Purchase price bid research system, product provision system, auction server, product retailing method, product purchasing method, and storage medium and program transmission apparatus therefor

• US 20010029479A1
• Filed: 02/22/2001
• Published: 10/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Watanabe, Hideo
• Granted Patent: US 6,925,446 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A purchase price bid research system comprises: a mediator server connected to a communication network and to intending purchaser terminals, wherein the intending purchaser terminals transmit purchase price bids for a product to the mediator server, and from among the purchase price bids for the product tendered by the intending purchaser terminals, the mediator server determines, as effective purchase price bids, values that are equal to or higher than a lowest price designated in advance for the product, and employs the effective purchase price bids tendered by intending purchasers to calculate a standard purchase price for the product.

Claims

1. A purchase price bid research system comprising:

a mediator server connected to a communication network and to intending purchaser terminals,

wherein said intending purchaser terminals transmit purchase price bids for a product to said mediator server, and from among said purchase price bids for said product tendered by said intending purchaser terminals, said mediator server determines, as effective purchase price bids, values that are equal to or higher than a lowest price designated in advance for said product, and employs said effective purchase price bids tendered by intending purchasers to calculate a standard purchase price for said product.

2. The purchase price bid research system according to

claim 1

, wherein said mediator server does not open said lowest price to said intending purchaser terminals.

3. A product provision system comprising:

a product provision server used by a product provider to provide a product; and

intending purchaser terminals, which are connected via a communication network to said product provision server, for tendering a purchase price bid for said product,

wherein, from among said purchase price bids tendered for said product by said intending purchaser terminals, said product provision server determines, as effective purchase price bids, values that are equal to or higher than a lowest price designated in advance for said product, calculates a winning price range based on said effective purchase price bids and the count of the product to be provided, and provides said product to intending purchasers that tendered said purchase price bids falling within said winning price range.

4. The product provision system according to

claim 3

, wherein said product provision server employs said effective purchase price bids to calculate a standard purchase price tendered by intending purchasers of said product, and defines, as said winning price range, a price range within which are included said purchase price bids in a number equivalent to the count of units of said product to be provided, arranged in order beginning with the purchase price bid that is closest to said standard purchase price.

5. The product provision system according to

claim 3

, wherein said product provision server provides said product for intending purchasers at tendered purchase price bids.

6. The product provision system according to

claim 4

, wherein said product provision server provides said product and a remuneration for an intending purchaser whose tendered purchase price bid is an included winning price range value and is especially close to said standard purchase price.

7. The product provision system according to

claim 4

, wherein, for said intending purchaser who has tendered said purchase price bid that is an included winning price range value and is especially close to said standard purchase price, said remuneration may be provided at no cost, regardless of said purchase price bid.

8. An auction server, for accepting a price bid for a product put up for auction via a communication network in support of a network auction sale, comprising:

information opening means for opening, to intending purchasers, information concerning said product put up for auction;

price bid acceptance means for accepting purchase price bids tendered by said intending purchasers; and

winner determination means for employing said accepted purchase price bids to calculate a standard purchase price to be charged intending purchasers for said product put up for auction, and for determining, as winners for the purchase of said product put up for auction, intending purchasers, in a number equivalent to the count of the individual units of the product put up for auction, arranged in order beginning with the intending purchaser whose purchase price bid is closest to said standard purchase price.

9. The auction server according to

claim 8

, wherein said winner determination means determines, as a remuneration recipient, said intending purchaser who tendered a purchase price bid especially close to said standard purchase price.

10. The auction server according to

claim 8

, wherein said winner determination means defines, as effective purchase price bids, said purchase price bids that are equal to or higher than the lowest price designated in advance for said product put up for auction, and employs said effective purchase price bids to calculate said standard purchase price.

11. A product retailing method for the network auction sale of a product across a communication network comprising the steps of:

using a homepage to open to intending purchasers information for said product;

employing said homepage to accept purchase price bids tendered by said intending purchasers;

determining, as winners of right to purchase said product, intending purchasers whose purchase price bids are included in a winning price range that is defined using said purchase price bids and the count of the units of the product that are to be provided; and

selling said product to said winners at said purchase price bids that are tendered.

12. The product retailing method according to

claim 11

, wherein said step of determining said winners includes the steps of:

employing said accepted purchase price bids tendered by said intending purchasers of said product to calculate a standard purchase price; and

defining, as said winning price range, a price range that includes purchase price bids tendered in a number equivalent to the count of units of said product that is offered, arranged in order beginning with a purchase price bid that is close to said standard purchase price.

13. The product retailing method according to

claim 12

, further comprising the step of:

determining, as a remuneration recipient, an intending purchaser who tendered a purchase price bid especially close to said standard purchase price,

wherein said step of selling said product includes a step of providing said product at no cost to said remuneration recipient, regardless of said purchase price bid tendered by said remuneration recipient.

14. A product purchasing method for employing an information communication terminal to purchase a product via a communication network comprising the steps of:

submitting to a bid acceptance homepage a purchase price bid for a desired product; and

purchasing said product at said purchase price bid when said purchase price bid is included in a winning price range that is defined in accordance with the count of the units of the product to be provided and based on a standard purchase price that is calculated for said product based on all the effective purchase price bids tendered for said product.

15. A storage medium that input means of a computer employs to store a computer-readable program that permits said computer to perform:

a process for opening to intending purchasers across a communication network information concerning a product put up for auction;

a process for accepting, across said communication network, purchase price bids tendered by said intending purchasers; and

a process for employing said accepted purchase price bids to calculate for said intending purchasers a standard purchase price for the purchase of said product put up for auction, and for determining, as winners of the right to purchase said product put up for auction, intending purchasers, in a number equivalent to the count of the units of said product put up for auction, that are arranged in order beginning with an intending purchaser whose purchase price bid is nearest said standard purchase price.

16. A program transmission apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing a program that permits a computer to perform;

a process for opening to intending purchasers information concerning a product put up for auction across a communication network,

a process for accepting purchase price bids tendered by said intending purchasers across said communication network, and

a process for employing said accepted purchase price bids to calculate a standard purchase price for said intending purchasers for said product put up for auction, and for determining, as the winners of said product put up for auction, intending purchasers, in a number equivalent to the count of the units to be provided of the product put up for auction, arranged in order, beginning with the intending purchaser whose purchase price bid is nearest said standard purchase price; and

transmission means for reading said program from said storage means and for transmitting said program.