Online offer and bid management with sealed bids

• US 8,103,574 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2000
• Issued: 01/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wiesehuegel, Leland James, Roberts, Rebecca Lynn, Morrison, William James
• Primary Examiner(s): Kalinowski, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): Graham, Clement B
• Application Number:
  US09/726,009
• Publication Number:
  US 20020065760A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,073 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 38, 705/400, 705/57, 705/34, 705/51
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A computer system for a manufacturer or service provider to communicate goods or services which are available for bidding by bidders that provides collected bids in a bid database, the bids each having an associated seal status indication field queries the bid database for unsealed bids which match parameters of a Broker Profile Matrix associated with a trader console, the trader console comprising an intermediary third party user console communicably disposed between a bidder user console and broker user console, operates to buy products or services from the broker user console and to resell the bought products and services to the bidder user console; responsive to finding matching unsealed bids, delivers the matching unsealed bids to the trader console wherein delivery of delivery of sealed bids to the trader console is prevented; and displays on the trader console the delivered matching unsealed bids to a trader console user.

Claims

1. A sealed bid sales offering system comprising:

a bid database in a network computer arrangement containing collected bids, the collected bids each having an associated seal status indication field for indicating whether each bid is a sealed bid or is an unsealed bid;

a database query server querying the bid database for unsealed bids which match parameters of a Broker Profile Matrix associated with a trader console, the trader console comprising an intermediary third party user console communicably disposed between a bidder user console and broker user console, the trader console operating to buy products or services from the broker user console, and operating to resell the bought products and services to the bidder user console;

a bid transferor responsive to finding matching unsealed bids for the trader console delivering the matching unsealed bids to the trader console, and preventing delivery of sealed bids to the trader console; and

a display on the trader console of the delivered matching unsealed bids to a trader console user.

2. The sealed bid sales offering system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the database query server comprises an Internet server.

3. The sealed bid sales offering system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the database query server comprises a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server.

4. The sealed bid sales offering system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the trader console comprises a web browser.

5. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the database query server retrieves unsealed bids from the bid database which meet criteria including a trader'"'"'s location code.

6. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the database query server retrieves unsealed bids from the bid database which meet criteria including a match with a trader'"'"'s goods category code.

7. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a restricted access administrator console communicative with the bid database converting sealed bids to unsealed bids.

8. The system as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a system clock or timer determining which seals of sealed bids have expired as a criteria for retrieving unsealed bids.

9. A sealed bid sales offering method comprising:

providing collected bids in a bid database in a network computer arrangement, the collected bids each having an associated seal status indication field for indicating whether each bid is a sealed bid or is an unsealed bid;

querying by a database query server the bid database for unsealed bids which match parameters of a Broker Profile Matrix associated with a trader console, the trader console comprising an intermediary third party user console communicably disposed between a bidder user console and broker user console;

operating by the trader console to buy products or services from the broker user console;

operating by the trader to resell the bought products and services to the bidder user console;

responsive to finding matching unsealed bids for the trader console, delivering by a bid transferor the matching unsealed bids to the trader console wherein delivery of delivery of sealed bids to the trader console is prevented; and

displaying on the trader console the delivered matching unsealed bids to a trader console user.

10. The method as set forth in claim 9 wherein the querying comprises a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) query.

11. The method as set forth in claim 9 further comprising providing a web browser trader console.

12. The method as set forth in claim 9 wherein the querying comprises retrieving unsealed bids from the bid database which meet criteria including a trader'"'"'s location code.

13. The method as set forth in claim 9 wherein the querying comprises retrieving unsealed bids from the bid database which meet criteria including a match with a trader'"'"'s goods category code.

14. The method as set forth in claim 9 further comprising providing a restricted access administrator console communicative with the bid database, and converting sealed bids to unsealed bids by the administrator console.

15. The method as set forth in claim 9 further comprising using a system clock or timer to determine which seals of sealed bids have expired as a criteria for retrieving unsealed bids.

16. A computer readable memory comprising:

a computer readable memory suitable for encoding computer programs; and

one or more computer programs encoded by the computer readable memory and configured to;

provide collected bids in a bid database in a network computer arrangement, the collected bids each having an associated seal status indication field for indicating whether each bid is a sealed bid or is an unsealed bid;

query by a database query server the bid database for unsealed bids which match parameters of a Broker Profile Matrix associated with a trader console, the trader console comprising an intermediary third party user console communicably disposed between a bidder user console and broker user console;

operate by the trader console to buy products or services from the broker user console;

operating by the trader to resell the bought products and services to the bidder user console;

responsive to finding matching unsealed bids for the trader console, deliver by a bid transferor the matching unsealed bids to the trader console

wherein delivery of delivery of sealed bids to the trader console is prevented; and

display on the trader console the delivered matching unsealed bids to a trader console user.

17. The computer readable memory as set forth in claim 16 wherein the querying comprises retrieving unsealed bids from the bid database which meet criteria including a trader'"'"'s location code.

18. The computer readable memory as set forth in claim 16 wherein the querying comprises retrieving unsealed bids from the bid database which meet criteria including a match with a trader'"'"'s goods category code.