System and method for enhancing buyer and seller interaction during a group-buying sale

• US 8,676,664 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2011
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Fund 81 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Holding 79 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Van Horn, Tom, Woodford, Dale A., Halbert, Richard A., Wampler, Kevin Dean
• Primary Examiner(s): Misiaszek, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/227,734
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320362A1
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: 705 261- 272
• US Class Current: 705/26.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

A method and system are provided that enable buyers and sellers to communicate with each other and to negotiate the purchase terms of featured merchandise in a group-buying opportunity. Sellers and buyers may use various forms of on-line group-buying mechanisms in conjunction with the negotiation features of the invention. Buyers may send various inquiries to sellers regarding merchandise offered for sale through the online group-buying sale. Sellers may respond to buyer questions and queries, and in some instances, sellers may communicate instructions to the on-line group-buying mechanism to alter the course of an on-line group-buying sale in progress, e.g., a further reduction in price. The method and system further provides a mechanism for calculating a demand curve based on received buyer offers and applying the demand curve to an on-line group-buying sale.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to perform operations for an on-line group-buying sale, comprising:

providing communication support for a plurality of on-line group-buying sales in a negotiating room;

conducting a first on-line group-buying sale of a featured item in association with the negotiating room, wherein the featured item includes products and/or services;

providing a flash demand curve for the featured item using hypothetical offers received from the first on-line group-buying sale;

providing a sale demand curve associated with the flash demand curve; and

conducting a second on-line group-buying sale of the featured item using the sale demand curve.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, storing further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising:

conducting a third on-line group-buying sale in association with the negotiating room; and

providing another flash demand curve for the featured item using hypothetical offers received from the third on-line group-buying sale; and

wherein the sale demand curve is further associated with the another flash demand curve.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2, storing further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising:

modifying the featured item during the third on-line group-buying sale to include at least another product and/or service; and

receiving an identification of the products and/or services included in the featured item for the second on-line group-buying sale before conducting the second on-line group-buying sale.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, storing further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising:

providing another flash demand curve for the featured item associated with the second on-line group-buying sale;

initiating the second on-line group-buying sale before the first on-line group-buying sale; and

replacing the another flash demand curve with the sale demand curve.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, storing further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising:

providing at least one communication via the negotiation room; and

wherein the first on-line group-buying sale includes a second featured item.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, storing further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising:

storing the flash demand curve in a data repository.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the hypothetical offers received from the first on-line group-buying sale are irrevocable purchase offers.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the hypothetical offers received from the first on-line group-buying sale include revocable purchase offers.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, comprising further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising providing an a second hypothetical offer for another featured item, wherein the flash demand curve includes an indication of the second hypothetical offer.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the hypothetical offers comprise real-time offers.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, comprising further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising continuously updating the flash demand curve.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, comprising further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising updating the flash demand curve at predetermined time intervals.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the flash demand curve depicts a demand for the featured item among a group of prospective buyers within a predetermined time period.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, comprising further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising modifying a price of the featured item in the second on-line group-buying sale.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, comprising further executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform further operations comprising including an additional item with the featured item in the second on-line group-buying sale.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the sale demand curve comprises completed sales of the at least one of a revocable or irrevocable offer received from the first on-line group-buying sale.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising converting the hypothetical offers to at least one of a revocable or irrevocable offer.

7. A system for selling featured items, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory configured to communicate with the processor, the memory including instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

providing communication support for a plurality of on-line group-buying sales in a negotiating room;

conducting a first on-line group-buying sale of a featured item in association with the negotiating room, wherein the featured item includes products and/or services;

providing a flash demand curve for the featured item using hypothetical offers received from the first on-line group-buying sale;

providing a sale demand curve associated with the flash demand curve; and

conducting a second on-line group-buying sale of the featured item using the sale demand curve

a negotiating room stored on a computer readable medium and configured to conduct an on-line group-buying sale of featured items, wherein the negotiating room comprises a voting mechanism configured to calculate at least one flash demand curve for the featured items using offers; and

an on-line group-buying mechanism stored on a computer readable medium and configured to facilitate a sale of the featured items using a sale demand curve developed from the at least one flash demand curve.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the negotiating room further comprises:

a message receiver and transmitter configured to receive communications wherein at least some of the communications include the hypothetical offers for the featured items.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the on-line group-buying mechanism begins selling the featured items using an initial demand curve before the on-line group-buying sale in the negotiating room begins, the system further comprising:

a seller representative stored on a computer readable medium and configured to send an instruction to the on-line group-buying mechanism to replace the initial demand curve with the sale demand curve.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to execute data processing, comprising:

determining demand for a featured item during an on-line group-buying sale;

conducting a first on-line group-buying sale associated with a negotiating room;

providing at least one flash demand curve for the featured item using hypothetical offers received from the first on-line group-buying sale;

providing the at least one flash demand curve to create a sale demand curve for the featured item; and

initiating a second on-line group-buying sale of the featured item using the sale demand curve.