PROCESS AND PRODUCT FOR DETERMINING AN AMOUNT OF POSTING PAYMENT

• US 20080015949A1
• Filed: 07/11/2007
• Published: 01/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Van Luchene, Andrew, Alderucci, Dean, Gelman, Geoffrey, Walker, Jay, O'Shea, Deirdre
• Application Number:
  US11/776,190
• Publication Number:
  US 20080015949A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• 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 30/0609 : Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 : Third-party assisted
• 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

Products and processes are provided in which information is received about a post for an item to be sold. The information may include, e.g., the class and type of item being sold, the reputation of a seller, a floor price below which the item will not be sold, a condition of the item and peripherals included with the item. Based on the received information, a posting payment amount is determined.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

offering a posting payment amount in exchange for receiving data corresponding to at least one type of item for posting;

receiving item type data from a seller;

determining that the item type data is accurate and corresponds to the at least one type of item; and

paying the seller the posting payment amount.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the posting payment amount based on a number of items corresponding to the at least one type of item that the seller is willing to sell.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the posting payment amount based on a condition of at least one item that the seller is willing to sell.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the posting payment amount based on a preferred method of payment.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising placing at least one restriction on the item type data that must be satisfied to qualify for payment of the posting payment amount.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the restriction comprises at least one of a minimum estimated sale value of at least one item, a minimum condition of at least one item, availability of at least one item, requiring that the at least one item does not correspond to a predetermined undesirable type of item, and receipt of item type data that corresponds to at least a minimum number of items.

7. The method of claim 1, in which receiving the predetermined data comprises receiving the predetermined data via a Web page.

8. The method of claim 1, in which determining that the item type data is accurate comprises soliciting feedback from others concerning the seller.

9. The method of claim 1, in which paying the seller comprises featuring the post prominently.

10. The method of claim 1, in which paying the seller comprises applying an amount to an account of the seller.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising posting at least a portion of the item type data.

12. The method of claim 11, in which posting at least a portion of the item type data comprises:

generating a Web page indicating the item type data; and

making the Web page accessible for display.

13. The method of claim 11, in which posting at least a portion of the item type data comprises:

posting a description of at least one item; and

posting a corresponding floor price.

14. The method of claim 13, in which paying the seller comprises applying an amount to the floor price, and reducing a sale price of the item by the amount.

15. A computer readable medium storing instructions configured to direct a processor to:

offer a posting payment amount in exchange for receiving data corresponding to at least one type of item for posting;

receive item type data from a seller;

determine that the item type data is accurate and corresponds to the at least one type of item; and

pay the seller the posting payment amount.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, in which the instructions for receiving the personal description data comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to receive the personal description data via a Web page.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, which further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to determine the posting payment amount based on a number of items corresponding to the at least one type of item that the seller is willing to sell.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 15, which further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to determine the posting payment amount based on a condition of at least one item that the seller is willing to sell.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, which further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to determine the posting payment amount based on a preferred method of payment.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 15, which further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to place at least one restriction on the item type data that must be satisfied to qualify for payment of the posting payment amount.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 15, in which the instructions for receiving the predetermined data comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to receive the predetermined data from a Web page.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 15, in which the instructions for determining that the item type data is accurate comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to solicit feedback from others concerning the seller.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 15, in which the instructions for paying the seller comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to feature the post prominently.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 15, in which the instructions for paying the seller comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to apply an amount to an account of the seller.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 15, which further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to post at least a portion of the item type data.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 15, in which the instructions for posting at least a portion of the item type data comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to:

generate a Web page indicating the item type data; and

display the Web page.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 15, in which the instructions for posting at least a portion of the item type data comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to:

post a description of at least one item; and

post a corresponding floor price.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 15, in which the instructions for paying the seller comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to apply an amount to the floor price, and reduce a sale price of the item by the amount.

29. A posting device, comprising:

a processor;

a communication port coupled to the processor; and

a storage device operatively coupled to the processor and containing instructions configured to direct the processor to;

offer a posting payment amount in exchange for receiving data corresponding to at least one type of item for posting;

receive item type data from a seller;

determine that the item type data is accurate and corresponds to the at least one type of item; and

pay the seller the posting payment amount.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the storage device further comprises at least one of a seller database, an item database and a posting database.

31. A method comprising:

offering a payment amount in exchange for information associated with at least one post;

receiving the information from at least one person;

determining that the information corresponds to the at least one post; and

paying the payment amount to the at least one person.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising determining the payment amount based on a number of items associated with the at least one post.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising determining the payment amount based on a type of feedback received from the at least one person.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the type of feedback comprises at least one of information concerning previously purchased items, or information concerning a seller associated with the at least one post.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the type of feedback comprises information concerning a buyer who has purchased at least one item from a seller associated with the at least one post.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein the payment amount is offered to a person in exchange for providing information of at least one item that the person is willing to post.

37. The method of claim 31, in which receiving the information comprises receiving the information via a Web page.

38. The method of claim 31, in which paying the at least one person comprises featuring a post associated with the at least one person prominently.

39. The method of claim 37, in which featuring a post associated with the at least one person comprises:

generating a Web page indicating at least one item; and

making the Web page accessible for display.

40. A computer readable medium storing instructions configured to direct a processor to:

offer a payment amount in exchange for information associated with at least one post;

receive the information from at least one person;

determine that the information corresponds to the at least one post; and

pay the payment amount to the at least one person.

41. The computer readable medium of claim 40, which further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to determine the payment amount based on a number of items associated with the at least one post.

42. The computer readable medium of claim 40, which further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to determine the payment amount based on a type of feedback received from the at least one person.

43. The computer readable medium of claim 42, in which the instructions for determining the payment amount further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to receive data including at least one of data concerning previously purchased items, or data concerning a seller associated with the at least one post.

44. The computer readable medium of claim 42, in which the instructions for determining the payment amount further comprises instructions configured to direct the processor to receive data including data concerning a buyer who has purchased at least one item from a seller associated with the at least one post.

45. The computer readable medium of claim 40, in which the instructions for offering the payment amount comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to offer the payment amount to a person in exchange for providing information of at least one item that the person is willing to post.

46. The computer readable medium of claim 40, in which the instructions for receiving information comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to receive the information via a Web page.

47. The computer readable medium of claim 40, in which the instructions for offering payment comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to offer to feature a post associated with the at least one person prominently.

48. The computer readable medium of claim 47, in which the instructions for featuring a post comprise instructions configured to direct the processor to:

generate a Web page indicating at least one item; and

display the Web page.

49. A posting device, comprising:

a processor;

a communication port coupled to the processor; and

a storage device operatively coupled to the processor and containing instructions configured to direct the processor to;

offer a payment amount in exchange for information associated with at least one post;

receive the information from at least one person;

determine that the information corresponds to the at least one post; and

pay the payment amount to the at least one person.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the storage device further comprises at least one of a seller database, an item database and a posting database.