Method and apparatus for listing goods for sale

• US 20020049641A1
• Filed: 08/22/2001
• Published: 04/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Balijepalli, Srinivas, Fralic, Christopher D., Kopelman, Joshua M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,370,006 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

A method for using a telephone to list a seller'"'"'s good for sale on a website including the steps of receiving good-identifying information from a seller via a telephone and presenting the good for sale on a website. The good-identifying information may be received as a series of tones generated by depression of keys of a telephone. The tones may optionally be used to navigate through a voice prompt system or to provide information about the good, such as the good'"'"'s UPC code, ISBN number and/or characteristics of the good. The seller'"'"'s provision of a standard identification code allows the marketeer to retrieve information relating to the good from a database and to use such information to present the good for sale. Such information, and/or the characteristics provided by the seller that are specific to the good may optionally be used to set or recommend a price for the good.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for listing an independent seller'"'"'s good for sale using a CPU, a memory operatively connected to the CPU and a program stored in the memory and executable by the CPU for presenting the good for sale on a website, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving from a seller information identifying a good, the information comprising a series of tones generated by depression of keys of a telephone; and

(b) presenting the good for sale on a website.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the telephone is a touch tone telephone and wherein the series of tones comprises tones generated by depressing the telephone'"'"'s keys in a sequence corresponding to an alphanumeric sequence of a standard identification code.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the standard identification code is a universal product code.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the standard identification code is an international standard book number.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(c) retrieving information relating to the good from a database;

wherein the information retrieved in step (c) is used to present the good for sale in step (b).

7. The method of claim 6, wherein step (b) is performed in real time.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information identifying the good identifies a characteristic of the good in addition to an identity of the good.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

(d) determining a recommended sale price for the good;

(e) providing the recommended sale price to the seller; and

(f) receiving from the seller a selected sale price.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

(g) determining a recommended sale price for the good;

(h) providing the recommended sale price to the seller; and

(i) receiving from the seller a confirmation of the seller'"'"'s acceptance of the recommended sale price and using the recommended sale price as the selected sale price.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(j) receiving a seller identification code which is recognizable in association with the seller.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the seller identification code received in step (j) comprises tones generated by depressing the telephone'"'"'s keys in a sequence corresponding to an alphanumeric sequence associated with the seller.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the seller identification code is a telephone number of the telephone from which the seller is calling, and wherein step (g) comprises recognizing the telephone'"'"'s telephone number by a caller identification technique.

15. The marketeer controller of claim 14, wherein the information received by said first program comprises a series of tones generated by depression of keys of a telephone.

16. The marketeer controller of claim 14, further comprising a fourth program stored in said memory and executable by said central processing unit for recognizing speech, wherein the information received by said first program comprises a voice signal of the seller.

17. The marketeer controller of claim 14, further comprising a fifth program stored in said memory and executable by said central processing unit for retrieving information relating to the good from a database, the information being used by said third program to present the seller'"'"'s good for sale on the website.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the information transmitted in step (a) comprises a voice signal.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the information transmitted in step (a) comprises a series of tones generated by depression of keys of a touch tone telephone.

2. The method of claim 2, wherein the series of tones navigates through a voice-prompt system.

14. A marketeer controller for receiving from a seller information relating to a seller'"'"'s good and for listing the good for sale on a website, the marketeer controller comprising:

a central processing unit;

a memory operatively connected to said central processing unit;

a first program stored in said memory and executable by said central processing unit for receiving via a telephone information relating to a seller'"'"'s good;

a second program stored in said memory and executable by said central processing unit for storing electronic data relating to a seller'"'"'s good; and

a third program stored in said memory and executable by said central processing unit for presenting the seller'"'"'s good for sale on a website.

18. A method for listing a seller'"'"'s good for sale on a website, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving from a seller information identifying a good, the information being transmitted via a telephone;

(b) retrieving from a database information relating to the good; and

(c) presenting the good for sale on a website using the information retrieved in step (b).