a proposed title for the listing content, a proposed description for the listing content, a proposed geographical location for the listing content, proposed stock images, and a proposed image for the listing content.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying listing preferences to the listing content.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the descriptive product information comprises a captured image of a machine-readable code.

21. A device for facilitating listing content generation, said device comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to said processor;

a display coupled to said processor; and

a set of computer-readable instructions stored in the memory for causing the processor to

generate a user interface on the display in an offline environment,

in response to user input received through the user interface in an offline environment, capture at least one image about a product wherein the at least one image is captured via the device using the user interface,

in response to user input received through the user interface in an offline environment, receive descriptive product information, wherein the at least one image is automatically associated with the descriptive product information,

transmit the descriptive product information and the associated at least one image to a computer server over a network,

in response to the computer server automatically generating proposed listing content based on the descriptive product information and the associated at least one image, receive the proposed listing content for the product over the network in the memory of the device,

display the proposed listing content for the product on the display,

prompt a user on the display to accept or reject the proposed listing content for inclusion in a listing with the captured listing content,

in response to user input received through the user interface, automatically form a communication comprising the captured listing content in the memory, and

transmit the communication from the memory to the computer server over a communications network, such that the computer server forms the listing comprising the proposed listing content accepted by the user and posts the listing on a listing database accessible by a third party.

22. The device of claim 21, further comprising a camera for capturing image data and wherein one of the discrete data components of the listing content comprises image data captured by said camera.

23. The device of claim 21, wherein said communication comprises listing content for a plurality of listings.

24. The device of claim 21, wherein said discrete data components of the listing content comprise both image data and text data.

25. The device of claim 21, wherein said user interface comprises an image frame for displaying an image and one or more text boxes for receiving user input.

26. The device of claim 21, wherein said computer-readable instructions stored in the memory are further operable to cause the processor to automatically associate the discrete data components of the listing content.

27. The device of claim 21, wherein said computer-readable instructions stored in the memory are further operable to cause the processor to establish a direct link to the server for uploading the communication.

28. The device of claim 21, wherein said communication comprises an e-mail.

29. The method of claim 21, wherein said communication comprises one of an SMS message and an MMS message.

30. A computer program product in a non-transitory computer-readable medium for facilitating listing content generation, the computer program product comprising:

computer-usable program code for generating a user interface on a display of a wireless mobile device in an offline environment;

in response to user input received through the user interface in an offline environment, computer-usable program code for capturing at least one image about a product in a memory of the wireless mobile device;

in response to user input received through the user interface in an offline environment, computer-usable program code for receiving descriptive product information regarding the product in a memory of the wireless mobile device, wherein the at least one image is automatically associated with the descriptive product information;

computer-usable program code for transmitting the descriptive product information and the associated over a network, where, in response to receiving the descriptive product information and the associated at least one image from the wireless mobile device, the computer server automatically generates proposed listing content based on the descriptive product information and the associated at least one image;

computer-usable program code for receiving the proposed listing content for the product from the computer server over the network in the memory of the wireless mobile device;

computer-usable program code for displaying the proposed listing content for the product on the display of the wireless mobile device;

computer-usable program code for prompting a user to accept or reject the proposed listing content for inclusion in a listing with the captured listing content;

in response to user input received through the user interface, computer-usable program code for forming a communication with the captured proposed listing content in a memory of the wireless mobile device, the captured proposed listing content being automatically included in the communication;

computer-usable program code for transmitting the communication comprising the listing content from the wireless mobile device to a server for forming the listing, the listing comprising the proposed listing content accepted by the user, and for posting the listing on a listing database accessible by a third party.