Method and system to recommend further items to a user of a network-based transaction facility upon unsuccessful transacting with respect to an item

• US 8,275,673 B1
• Filed: 10/01/2002
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Poon, Alex, Maltzman, Reed, Taylor, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Pond, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US10/263,224
• Time in Patent Office: 3,647 Days
• Field of Search: 705 26- 27, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/26.7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for communicating a recommended item to a user of a network-based transaction facility are described. The method comprises determining that the user has been unsuccessful in concluding a transaction pertaining to an item offered for sale via the network-based transaction facility, and, in response to this determination, communicating information concerning a recommended item to the user over a network. The recommended item is available for purchase via the network-based transaction facility.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining that a user of a network-based transaction facility unsuccessfully attempted to purchase a first item presented by the network-based transaction facility,

the determining being performed by a processor of a machine and including determining that a transaction history of the user within the network-based transaction facility is shorter than required for purchasing the first item;

accessing preference data that indicates a preference that a recommendation be communicated in response to an unsuccessful attempt to make a purchase; and

communicating information descriptive of a second item to the user based on the determining that the user unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the first item and based on the preference data that indicates the preference that the recommendation be communicated in response to the unsuccessful attempt to make the purchase of the first item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the preference data is generated by a seller of the first item;

the preference that the recommendation be communicated is a preference of the seller that the recommendation be communicated to one or more users who unsuccessfully attempted to purchase from the seller; and

the communicating of the information descriptive of the second item is responsive to the preference of the seller that the recommendation be communicated to the one or more users.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the preference data is generated by the user;

the preference that the recommendation be communicated is a preference of the user that the recommendation be communicated to the user upon the unsuccessful attempt to make the purchase; and

the communicating of the information descriptive of the second item is responsive to the preference of the user that the recommendation be communicated to the user.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

accessing an attribute of the first item; and

identifying the second item based on the attribute of the first item.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the attribute of the first item includes a description of the first item.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the attribute of the first item includes a keyword descriptive of the first item.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the attribute of the first item includes a first category within which the first item is categorized by the network-based transaction facility.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the identifying of the second item is based on the first category within which the first item is categorized.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

identifying the second item as being categorized within the first category within which the first item is categorized.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

identifying the second item as being categorized within a second category that corresponds to the first category within a data structure of categories supported by the network-based transaction facility.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining that the user unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the first item includes determining that the user unsuccessfully bid on the first item.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining that the user unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the first item includes determining that a condition of making the purchase is unsatisfied.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the communicating of the information descriptive of the second item includes communicating a list of items that are similar to the first item.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the communicating of the list of items includes communicating a sublist of items offered by a seller of the first item and a sublist of items offered by a further seller.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the communicating of the information descriptive of the second item includes sending an email message.

16. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

determining that a user of a network-based transaction facility unsuccessfully attempted to purchase a first item presented by the network-based transaction facility,

the determining being performed by the one or more processors of the machine and including determining that a transaction history of the user within the network-based transaction facility is shorter than required for purchasing the first item;

accessing preference data that indicates a preference that a recommendation be communicated in response to an unsuccessful attempt to make a purchase; and

communicating information descriptive of a second item to the user based on the determining that the user unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the first item and based on the preference data that indicates the preference that the recommendation be communicated in response to the unsuccessful attempt to make the purchase of the first item.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein:

the determining that the user unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the first item includes determining that a condition of making the purchase is unsatisfied.

18. A system comprising:

a transaction engine configured to determine that a user of a network-based transaction facility unsuccessfully attempted to purchase a first item presented by the network-based transaction facility,

the determining being performed by a processor of a machine and including determining that a transaction history of the user within the network-based transaction facility is shorter than required for purchasing the first item;

a database engine configured to access preference data that indicates a preference that a recommendation be communicated in response to an unsuccessful attempt to make a purchase; and

a processor configured by a recommendation engine that configures the processor to communicate information descriptive of a second item to the user based on the determining that the user unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the first item and based on the preference data that indicates the preference that the recommendation be communicated in response to the unsuccessful attempt to make the purchase of the first item.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein:

the determining that the user unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the first item includes determining that a condition of making the purchase is unsatisfied.