Online transaction hosting apparatus and method

• US 20050289039A1
• Filed: 06/15/2004
• Published: 12/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Revolutionary E-Commerce Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Revolutionary E-Commerce Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Greak, Garret C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,617,128 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

An invention is disclosed relating to an apparatus and method for hosting transactions over a network such as the Internet. Sellers post offers to sell under a listing belonging to an organized database of listings. Likewise, buyers post offers to buy. A matching module selects offers to sell and matches them to offers to buy based on a predefined criteria. Before posting offers to sell or buy, buyers and sellers may be presented with data concerning the market for the product that is the subject of the offer. A sale is consummated between the buyer and seller of the matched offer to buy and offer to sell. Consummation may include assessing the risk of fraud posed by the matched buyer and matched seller. Fees may be charged to the matched buyer, the matched seller, or both as insurance against fraud. Payment may be made by the buyer directly to the seller or to a host hosting the apparatus and method for conducting the transaction. Payment is forwarded to the seller by the host upon confirmation by the buyer that a product has been received in good order. An automated, or partially automated, dispute resolution process may resolve disputed transactions.

Claims

1. An apparatus for coordinating data exchanged in a product sale transaction, the apparatus comprising:

a network comprising operably connected computers having communication lines therebetween for carrying data;

a server, corresponding to a host and operably connected to the network to host data corresponding to online transactions,

a plurality of buyer computers each corresponding to a buyer having a buyer identifier;

a plurality of seller computers each corresponding to a seller having a seller identifier;

each buyer computer of the plurality of buyer computers further programmed to communicate to the server purchase requests, each comprising a product identifier, a price, funding information, and a buyer identifier;

each seller computer of the plurality of seller computers further programmed to communicate to the server product records, each comprising a product identifier, a price, and a seller identifier;

the server further programmed to identify a matched purchase request and a matched product record, selected from the plurality of purchase requests and plurality of product records based on a matching criterion;

the server further programmed to transmit a notification to a matched buyer computer corresponding to the buyer identifier of the matched purchase request;

the matched buyer computer further programmed to transmit to the server a notification evidencing transfer of a purchase price from the buyer associated with the matched buyer computer to the host;

the server further programmed to transmit to a matched seller computer, corresponding to the seller identifier of the matched product record, a notice of transfer of funds;

the server further programmed to record a buyer status indicating at least one of transmission of an acceptance from the matched buyer computer to the server, transmission of a rejection from the matched buyer computer to the server, and expiration of a waiting period in which no rejection or acceptance has been transmitted from the matched buyer computer to the server;

the server further programmed to create a record indicating that a portion of the purchase price is owed by the host to the seller corresponding to the matched seller computer when a buyer status indicates at least one of a transmission of an acceptance and the expiration of a waiting period.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the server is further programmed to identify a matched purchase request and a matched product record by finding a purchase request of the plurality of purchase requests having a price of substantially the same value as the price of a product record of the plurality of product records.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

each of the plurality of purchase requests and the plurality of product records further includes shipping information; and

identifying a matched purchase request and a matched product record further comprises finding a purchase request of the plurality of purchase requests having a price substantially equal to the price of a product record of the plurality of product records added to a shipping cost calculated based on the shipping information of the matched purchase request and the matched product record.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the server is programmed to record a net amount owed to a seller corresponding to the purchase price owed less a transaction fee charged by the host.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the server is further programmed to record a net amount owed comprising the purchase price owed less at least one of a transaction fee and an insurance cost.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the server is further programmed to calculate the insurance cost based on risk associated with a seller.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

each of the plurality of product records further includes a seller history corresponding thereto, the seller history relating to prior transactions of a seller; and

the insurance cost further comprises evaluating the seller history to determine a risk associated with a seller.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the server is further programmed to transmit to a buyer computer a market history corresponding to prior sales of a product substantially identical to the product included in a purchase request corresponding to the buyer computer.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the server is further programmed to assemble dispute data corresponding to disagreements between a buyer and a seller.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein assembling dispute data comprises:

transmitting a complaint from the matched buyer computer to the server;

transmitting a response from the matched seller computer to the server;

retrieving the seller history corresponding to the seller computer;

retrieving a buyer history corresponding to the buyer computer;

creating a dispute report incorporating the complaint, response, seller history, and buyer history;

receiving an input corresponding to the decision of an arbiter.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the input corresponding to the decision of an arbiter is at least one of an assignment of loss to, a revocation of privileges of, an assessment of fees against, and the withholding of funds from, either the seller corresponding to the matched seller computer or the buyer corresponding to the matched buyer computer.

12. An article of manufacture comprising a computer readable medium containing data structures comprising operational and executable data, the data structures comprising:

a server module for serving over a network transactional data;

buyer modules, each configured to be hosted on a buyer computer and comprising a buyer identifier;

seller modules, each configured to be hosted on a seller computer and comprising a seller identifier;

a market history module configured to store market histories, each corresponding to prior sales of a consumer product, and to transmit at least one market history from the server to buyer computers;

a display module to display at least one market history on the buyer computer;

a purchase request module to transmit from a buyer module to the server module a plurality of purchase requests, each including a product identifier, a price, funding information, and a buyer identifier;

the server further configured to create and manage product records each storing a product identifier, a price, and a seller identifier;

a transaction module configured to consummate an electronic transaction between at least one of the buyer computers and at least one of the seller computers, defining a sale price; and

providing the sale price to the market history module.

13. The article of claim 12, wherein the market history contains the date and sales price of consummated transactions.

14. The article of claim 13, wherein the server is further configured to transmit a shipping cost to the buyer module and the display module is configured to display the shipping cost on the buyer computers.

15. The article of claim 14, wherein:

the market history module is further configured to transmit the market history from the server to the buyer computers; and

the display module is further configured to display the market history on the seller computers.

16. The article of claim 15, wherein the display module further comprises a graphics module to display a graphical representation of the market history on the buyer and seller computers.

17. The article of claim 16, wherein the buyer module is further configured to transmit from the buyer computers to the server purchase requests, each comprising a product identifier, a price, and a buyer identifier.

18. The article of claim 17, wherein the seller module is further configured to transmit from the seller computers to the server a plurality of product records, each having a product identifier, a price, and a seller identifier.

19. The article of claim 18, wherein the server module further comprises a matching module configured to identify a lowest product record based at least in part on the cost of purchase of a product corresponding to a portion of the plurality of product records having substantially identical product identifiers.

20. The article of claim 19, wherein the server module is further configured to transmit the cost of the lowest product record to at least one of the buyer computers, and the display module is further configured to display the cost of the lowest product record on the at least one buyer computer.

21. The article of claim 20, wherein the server is further configured to identify a highest purchase request based at least in part on prices corresponding to purchase request records having substantially identical product identifiers.

22. The article of claim 21, wherein:

the server module is further configured to transmit the price of the highest purchase request to at least one of the seller computers; and

the display module is further configured to display the cost of the price of the highest purchase request on the at least one of the seller computers.

23. The article of claim 22, wherein:

the server module is further configured to identify a matched purchase request and a matched product record of the purchase requests and product records based on a matching criterion and transmit a notification to a matched buyer computer corresponding to the buyer identifier of the matched purchase request;

the buyer module is further configured to transmit from the matched buyer computer to the server module a notification corresponding to evidence of the transfer of a purchase price from the buyer associated with the matched buyer computer to the host;

the server is further configured to transmit to the seller module, corresponding to the matched seller computer corresponding to the seller identifier of the matched product record, a notice of the transfer of funds and record a buyer status indicating at least one of transmission of an acceptance from the matched buyer computer to the server, transmission of a rejection from the matched buyer computer to the server, and expiration of a waiting period in which no rejection or acceptance has been transmitted from the matched buyer computer to the server; and

the server is further configured to create a record indicating that a portion of the purchase price is owed by the host to the seller corresponding to the matched seller computer if the buyer status indicates either transmission of an acceptance or the expiration of a waiting period.

24. The article of claim 23, wherein the matching criterion comprises:

substantial equality of product identifiers; and

the price corresponding to the purchase request being greater than the price corresponding to the product record.