System for Online Sales With Automatic Rebate and Coupon Redemption
First Claim
1. A searching system supporting a plurality of buyer computers used by a corresponding plurality of buyers, the searching system comprising:
- a server system communicatively coupled to;
a first seller'"'"'s computer used by a first seller to support promotions for selling a first plurality of products, each of the first plurality of products having associated first product data and first promotion information, the first seller having first web page information available on the Internet;
a second seller'"'"'s computer used by a second seller to support promotions for selling a second plurality of products, each of the second plurality of products having associated second product data and second promotion information, the second seller having second web page information available on the Internet; and
the plurality of buyer computers, wherein;
the server system accesses;
a first data set comprising both the first web page information and the second web page information;
a second data set comprising the first product data, the first promotion information, the second product data, and the second promotion information;
the server system accesses the associated first product data and the associated second product data, the first product data including a first promotional amount and a first service charge amount, the second product data including a second promotional amount and a second service charge amount; and
the server system responds to a query received from one of the plurality of buyer computers by delivering selections from the associated first product data and the associated second product data.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An online sales/automatic rebate and coupon redemption system provides online customers automatic retrieval and redemption of all applicable rebates and coupons during purchase. Purchase orders from customers are selectively fulfilled and products are shipped to the customers either by the system for online sales with automatic rebate and coupon redemption or by other merchant or manufacturer environments. The system purchases from merchants using applicable coupons and rebates and then sells the products to the customers, passing the savings to them. The system makes it possible to automatically retrieve coupons and rebates for items in a shopping cart during the activity of an online purchase at an electronic mall or an online merchant site. The system provides coupons to potential customers via email, based on customer profile, geographical information, etc. Manufacturers and merchants can update coupon value and content based on ongoing sales and volume of customer activity.
13 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A searching system supporting a plurality of buyer computers used by a corresponding plurality of buyers, the searching system comprising:
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a server system communicatively coupled to; a first seller'"'"'s computer used by a first seller to support promotions for selling a first plurality of products, each of the first plurality of products having associated first product data and first promotion information, the first seller having first web page information available on the Internet; a second seller'"'"'s computer used by a second seller to support promotions for selling a second plurality of products, each of the second plurality of products having associated second product data and second promotion information, the second seller having second web page information available on the Internet; and the plurality of buyer computers, wherein; the server system accesses; a first data set comprising both the first web page information and the second web page information; a second data set comprising the first product data, the first promotion information, the second product data, and the second promotion information; the server system accesses the associated first product data and the associated second product data, the first product data including a first promotional amount and a first service charge amount, the second product data including a second promotional amount and a second service charge amount; and the server system responds to a query received from one of the plurality of buyer computers by delivering selections from the associated first product data and the associated second product data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of supporting a plurality of buyer computers used by a corresponding plurality of buyers by a server system, the method comprising:
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communicatively coupling to a first seller'"'"'s computer used by a first seller to support promotions for selling a first plurality of products, each of the first plurality of products having associated first product data and first promotion information, the first seller having first web page information available on the Internet; communicatively coupling to a second seller'"'"'s computer used by a second seller to support promotions for selling a second plurality of products, each of the second plurality of products having associated second product data and second promotion information, the second seller having second web page information available on the Internet; accessing a first data set comprising both the first web page information and the second web page information; accessing a second data set comprising the first product data, the first promotion information, the second product data, and the second promotion information; accessing the associated first product data and the associated second product data, the first product data including a first promotional amount and a first service charge amount, the second product data including a second promotional amount and a second service charge amount; and responding to a query received from one of the plurality of buyer computers by delivering selections from the associated first product data and the associated second product data. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A searching system supporting a plurality of buyer computers used by a corresponding plurality of buyers via the Internet, the searching system comprising:
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a first search engine that searches a first data set targeted to support a first purpose; a second search engine that searches a second data set targeted to support a second purpose, the second purpose comprising sales promotion, the second data set being independent of the first data set, the second data set comprising promotion data associated with product offerings from a plurality of independent sellers; and both the first search engine and the second search engine responding to a single query received from one of the plurality of buyers via the Internet by correspondingly generating first search results and second search results, the first search results being extracted from the first data set while the second search results being extracted from the second data set. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification