Method and apparatus for identifying potential buyers

• US 20040039639A1
• Filed: 08/18/2003
• Published: 02/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Daniel E. Tedesco, James Jorasch, Jay S. Walker, John M. Packes, Keith Bemer, Stephen C. Tulley
• Original Assignee: Daniel E. Tedesco, James Jorasch, Jay S. Walker, John M. Packes, Keith Bemer, Stephen C. Tulley
• Inventors: Jorasch, James A., Tedesco, Daniel E., Tulley, Stephen C., Bemer, Keith, Walker, Jay S., Packes, John M. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US10/642,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20040039639A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A method by which potential buyers are identified includes receiving a description of an item a potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time, determining a reward for the potential buyer based on intent data, providing the reward to the potential buyer and applying a penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer if the potential buyer does not purchase the item within the particular time period. The system includes a controller coupled to at least one input device with the controller operable to compute a reward offer. The controller includes circuitry, or software, configured to compute and apply a penalty if the potential buyer does not purchase the item within the particular time period.

Claims

1. A method for identifying potential buyers, comprising the steps of:

receiving intent data from a potential buyer, wherein the intent data identifies an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period; and

determining a reward for the potential buyer based on the intent data.

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

receiving a payment identifier of a financial account of the potential buyer.

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

receiving a payment identifier that identifies an electronic currency.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

issuing the reward to the potential buyer; and

applying a penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer if the potential buyer does not purchase the item within the particular time period.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of:

calculating the penalty, wherein the calculation takes into account a value of the reward.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of applying the penalty comprises the steps of:

receiving a confirmation that the potential buyer has purchased within the particular time period a similar item to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase; and

applying a partial penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer, wherein the partial penalty is less than a total penalty charged when the potential buyer fails to purchase the item within the particular time period.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of applying the penalty to the potential buyer comprises the steps of:

receiving a confirmation that the potential buyer has purchased within the particular time period a similar item to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase; and

applying a partial penalty to the financial account.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the intent data received from the potential buyer includes a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period.

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

receiving a confirmation when the potential buyer has purchased the item within the particular time period.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular time period is specified by at least one of the potential buyer and a central server.

74. A computer readable medium for directing a processor to perform the method of claim 1.

11. A method for identifying potential buyers, comprising the steps of:

receiving a description of an item a potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period, the description having a degree of specificity;

receiving a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period;

receiving a payment identifier of a financial account of the potential buyer;

determining a reward offer associated with a reward based on at least one of the degree of specificity, the degree of certainty, and a length of the particular time period; and

outputting the reward offer to the potential buyer.

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

receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer purchased the item within the particular time period.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer has purchased the item within the particular time period has been received; and

applying a penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer when the potential buyer has not purchased the item within the particular time period.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

calculating the penalty, wherein the calculation takes into account a price of a reward associated with the reward offer.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the degree of certainty is monotonically related to a value of the reward offer, such that a greater degree of certainty corresponds to a greater valued reward offer and a lower degree of certainty corresponds to a lower valued reward offer.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the degree of specificity is monotonically related to a value of the reward offer, such that a greater degree of specificity corresponds to a greater valued reward offer and a lower degree of specificity corresponds to a lower valued reward offer.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the particular time period is monotonically related to a value of the reward offer, such that a smaller time period corresponds to a greater valued reward offer and a greater time period corresponds to a lower valued reward offer.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the potential buyer accepts the reward offer; and

issuing the reward to the potential buyer if the potential buyer accepts the reward offer.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer purchased the item after the particular time period; and

applying a partial penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer purchased within the particular time period a similar item to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase; and

applying a partial penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer.

21. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a confirmation signal after the particular time period indicating that the potential buyer purchased the item within the particular time period; and

applying a partial penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer.

22. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer purchased within the particular time period a similar item to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase; and

updating a database to indicate that no penalty has been applied to the financial account of the potential buyer.

23. A method for applying a penalty, comprising the steps of:

determining whether a potential buyer has fulfilled an obligation to purchase an item within a particular time period;

retrieving an applicable penalty from a penalty database; and

applying the applicable penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer.

24. A method for applying a penalty, comprising the steps of:

determining whether a potential buyer has fulfilled an obligation to purchase an item within a particular time period;

calculating a penalty, wherein the calculation takes into account a price of a reward offered to the potential buyer in exchange for the obligation to purchase the item within the particular time period; and

applying the penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer.

25. A method for applying a penalty, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining whether a particular time period in which a potential buyer intends to purchase an item has expired;

(b) repeating step (a) until the particular time period has expired;

(c) calculating a penalty; and

(d) applying the penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising the steps of:

(e) receiving a confirmation signal indicating the potential buyer has purchased the item after the particular time period has expired; and

(f) refunding a portion of the penalty to the financial account.

27. A method for identifying potential buyers, comprising the steps of:

receiving intent data from a potential buyer;

generating a reward offer associated with a reward for the potential buyer based upon the intent data; and

issuing the reward to the potential buyer.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the intent data includes at least a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the reward is issued to the potential buyer within a particular time period but before the potential buyer purchases the item.

30. A method for identifying potential buyers, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving intent data from a potential buyer intending to purchase an item within a particular time period;

(b) associating a financial account with the potential buyer;

(c) determining a reward offer associated with a reward based on a value of the intent data;

(d) outputting the reward offer to the potential buyer;

(e) determining whether the potential buyer accepts the offer;

(f) modifying the offer if the potential buyer rejects the offer;

(g) repeating steps (d) through (f) until the potential buyer accepts the offer;

(h) issuing the reward to the potential buyer; and

(i) receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer has purchased the item corresponding to the intent data.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the intent data includes one or more of a potential buyer identifier, a description of the item and a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the value of the intent data is based in part on one or more of a degree of specificity of a description of the item, a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period, a length of the particular time period, and a reputation rating of the potential buyer.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein value of the intent data is based in part on the reputation of the potential buyer, determined by at least one of:

a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously provided intent data;

a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously purchased items within particular time periods;

a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously confirmed purchases within particular time periods;

a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously incurred penalties, types of items previously purchased by the potential buyer;

cost of items previously purchased by the potential buyer;

a status of the financial account of the potential buyer; and

a value of demographic information associated with the potential buyer.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein demographic information includes at least one of address, income and age.

35. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of:

determining whether the confirmation signal is valid; and

applying a penalty to the financial account if the confirmation signal is invalid.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of determining whether the confirmation signal is valid includes one or more of the steps of:

verifying a potential buyer identifier;

determining whether the confirmation signal was received within the particular time period; and

determining whether the new item purchased by the potential buyer is related to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase within the particular time period.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the penalty is calculated based on a value of the reward.

38. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of updating a database to reflect that the confirmation signal has been received.

39. The method of claim 30, wherein the reward is issued to the potential buyer by shipping the reward to an address specified by the potential buyer.

40. A method of storing information reflecting that a confirmation signal has been received from a potential buyer, comprising the steps of:

receiving an identifier of the potential buyer intending to purchase an item within a particular time period;

receiving the confirmation signal from the potential buyer indicating the potential buyer has purchased the item;

validating the confirmation signal; and

updating a database to reflect that the confirmation signal has been received.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of validating the confirmation signal includes at least one of:

verifying the potential buyer identifier;

determining whether the confirmation signal was received within the particular time period; and

determining whether the item purchased by the potential buyer is the same as the item the potential buyer intended to purchase within the particular time period.

42. A method for rewarding a potential buyer, comprising the steps of:

offering a reward to a potential buyer for inputting a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period; and

issuing the reward after the description is input.

43. An apparatus for identifying potential buyers, comprising:

a central server coupled to one or more input devices for receiving intent data from a potential buyer, wherein the intent data includes a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period,

the central server operable to determine a reward for the potential buyer based on the intent data.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing the description of the item the potential buyer intends to purchase and related information.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the related information includes at least one of:

a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period;

a degree of specificity with which the item is described;

a length of the particular time period;

a payment identifier;

a reputation of the potential buyer; and

demographic information associated with the potential buyer.

46. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the related information is based in part on the reputation of the potential buyer, determined by at least one of:

a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously provided intent data;

a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously purchased items within particular time periods;

a frequency with which the central server has received confirmation signals associated with a potential buyer;

a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously incurred penalties;

types of items previously purchased by the potential buyer;

costs of items previously purchased by the potential buyer;

a status of the financial account of the potential buyer; and

a value of demographic information of the potential buyer

47. The method of claim 44, wherein the related information includes at least one of address, income and age.

48. The apparatus of claim 43, further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing intent data used to calculate the reward to issue to the potential buyer.

49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the reward is determined based in part on a rating assigned to each of a plurality of intent data, the intent data including at least one of:

a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period;

a degree of specificity with which the item is described;

a length of the particular time period;

a payment identifier; and

demographic information.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein a sum of the ratings corresponds to the reward for which the potential buyer qualifies.

51. The apparatus of claim 43 further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing a plurality of rewards.

52. The apparatus of claim 43, further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing a potential buyer identifier and related information.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the related information comprises one or more of a payment identifier and a potential buyer name.

54. The apparatus of claim 43, further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing a potential buyer identifier and penalty information.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the penalty information includes one or more of a reward identifier, an expiration of the particular time period, whether a confirmation signal has been received indicating that the potential buyer has purchased the item, and a penalty assessment corresponding to a value of the reward.

56. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the penalty information includes an expiration of the particular time period and a penalty assessment corresponding to a value of the reward.

57. A central server system, comprising:

a processor;

a storage device coupled to the processor; and

software operative to run on the processor to issue a reward to a potential buyer in exchange for demand information, the demand information including at least a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period.

58. The system of claim 57, wherein the demand information includes at least one of:

a potential buyer name;

a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period;

a degree of specificity with which the item is described;

a length of the particular time period;

a payment identifier, a reputation of the potential buyer; and

demographic information associated with the buyer.

59. The system of claim 57, wherein the storage device includes a database for storing the demand information and related information.

60. The system of claim 59, wherein the related information includes a corresponding rating for each type of demand information.

61. The system of claim 57, further comprising a database coupled to the processor for storing a reward identifier and related information.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the related information includes a total rating corresponding to the demand information and the reward identifier, and a reward description corresponding to the reward identifier.

63. The system of claim 57, further comprising a database coupled to the processor for storing penalty information and related information.

64. The system of claim 63, wherein the related information includes at least one of:

a payment identifier of the potential buyer;

an expiration time of the particular time period; and

a corresponding penalty.

65. The system of claim 64, wherein the software is operable to direct the processor to charge the corresponding penalty to a financial account associated with the payment identifier of the potential buyer if the potential buyer does not purchase the item by the expiration time.

66. The system of claim 64, wherein the software is operable to direct the processor to charge the corresponding penalty to a financial account associated with the payment identifier of the potential buyer if a confirmation signal is not received by the expiration time.

67. The system of claim 57, further comprising one or more potential buyer devices coupled to the processor and operable to allow potential buyers to input demand information.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the potential buyer devices are operable to display information about the reward.

69. The system of claim 57, further comprising an output device for displaying information about the reward.

70. The system of claim 57, wherein the processor is coupled to a clock, a communications port, an input device and an output device, and wherein the storage device contains a demand information database, a reward database, and a penalty database.

71. The system of claim 57, wherein the software is operable to direct the processor to charge a penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer if a confirmation signal is not received within the particular time period.

72. The system of claim 57, wherein the software is operable to direct the processor to charge a penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer if the potential buyer does not purchase the item within the particular time period.

73. The system of claim 57, further comprising one or more seller devices coupled to the controller and operable to allow sellers to retrieve demand information.

75. An information transmission medium for use in a potential buyer identification system, the information transmission medium transmitting a computer program comprising the processing steps of:

receiving intent data from a potential buyer, wherein the intent data includes at least a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period; and

determining a reward for the potential buyer based upon the intent data.

76. A computer data signal representative of controller instructions comprising the processing steps of:

receiving intent data from a potential buyer, wherein the intent data includes at least a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period; and

determining a reward for the potential buyer based upon the intent data.