Method and apparatus for optimizing seller selection in a multi-seller environment

• US 7,774,234 B1
• Filed: 10/27/1999
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: Halfcom Incorporated (eBay Inc.)
• Inventors: Balijepalli, Srinivas, Kopelman, Joshua M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thein; M.
• Application Number:
  US09/428,150
• Time in Patent Office: 3,940 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• 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 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A method for selecting a seller in a multi-seller environment in which multiple sellers are offering for sale one or more goods desired by the buyer. A criterion for selecting a seller may be specified by the buyer or an intermediary. After identifying a seller offering the desired good(s) for sale, a seller is selected which best satisfies the criterion. More than one criterion may be specified. If the buyer desires to purchase multiple goods, a seller offering one or more of the multiple goods may be selected or a seller solution including a combination of sellers may be selected. A computer-implemented method and an apparatus for carrying out the computer-implemented method is also provided.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for selecting a preferred seller from a group of independent sellers in a multiple seller environment, each seller of the group of sellers offering a good for sale that is fungible or quasi-fungible with respect to the goods of the other sellers of the group of sellers, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computer, an expression of a buyer'"'"'s interest in purchasing the good;

searching, by computer in an automated fashion, a database to identify goods for sale having certain buyer-searchable characteristics, the identified goods collectively being offered for sale by the group of sellers, each seller of the group of sellers having listed its good for sale within the multiple seller environment;

establishing at least one criterion for selecting a seller from the group of sellers, a first criterion of the at least one criterion being that the seller offer a second good that the buyer has previously expressed an interest in buying;

identifying, by computer in an automated fashion, a first seller of the group of sellers;

identifying, by computer in an automated fashion, a second seller of the group of sellers;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a rating of the first seller for satisfying the first criterion;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a rating of the second seller for satisfying the first criterion; and

selecting, by computer in an automated fashion, a preferred seller as a function of the ratings, the preferred seller being selected in an automated manner from among the first and second sellers, the preferred seller being selected as the respective seller having a best respective rating for satisfying the first criterion;

wherein the identifying, determining and selecting steps are performed after the searching step, and

wherein the at least one criterion comprises multiple criteria, each of the multiple criteria having a specified relative importance to be used in determining the ratings; and

facilitating sale of the good from the preferred seller to the buyer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the buyer establishes the at least one criterion.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one criterion is a condition of the good.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the buyer establishes the criterion by selecting the criterion from a menu of selectable criteria.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said rating quantifies a respective seller'"'"'s relative degree of satisfaction of the criterion.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each rating is quantified in numerical form.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a second criterion of the at least one criterion is established by a marketeer, the marketeer presenting for sale goods of independent sellers, each seller of the group of sellers having listed its good for sale with the marketeer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a second criterion of the at least one criterion is a lowest price for the good.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a second criterion of the at least one criterion is a lowest cost to transport the good to the buyer.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the lowest cost to transport the good is determined by as a function of a geographical distance between the buyer and the sellers.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a second criterion of the at least one criterion is a lowest combined price including a sale price of the good and a cost to transport the good from the seller to the buyer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a second criterion of the at least one criterion is selection of a seller from which the buyer has previously purchased a good.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a second criterion of the at least one criterion is selection of a seller having a specified seller reliability rating.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the specified seller reliability rating is specified by the buyer.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting to the buyer the good offered for sale by the preferred seller.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising presenting to the buyer goods offered for sale by other sellers, the goods being presented in an order corresponding to the sellers'"'"' respective ratings.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising presenting a sale price for the good to the buyer.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising facilitating sale of the good from the preferred seller to the buyer.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting to the buyer the preferred seller as the only seller offering the good for sale.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the ratings comprises a metric that is independent of prices of the goods.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the ratings comprises a metric that is no more than partially dependent upon prices of the goods.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the ratings reflects a relative degree of partial satisfaction of the criterion by a corresponding seller.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said rating quantifies a respective seller'"'"'s relative degree of satisfaction of the criterion.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting to the buyer only the first good offered for sale by the preferred seller.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the criterion for selecting a seller from the group of sellers is different from the buyer searchable characteristics used to search a database to identify goods for sale.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the criterion for selecting a seller from the group of sellers comprises a standard involving a characteristic of a seller.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein each rating is a numerical value.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the ratings reflects a degree to which a corresponding seller satisfies the criterion, the rating being expressed as a point within a range of a scale.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the ratings reflects a degree to which a corresponding seller satisfies the criterion, the rating being expressed as a score on an arbitrary scale.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the ratings reflects a degree to which a corresponding seller satisfies the criterion, the rating being expressed as a ranking

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the criterion relates to a particular seller'"'"'s ability to provide quick delivery of a purchased good.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the ratings reflects a geographical distance between the seller and the buyer.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the ratings is expressed in dollar units.

34. A method for selecting a preferred seller from among independent sellers in a multiple seller environment, the independent sellers offering goods for sale, the method being computer-implemented to be carried out in an automated fashion, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computer, an expression of a buyer'"'"'s interest in purchasing a first good having certain characteristics that may be used to search a computer database of different goods;

searching, by computer in an automated fashion, the computer database to identify a plurality of goods for sale, each of the plurality of goods having the certain characteristics, each of the identified goods being offered for sale by a respective independent seller, the respective independent sellers collectively forming a group of sellers, each seller of the group of sellers offering the first good for sale that has the certain characteristics, each seller of the group of sellers having listed its good for sale within the multiple seller environment;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a first rating for a first seller of the group of sellers, the first rating reflecting a relative degree to which the first seller satisfies at least one criterion for selecting a seller from the group of sellers offering fungible or quasi-fungible goods for sale, the at least one criterion for selecting a seller being distinct from the certain characteristics used for the searching to identify goods, a first criterion of the at least one criterion being that the seller offer a second good that the buyer has previously expressed an interest in buying;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a second rating for a second seller of the group of sellers, the second rating reflecting a relative degree to which the second seller satisfies the first criterion;

selecting, by computer in an automated fashion, a preferred seller as a function of the ratings, the preferred seller being selected from among the first and second sellers, wherein said ratings quantify a respective seller'"'"'s relative degree of satisfaction of the at least one criterion; and

facilitating sale of the first good and the second good from the preferred seller to the buyer.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the determining and selecting steps are performed after the searching step.

36. The method of claim 34, further comprising presenting to the buyer the first good offered for sale by the preferred seller.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising presenting to the buyer the preferred seller as the only seller offering the first good for sale.

38. The method of claim 34, further comprising presenting to the buyer goods offered for sale by other sellers, the goods being presented in an order corresponding to the sellers'"'"' respective ratings.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising presenting a sale price for the first good to the buyer.

40. The method of claim 34, wherein the criterion for selecting a seller from the group of sellers is different from the buyer searchable characteristics used to search a database to identify goods for sale.

41. The method of claim 34, wherein the criterion for selecting a seller from the group of sellers comprises a standard involving a characteristic of a seller.

42. A method for selecting a preferred seller from among independent sellers in a multiple seller environment, the independent sellers offering goods for sale, the method being computer-implemented to be carried out in an automated fashion, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computer, an expression of a buyer'"'"'s interest in purchasing a first good having certain characteristics that may be used to search a computer database of different goods;

searching, by computer in an automated fashion, the computer database to identify a plurality of goods for sale, each of the plurality of goods having the certain characteristics, each of the identified goods being offered for sale by a respective independent seller, the respective independent sellers collectively forming a group of sellers, each seller of the group of sellers offering a good for sale that has the certain characteristics, each seller of the group of sellers having listed its good for sale within the multiple seller environment;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a first rating for a first seller of the group of sellers, the first rating quantifying a relative degree to which the first seller satisfies a criterion for selecting a seller from the group of sellers offering fungible or quasi-fungible goods for sale, the criterion for selecting a seller being a standard involving a characteristic of a seller and being distinct from the certain characteristics used for the searching to identify goods, the criterion being that the seller offer a second good that the buyer has previously expressed an interest in buying;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a second rating for a second seller of the group of sellers, the second rating quantifying a relative degree to which the second seller satisfies the criterion;

selecting, by computer in an automated fashion, a preferred seller as a function of the ratings, the preferred seller being selected from among the first and second sellers; and

facilitating sale of the first good and the second good from the preferred seller to the buyer.

43. A computer-implemented method for selecting a preferred seller from a group of independent sellers in a multiple seller environment, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computer, an expression of a buyer'"'"'s interest in purchasing a first good;

searching, by computer in an automated fashion, a database to identify goods for sale having certain buyer-searchable characteristics, the identified goods collectively being offered for sale by the group of sellers, each seller of the group of sellers having listed its good for sale within the multiple seller environment;

establishing at least one criterion for selecting a seller from the group of sellers, the criterion including a standard involving application of logic to at least one fact and being that the seller offer a second good that the buyer has previously expressed an interest in buying;

identifying, by computer in an automated fashion, a first seller of the group of sellers;

identifying, by computer in an automated fashion, a second seller of the group of sellers;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a rating of the first seller for satisfying the criterion, the first seller'"'"'s rating reflecting a relative degree to which a first fact relating to proposed purchase of the first good from the first seller meets the standard;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a rating of the second seller for satisfying the criterion, the second seller'"'"'s rating reflecting a relative degree to which a second fact relating to proposed purchase of the first good from the second seller meets the standard, wherein said ratings quantify a respective seller'"'"'s relative degree of satisfaction of the criterion;

selecting a preferred seller as a function of the ratings, the preferred seller being selected in an automated manner from among the first and second sellers;

wherein the identifying, determining and selecting steps are performed after the searching step; and

facilitating sale of the first good and the second good from the preferred seller to the buyer.

44. A method for selecting a preferred seller from among independent sellers in a multiple seller environment, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computer, an expression of a buyer'"'"'s interest in purchasing a first good having certain characteristics;

searching, by computer in an automated fashion, the computer database to identify a plurality of goods having the certain characteristics, each of the identified goods being offered for sale by a respective independent seller, the respective independent sellers collectively forming a group of different sellers, each seller of the group of different sellers having listed its identified good for sale within the multiple seller environment;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a first rating for a first seller of the group of sellers, the first rating reflecting a relative degree to which the first seller satisfies a criterion that the seller offer a second good that the buyer has previously expressed an interest in buying;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a second rating for a second seller of the group of sellers, the second rating reflecting a relative degree to which the second seller satisfies the criterion, wherein each of the first and second ratings comprises a seller reliability rating; and

facilitating sale of the identified good and the second good from the first seller to the buyer.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising:

selecting as a preferred seller, from among the different sellers of the group of sellers, a respective seller having a respective rating for satisfying the criterion that is better than other sellers'"'"' respective ratings for satisfying the criterion.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

identifying a criterion for selecting a preferred seller from among the different sellers of the group of sellers, the criterion for selecting a seller being distinct from the certain characteristics used for the searching to identify goods.

47. The method of claim 44, further comprising:

displaying to the buyer a list of sellers, each having a respective displayed rating reflecting a relative degree to which the second seller satisfies the criterion.

48. A method for selecting a preferred seller in a multiple seller environment, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computer, an expression of a buyer'"'"'s interest in purchasing a first good having certain characteristics that may be used to search a computer database of different goods;

searching, by computer in an automated fashion, the computer database to identify goods having the certain characteristics, each of the goods being offered for sale by a respective independent seller, the respective independent sellers collectively forming a group of different sellers, each seller of the group of different sellers having listed its identified good for sale within the multiple seller environment; and

selecting a preferred seller from among the group of different sellers, said selecting comprising;

identifying a criterion for selecting a seller from the among the group of different sellers, the criterion being distinct from the certain characteristics used for the searching to identify goods, and being that the seller offer a second good that the buyer has previously expressed an interest in buying;

determining, by computer in an automated fashion, a respective rating for each seller of the group of sellers, each rating reflecting a relative degree to which the respective seller satisfies the criterion;

wherein the preferred seller is selected as a particular seller having a respective rating indicating a greater degree of satisfaction of the criterion than another seller, wherein each of the respective ratings comprises a seller reliability rating; and

facilitating sale of the identified good and the second good from the preferred seller to the buyer.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein a prospective purchase from each respective seller has a respective certain trait, and the criterion defines a standard for evaluation of the prospective purchase from each respective seller as a function of the respective certain trait, results of the evaluation being expressed in the respective rating.