Geospatially constrained gastronomic bidding

• US 8,433,609 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2011
• Issued: 04/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Raj Abhyanker
• Original Assignee: Raj Vasant Abhyanker
• Inventors: Abhyanker, Raj V
• Primary Examiner(s): Weiss, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): NETZLOFF, ERIC R
• Application Number:
  US13/310,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20130080217A1
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/14.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

A method includes determining, through one or more central server(s), that a bidding platform provided by a gastronomic bidding service provider has a number of requests for gastronomical offers within a residential location zip code and/or a daytime location zip code associated with a user thereof. The method also includes permitting the user to access the number of requests for gastronomical offers within the residential location zip code and/or the daytime location zip code, and denying the user access to a request within a zip code outside a geospatially constrained region around the residential location zip code and/or the daytime location zip code thereof. Further, the method includes permitting the user to create a series of standing bid amounts spread across a spectrum of time and crediting an account associated with the gastronomic bidding service provider on the one or more central server(s) with an appropriate amount.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, through at least one central server, which includes a processor communicatively coupled to a memory and which is associated with a gastronomic bidding service provider, that a bidding platform provided by the gastronomic bidding service provider has a number of requests for gastronomical offers within at least one of a residential location zip code and a daytime location zip code associated with a user thereof;

permitting the user to access the number of requests for gastronomical offers within the at least one of the residential location zip code and the daytime location zip code thereof;

denying the user access to a request for a gastronomical offer within a zip code outside a geospatially constrained region around the at least one of the residential location zip code and the daytime location zip code thereof;

permitting the user to create a series of standing bid amounts spread across a spectrum of time such that the standing bid amounts are submitted periodically to a set of retail establishments based on at least one of a gastronomical item, a business name, a cuisine type, the residential location zip code and the daytime location zip code, the standing bid amounts being associated with at least one request for gastronomical offers; and

crediting an account associated with the gastronomic bidding service provider on the at least one central server with an amount between a bid price of the gastronomical item and a particular payout price thereof when the bid price is at least a particular accept price corresponding to the particular payout price.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

permitting a retail establishment within the at least one of the residential location zip code and the daytime location zip code of the user to create a minimum reserve price of a gastronomical item associated therewith based on a discount percentage automatically applied to a retail price thereof, the minimum reserve price also being a first payout price of the gastronomical item;

permitting the retail establishment to create a limited special offering comprising at least one of the gastronomical item and other gastronomical items associated therewith;

increasing subsequent payout prices of the gastronomical item from the first payout price up to a constrained price associated therewith, the constrained price being one of below and equal to a threshold percentage of the retail price of the gastronomical item when the first payout price is at most the threshold percentage of the retail price, and the constrained price being equal to the retail price of the gastronomical item when the first payout price is within another threshold percentage value equal to a difference between 100 and the threshold percentage value;

increasing accept prices corresponding to the payout prices of the gastronomical item such that a rate of change of the accept prices as a function of a number of times the gastronomical item is sold is faster than a rate of change of the payout prices as the function of the number of times the gastronomical item is sold;

hiding each accept price and payout price from a view of the user of the bidding platform at a client device associated therewith such that the user is configured to bid for the gastronomical item with primarily the retail price of the gastronomical item as a guidance thereto; and

hiding a fixed fee request for an offer in the bidding platform presented to the user through the at least one central server when the particular accept price is above the fixed fee request for the offer.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising at least one of:

generating a user feed that publishes a winning bid of a particular user to other users within the bidding platform at least one of socially and geographically associated therewith;

generating a zip feed that publishes winning bids of various retail establishments within the zip feed to users who at least one of reside and work in the at least one of the residential location zip code and the daytime location zip code;

generating a retail establishment feed that publishes winning bids of a particular retail establishment to users at least one of socially and geographically associated therewith; and

permitting users of the bidding platform to subscribe to at least one of the user feed, the zip feed and the retail establishment feed such that updates associated therewith are accessible through a client device of each of the subscribed users.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising at least one of:

qualifying each of at least a threshold number of retail establishments in accordance with an agreement between the at least the threshold number of retail establishments and the gastronomic bidding service provider in which the at least the threshold number of retail establishments agree to permit the user and other users to receive corresponding gastronomical items thereof based on receipts generated through the at least one central server upon securitization of at least one of a winning bid consideration and a fixed fee purchase consideration of the user and the other users;

appending a delivery charge to the at least one of the winning bid consideration and the fixed fee purchase consideration when the user provides a physical address that is within a threshold distance from a location address of the retail establishment;

automatically publishing a message associated with a saving associated with the at least one of the winning bid consideration and the fixed fee purchase consideration of the user to a social networking page associated with the user following completion of the securitization thereof;

qualifying another retail establishment in an inactive location zip code when the another retail establishment lists gastronomical items to be marketed to users in a region around the inactive location zip code through the bidding platform; and

transforming the inactive location zip code to an active location zip code when there are at least a threshold number of retail establishments qualifying in the inactive location zip code.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

pre-purchasing, through the at least one central server, a set of gastronomical items from a preferred retail establishment; and

marketing, to a plurality of users, the set of gastronomical items through the bidding platform provided by the gastronomic bidding service provider.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing, through the at least one central server, a conditional purchase offer having an offer price of the user within the at least one of the residential location zip code and the daytime location zip code for a gastronomical item associated with a plurality of retail establishments therein;

processing, through the at least one central server, a payment identifier specifying payment information of the user, the payment identifier being associated with the conditional purchase offer;

transmitting the conditional purchase offer to the plurality of retail establishments within the at least one of the residential location zip code and the daytime location zip code;

receiving, at the at least one central server, an acceptance from a retail establishment within the at least one of the residential location zip code and the daytime location zip code, the acceptance being responsive to the conditional purchase offer by the user therein;

paying the retail establishment associated with the acceptance based on the payment identifier; and

selecting, when a plurality of retail establishments transmits acceptances to the at least one central server, one received acceptance therefrom to determine a selected retail establishment.