Methods and apparatus for processing and marketing inventory via multiple channels

• US 10,592,856 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2017
• Issued: 03/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Optoro, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Optoro, Inc.
• Inventors: Szmajda, Joshua, Vitarello, Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Champagne, Luna
• Application Number:
  US15/424,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20170147973A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,138 Days
• Field of Search: 705 28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0206 Price or cost determination based on market factors

Abstract

A non-transitory processor-readable medium stores code representing instructions to be executed by a processor. The code stored in the medium includes code to cause the processor to receive a first signal indicating a quantity of an item listed on a website of a first marketplace from a set of marketplaces. The item is listed on a website of each marketplace from the set of marketplaces. The code stored in the medium includes code to cause the processor to change, based on the first signal, an inventory parameter associated with the item from a first value to a second value. The code stored in the medium includes code to cause the processor to send, to a device of each marketplace, a second signal indicating the updated inventory parameter such that the item remains listed on the web site of each marketplace until the second value is zero.

Claims

1. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to be executed by a processor, the code comprising code to cause the processor to:

cause a product to be listed for sale simultaneously on a plurality of marketplaces;

receive a signal indicating an available quantity of the product using an application programming interface (API) for a merchant interface portion of a first marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces;

place a mock order for the product using a consumer interface portion of the first marketplace;

receive an error message from the first marketplace associated with a failure of the mock order;

update an inventory parameter associated with the product from a first value to a second value based on at least one of the signal indicating the available quantity or the error message; and

send, to each marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces, a signal to cause each marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces to remove the product such that the product is simultaneously listed on a website associated with each marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces until the second value is zero.

2. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the processor to:

receive a signal indicating an available quantity of the product using an API for a merchant interface portion of a second marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces;

update the inventory parameter based on the signal indicating the available quantity of the product using the API for the merchant interface portion of the second marketplace.

3. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the processor to:

place a mock order for the product using a consumer interface portion of a second marketplace;

receive an error message from the second marketplace associated with a failure of the mock order; and

update the inventory parameter based on the error message from the second marketplace.

4. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the processor to:

receive a signal indicating an available quantity of the product using an API for a merchant interface portion of a second marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces;

place a mock order for the product using a consumer interface portion of the second marketplace;

receive an error message from the second marketplace associated with a failure of the mock order at the second marketplace; and

update the inventory parameter based on at least one of the signal indicating the available quantity of the product using the API for the merchant interface portion of the second marketplace or the error message from the second marketplace.

5. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the processor to:

send a signal to each marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces via an API for a merchant interface portion for that marketplace to cause each marketplace to list the product for sale.

6. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the code to cause the processor to list the product for sale includes code to cause the processor to specify a condition of the product of at least one of open-box, used, refurbished, salvaged, or damaged.

7. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the code to cause the processor to cause the product to be listed includes code to send an indication of a condition of the product to each marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces such that each marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces specifies the condition of the product.

8. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 7, the code further comprising code to cause the processor to:

determine a price for the product based on the condition.

9. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 7, the code further comprising code to cause the processor to:

determine a price for the product based on the condition and external pricing data.

10. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 1, wherein the product includes a plurality of units having a plurality of conditions, the product simultaneously listed with each condition from the plurality of conditions on each marketplace from the plurality of marketplaces.