Buyer-driven purchasing loyalty system and method using an electronic network

• US 7,464,053 B1
• Filed: 10/26/2000
• Issued: 12/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Accessify, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Jeffrey D. Pylant
• Inventors: Pylant, Jeffrey D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamilton, Lalita M
• Application Number:
  US09/696,193
• Time in Patent Office: 2,966 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/36, 705/37, 705/38, 705/25, 705/36.R
• US Class Current: 705/37
• 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 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and system for effectuating a buyer-driven and buyer-executed commerce system. The system allows prospective buyers and sellers of goods and services to anonymously exchange conditional Requests For Bids and Conditional Sales Offers based on the buyer'"'"'s guaranteed ‘purchasing loyalty’ for a self-defined minimum quantity of goods or services, and/or quality of goods or services and/or the length of time or price to which the buyer would agree to be bound or any combination of those conditions. That buyer guarantee permits a seller to easily pre-determine their offers based on the calculated value of ‘capturing’ that buyer'"'"'s ‘guaranteed purchasing loyalty’.

Claims

1. A method for conducting buyer-driven and buyer-executed electronic commerce transactions, comprising the steps of:

providing a controller which allows a buyer to specify, via an electronic network, at least one term selected from the group consisting of minimum quantities the buyer would agree to purchase, minimum qualities the buyer would accept, the minimum length of time to which the buyer would agree to be bound to purchase said minimum quantities containing said minimum qualities, and the maximum or minimum price the buyer would pay, wherein said controller allows sellers to specify, via an electronic network, conditional sales offers said sellers would agree to be bound by, and wherein said controller stores said conditional sales offers in a database;

querying said database for relevant conditional sales offers that match said at least one term specified by said buyer;

generating, based upon said buyer'"'"'s prior specification of said at least one term, a plurality of mutually created conditional original sales offers to said buyer from a corresponding plurality of sellers, each of said plurality of conditional original sales offers including said at least one term specified by said buyer and at least one term specified by at least one of said plurality of sellers, said at least one term specified by at least one of said plurality of sellers being a term not specified by said buyer, wherein each of said plurality of mutually created conditional original sales offers are binding upon said corresponding plurality of sellers yet not binding upon said buyer;

using said electronic network to transmit at least one of said mutually created conditional original sales offers to said buyer; and

receiving via said electronic network said buyer'"'"'s acceptance of said at least one mutually created conditional original sales offer, wherein said buyer has the ability to reject at least one of said mutually created conditional original sales offers, and wherein said acceptance binds said buyer to said at least one mutually created conditional original sales offer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of revealing to the seller the buyer'"'"'s personal or financial information after the buyer accepts at least one original sales offer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sales offers are conditional upon subsequent approval of the buyer'"'"'s personal or financial information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the buyer is not bound by the specification of terms.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using the controller to provide prospective buyers and/or sellers of goods and services the ability to anonymously exchange conditional Requests For Bids and Conditional Sales Offers prior to the acceptance of a binding offer.