Methods and systems for matching buyers and sellers over electronic networks
First Claim
1. A method for electronically matching a buyer with a seller over a plurality of communication media, the buyer and seller each having message forwarding preferences and a first associated computing device, the method comprising:
- receiving an electronic buy offer from the buyer;
receiving an electronic sell offer from the seller;
comparing the buy and sell offers to obtain a match result;
accessing the message forwarding preferences of at least one of the buyer and seller;
detecting an online status of the first computing device of the at least one of the buyer and seller;
comparing the detected online status with the message forwarding preferences of the at least one of the buyer and seller to obtain a comparison result; and
communicating the match result to the at least one of the buyer and seller through communication media determined by the comparison result.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic matching system is provided for facilitating online transactions between buyers and sellers. Electronic buy offers and electronic sell offers received by the system can be compared and matched. The offers can be transmitted to the system through a plurality of communication media including email messaging, text messaging, and/or postings made to web sites. If matching offers are detected by the system, then the existence of the match can be communicated to a buyer/seller according to message forwarding preferences of the buyer/seller. The online status of an email computing device associated with the buyer/seller can be detected. Email messages generated by the system can be converted into text message format and received by a mobile computing device associated with the buyer/seller if the email computing device is offline.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for electronically matching a buyer with a seller over a plurality of communication media, the buyer and seller each having message forwarding preferences and a first associated computing device, the method comprising:
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receiving an electronic buy offer from the buyer;
receiving an electronic sell offer from the seller;
comparing the buy and sell offers to obtain a match result;
accessing the message forwarding preferences of at least one of the buyer and seller;
detecting an online status of the first computing device of the at least one of the buyer and seller;
comparing the detected online status with the message forwarding preferences of the at least one of the buyer and seller to obtain a comparison result; and
communicating the match result to the at least one of the buyer and seller through communication media determined by the comparison result. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for conducting an electronic transaction between a buyer and a seller over a plurality of communication media, at least one of the buyer and seller having:
- (i) message forwarding preferences, (ii) a first associated computing device, and (iii) a second associated computing device, the method comprising;
transmitting a first message identifying a first offer, the first message is transmitted over a first electronic network by the first computing device to a server, the electronic network employing a first communication media; and
receiving a second message identifying a second offer matching the first offer, the second message is received over a second electronic network by the second computing device if the first computing device is offline, the second electronic network employing a second communication media. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
- (i) message forwarding preferences, (ii) a first associated computing device, and (iii) a second associated computing device, the method comprising;
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17. A system for electronically matching a buyer with a seller over a plurality of communication media, the buyer and seller each having message forwarding preferences and a first associated computing device, the system comprising:
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a system server;
a database for storing the message forwarding preferences; and
application software running on the system server operable to perform the steps of;
receiving an electronic buy offer from the buyer, receiving an electronic sell offer from the seller, comparing the buy and sell offers to obtain a match result, accessing the message forwarding preferences of at least one of the buyer and seller from the database, detecting an online status of the first associated computing device of the at least one of the buyer and seller, comparing the detected online status with the message forwarding preferences of the at least one of the buyer and seller to obtain a comparison result, and communicating the match result to the at least one of the buyer and seller through communication media determined by the comparison result. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification