Method and apparatus for generating a sale offer over an electronic network system

• US 20100262474A1
• Filed: 06/04/2007
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Triumvirate Systems LLC (Jeffrey M. Gross)
• Original Assignee: Kyklos Entertainment Srl
• Inventors: Forlai, Luigi
• Granted Patent: US 8,005,747 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.130
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0211 Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• 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 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for generating a sale offer over an electronic network (such as the Internet). The method and apparatus may be used with a commercial sale system designed to increase the revenue income of Web site by offering, at a substantially discounted or virtually free basis, one more goods and/or services to visitors of the Web site. According to the features of the invention, the seller (who may be the owner or co-owner of the Web site) transmits a sale offer on the Web site for a high quality good or service, wherein the good or service can be purchased for free or a cost near to zero. The seller may make the offer visible and available to a number of perspective buyers, who are connected at that very moment to the Web site. According to an additional aspect of the invention, the sale offer may be available for only a very limited amount of time (e.g., one or more minutes) and may be offered at random or unpredictable times on the Web site in order to increase Web traffic to the site.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A method for advertising an electronic network system comprising:

inputting a sale offer parameter for randomly generating at least one sale offer to purchase a product or service on the electronic network system at an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price for delivering the offered product or service to a recipient, the delivery price being less than a current value of the offered product or service in a competitive marketplace;

randomly displaying, through the electronic network system, the at least one sale offer at the offer price to a buyer in communication with the electronic network system at an unexpected period of time; and

withdrawing the display of the randomly generated sale offer in response to an absence of an indication of acceptance of the randomly generated sale offer by the buyer within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the randomly generated sale offer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of randomly displaying the at least one sale offer includes displaying the at least one sale offer to a buyer at a plurality of alternative time periods selected by the seller and unknown to the buyer.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of randomly generating the at least one sale offer includes the step of providing a random frequency device for displaying the at least one sale offer in an unpredictable manner.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of randomly generating the at least one sale offer includes the step of displaying the at least one sale offer to a buyer over a predetermined period of time determined by the seller and unknown to the buyer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of randomly generating the at least one sale offer includes the step of displaying the at least one sale offer to a buyer selected by the seller.

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

receiving, through the electronic network system, a first indication of acceptance from the buyer in response to the display of the at least one randomly generated sale offer;

displaying at least one term associated with the at least one randomly generated sale offer in response to the first indication of acceptance;

receiving a second indication of acceptance from the buyer in response to the display of the at least one term associated with the at least one randomly generated sale offer;

displaying an acceptance form to the buyer in response to the second indication of acceptance from the buyer;

receiving a third indication of acceptance from the buyer in response to the display of the acceptance form for forming a purchase agreement concerning the offered product or service;

displaying at least one payment method option in response to the third indication of acceptance;

receiving at least one payment method selection from the buyer in response to the display of the at least one payment method option;

transferring a sum corresponding to the selected payment method from the buyer to the seller; and

requesting delivery of the offered product or service to the buyer.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one term associated with the randomly generated sale offer comprises an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price associated with the sale offer transaction.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one payment method option comprises a credit card payment option or a cash-upon-delivery payment option.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of withdrawing the at least one randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the at least one randomly generated sale offer.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of withdrawing the at least one randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the at least one term associated with the at least one randomly generated sale offer.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of withdrawing the at least one randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the acceptance form.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of withdrawing the at least one randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the at least one payment method option.

15. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of determining if a predetermined monetary amount is available to transfer from the buyer to the seller.

9. (canceled)

16. An apparatus for advertising a Web site by facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller, comprising:

a storage device; and

a processor connected to the storage device,

wherein said storage device stores a program for controlling the processor, and said processor is operative with the program for;

providing, on a Web site, a notice of a sale offer at an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price for delivering the offered product or service to a recipient, the delivery price being less than a current value of the offered product or service in a competitive marketplace and an acceptance form;

receiving the acceptance form completed by the buyer, the completed acceptance form being received in response to the sale offer;

receiving a payment identifier from the buyer specifying a credit card account, the payment identifier being associated with the sale offer; and

providing payment to the seller by using the payment identifier.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further operative with the program to determine if a predetermined monetary amount is available in the credit card account.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further operative with the program to transfer payment from the buyer to the seller.

19. An apparatus for attracting Internet traffic to an Internet Web site by facilitating a sale offer transaction between a seller and a buyer, comprising:

a random sale offer generating device configured for randomly generating an offer to purchase a product or service on an electronic network system at an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price for delivering the offered product or service to a recipient, the delivery price being less than a current value of the offered product or service in a competitive marketplace;

a communication device configured for communicating the randomly generated offer through the electronic network system for a predetermined period of time to at least one buyer; and

a processing system configured for completing the sale of the product or service through the electronic network system in response to an acceptance of the offer by the buyer within the predetermined period of time,

wherein the processing system is configured for removing the offer from the electronic network system when the at least one buyer does not indicate acceptance of the offer within the predetermined period of time.

20. An apparatus for attracting a user to visit a Web site comprising:

a processing system for receiving a sale offer parameter from the seller and randomly generating at least one sale offer to purchase a product or service based on the sale offer parameter inputted from the seller at an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price for delivering the offered product or service to a recipient, the delivery price being less than a current value of the offered product or service in a competitive marketplace; and

a random generation device configured for randomly displaying the at least one sale offer to a buyer at an unexpected period of time,

wherein the processing system is configured for withdrawing the randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance of the randomly generated sale offer within a predetermined period of time after the random generation device has displayed the randomly generated sale offer.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the random generation device is configured for displaying the at least one sale offer to the buyer at a plurality of alternative time periods selected by the seller and unknown to the buyer.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the random generation device is configured for displaying the at least one sale offer in a manner that is unpredictable to the buyer visiting the electronic network.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the random generation device is configured for displaying the at least one sale offer to a buyer over a predetermined period of time determined by the seller and unknown to the buyer.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the random generation device is configured for displaying the at least one sale offer to a particular buyer visiting the electronic network system in a manner selected by the seller.

25. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the processing system is configured for:

receiving a first indication of acceptance from the buyer in response to the display of the at least one randomly generated sale offer;

displaying at least one term associated with the at least one randomly generated sale offer in response to the first indication of acceptance;

receiving a second indication of acceptance from the buyer in response to the display of the at least one term associated with the at least one randomly generated sale offer;

displaying an acceptance form in response to the second indication of acceptance from the buyer;

receiving a third indication of acceptance from the buyer in response to the display of the acceptance form for forming a purchase agreement concerning the offered product or service;

displaying at least one payment method option in response to the third indication of acceptance;

receiving at least one payment method selection from the buyer in response to the display of the at least one payment method option;

transferring a sum corresponding to the selected payment method from the buyer to the seller; and

requesting delivery of the offered product or service to the buyer.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one term associated with the randomly generated sale offer comprises an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price associated with the sale offer transaction.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one term associated with the randomly generated sale offer comprises an offer price substantially equal to a discounted value less than a market value of the offered product or service plus a delivery price associated with the sale offer transaction.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one payment method option comprises a credit card payment option or a cash-upon-delivery payment option.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processing system is configured for withdrawing the at least one randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the at least one randomly generated sale offer.

30. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processing system is configured for withdrawing the at least one randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the at least one term associated with the at least one randomly generated sale offer.

31. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processing system is configured for withdrawing the at least one randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the acceptance form.

32. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processing system is configured for withdrawing the at least one randomly generated sale offer in the event the buyer does not indicate acceptance within a predetermined period of time after the step of displaying the at least one payment method option.

33. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processing system is configured for determining if a predetermined monetary amount is available to transfer from the buyer to the seller.

34. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processing system is configured for allowing the seller to select one of a plurality of different frequencies for displaying sale offers over a predetermined period of time.

35. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processing system is configured for allowing the seller to select the number of sale offers to be displayed to a selected number of buyers during a predetermined period of time.

36. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the predetermined period of time is one hour.

37. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the predetermined period of time is one minute.

38. A method of attracting traffic to an Internet web site by making a sale offer from a seller to at least one buyer visiting the Internet web site, comprising the steps of:

displaying, on the web site, a sale offer of a product or service to the at least one buyer at a random point in time unknown to the buyer, the sale offer having an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price for delivering the offered product or service to a recipient, the delivery price being less than a current value of the offered product or service in a competitive marketplace; and

withdrawing the displayed sale offer from the Internet website when the at least one buyer does not indicate acceptance of the sale offer within a predetermined period of time.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of displaying the sale offer includes generating a sale offer based on at least one parameter defined by the seller.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the at least one parameter comprises a period of time for displaying the sale offer to the at least one buyer visiting the Internet web site.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein the at least one parameter comprises a number of sale offers to be made to the at least one consumer visiting the electronic network during a selected period of time.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one location on the Internet web site for displaying the sale offer to the at least one consumer visiting the electronic network.

43. The method of claim 39, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one type of good or service associated with the sale offer to be displayed to the at least one buyer visiting the web site.

44. The method of claim 39, wherein the at least one parameter comprises a number of sale offers to be displayed during a predetermined period of time based on a number of buyers visiting the Internet web site.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the predetermined period of time is one hour.

46. The method of claim 39, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one term associated with the sale offer to be displayed to the at least one buyer visiting the Internet web site.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the at least one term comprises an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price associated with delivery of the product or service.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the at least one term comprises an offer price equal to a discounted value less than a market value of the product or service plus a delivery price associated with delivery of the product or service.

49. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of displaying includes the step of displaying a sale offer for a type of product or service that is related to the Internet web site being visited by the at least one buyer.

50. An system for attracting traffic to an Internet web site comprising:

a generating device for generating an electronic sale offer of a product or service based on at least one parameter defined by the seller, the at least one parameter including an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price for delivering the offered product or service to a recipient, the delivery price being less than a current value of the offered product or service in a competitive marketplace;

means for displaying the electronic sale offer of the product or service to the at least one buyer visiting the Internet web site at a point in time unknown to the buyer; and

a timing device in communication with the generating device and the display means for withdrawing the displayed sale offer from the Internet web site if the at least one buyer does not indicate acceptance of the offer within a predetermined period of time.

52. The system of claim 50, wherein the at least one parameter comprises a number of sale offers to be made during a selected period of time.

53. The system of claim 50, wherein the at least one parameter comprises a type of sale offer to be made during a selected period of time.

54. The system of claim 50, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one location on the Internet web site for displaying the sale offer to the at least one buyer.

55. The system of claim 50, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one type of good or service associated with the sale offer to be displayed to the at least one buyer visiting the Internet web site.

56. The system of claim 50, wherein the at least one parameter comprises a number of sale offers to be displayed during a predetermined period of time based on a number of buyers visiting the web site.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the predetermined period of time is one hour.

58. The system of claim 50, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one term associated with the sale offer to be displayed to the at least one buyer visiting the Internet web site.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the at least one term comprises an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price associated with delivery of the product or service.

60. The system of claim 58, wherein the at least one term comprises an offer price equal to a discounted value less than a market value of the product or service plus a delivery price associated with delivery of the product or service.

61. The system of claim 50, wherein the generating device is configured for displaying a sale offer of a type of product or service that is related to the Internet web site being visited by the consumer.

62. The method of claim 50, wherein the offer to accept a product or service includes an offer price substantially equal to a delivery price of the offered product or service.

63. The method of claim 50, wherein traffic comprises a number of users visiting an Internet site during a predetermined period of time, and the generating device is configured to increase a frequency of generating sale offers when traffic to the Internet site increases.

51. The system of 50, wherein the at least one parameter comprises a period of time for displaying the sale offer to the at least one buyer visiting the Internet web site.