SYSTEMS AND METHODS WHEREIN A BUYER PURCHASES PRODUCTS IN A PLURALITY OF PRODUCT CATEGORIES

• US 20070022021A1
• Filed: 09/26/2006
• Published: 01/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Michiko, Mik, Magdalena, Sammon, Russell, Packes, John, WALKER, Jay
• Granted Patent: US 8,560,395 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0234 Rebates after completed purchase
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0617 Representative agent
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided wherein an indication of a plurality of product categories is received, each product category being associated with a plurality of products. For example, the indication of the plurality of product categories may be received from a buyer. Buyer offer information, including an indication of an offer amount associated with the plurality of product categories, is also received. A subset of the plurality of products is selected for each of the product categories, and an indication of the selected products is provided. The buyer'"'"'s offer may then be evaluated. If the buyer'"'"'s offer is accepted, the selected products may be provided to the buyer in exchange for payment of the offer amount.

Claims

1-66. -66. (canceled)

67. A method, comprising:

determining an indication of a plurality of product categories, each product category being associated with a plurality of products;

receiving buyer offer information from a buyer, the buyer offer information including an indication of an offer amount that the buyer is willing to pay for a set of products from the plurality of product categories, wherein no buyer preference is indicated among the plurality of products in each of the plurality of categories;

determining, by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, a subsidy amount that is applicable to the offer amount; and

selecting, for the buyer and by the controller, the set of products from the plurality of product categories, wherein the selecting is based at least in part on the subsidy amount.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the subsidy amount is associated with at least one product from the selected set of products from the plurality of product categories.

69. The method of claim 67, wherein the subsidy amount is associated with at least one product of the plurality of products for each of the product categories that is not a member of the selected set of products from the plurality of product categories.

70. The method of claim 67, wherein the subsidy amount is associated with a manufacturer of at least one product from the selected set of products from the plurality of product categories.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the manufacturer provides payment of the subsidy amount on a product-by-product basis.

72. The method of claim 70, wherein the manufacturer provides payment of the subsidy amount based on at least one of:

(i) a predetermined number of products being sold, (ii) a predetermined percentage of products being sold, and (iii) a combination of products being sold.

73. The method of claim 67, wherein the subsidy amount is associated with at least one of:

(i) the buyer, (ii) the controller, and (iii) a merchant.

74. The method of claim 67, wherein the subsidy amount is associated with one or more of:

(i) a product identifier, (ii) a product category, (iii) a product manufacturer, (iv) a product brand, (v) a product description, (vi) a product quantity, (vii) a product class, (viii) at least one product feature, (ix) an accessory associated with the product, (x) an age associated with the product, (xi) a product condition, (xii) a product preference, (xiii) an offer period, (xiv) a product cost, (xv) a product retail price, (xvi) the offer amount, (xvii) delivery information, and (xviii) payment information.

75. The method of claim 67, further comprising:

providing an indication of the selected set of products from the plurality of product categories.

76. The method of claim 67, further comprising:

providing an indication of the subsidy amount.

77. The method of claim 67, wherein the determining of the indication of the plurality of product categories comprises:

receiving the indication of the plurality of product categories from the buyer.

78. The method of claim 77, wherein the receiving of the indication of the plurality of product categories comprises:

receiving the indication of the plurality of product categories via at least one of;

(i) a communication network, (ii) the Internet, (iii) a Web site, (iv) a telephone network, (v) a wireless network, and (vi) a proprietary network.

79. The method of claim 77, wherein the receiving the indication of the plurality of product categories comprises:

receiving the indication of the plurality of product categories from at least one of;

(i) a buyer device, (ii) a personal computer, (iii) a personal digital assistant, (iv) a telephone, (v) a controller, (vi) a merchant device, (vii) a kiosk, (viii) an interactive voice response unit, (ix) an operator, (x) a point of sale terminal, and (xi) an automated teller machine device.

80. The method of claim 67, wherein each product category comprises a product description and each product comprises a product brand associated with the product description.

81. The method of claim 67, wherein each product category comprises an indication of a plurality of acceptable products.

82. The method of claim 67, wherein the determining of the indication of the plurality of product categories comprises retrieving the indication of the plurality of product categories from a database.

83. The method of claim 67, wherein both of the determining of the indication of the plurality of product categories and the receiving of the buyer offer information are conducted with respect to a single transaction.

84. The method of claim 67, wherein the receiving of the buyer offer information comprises:

receiving the buyer offer information via at least one of;

(i) a communication network, (ii) the Internet, (iii) a Web site, (iv) a telephone network, (v) a wireless network, and (vi) a proprietary network.

85. The method of claim 67, wherein said receiving the buyer offer information comprises:

receiving the buyer offer information from at least one of;

(i) a buyer device, (ii) a personal computer, (iii) a personal digital assistant, (iv) a telephone, (v) a controller, (vi) a merchant device, (vii) a kiosk, (viii) an interactive voice response unit, (ix) an operator, (x) a point of sale terminal, and (xi) an automated teller machine device.

86. The method of claim 67, wherein the buyer offer information comprises a binding offer.

87. The method of claim 67, wherein the indication of the offer amount comprises an indication of a buyer-defined offer amount.

88. The method of claim 67, wherein the indication of the offer amount comprises an indication of a plurality of offer amounts, each offer amount being associated with one of the plurality of product categories.

89. The method of claim 67, wherein the indication of the offer amount comprises an indication of a selection, by the buyer, of a suggested offer amount from a list of a plurality of suggested offer amounts.

90. The method of claim 67, wherein the selecting of at least one of the selected products is further based at least in part on one or more of:

(i) a transaction history associated with the buyer, (ii) an address associated with the buyer, (iii) demographic information associated with the buyer, (iv) psychographic information associated with the buyer, (v) a credit rating associated with the buyer, and (vi) another offer associated with the buyer.

91. The method of claim 67, further comprising:

evaluating the buyer offer information based at least in part on the offer amount.

92. The method of claim 91, wherein the evaluating is further based at least in part on one or more of:

(i) a transaction history associated with the buyer, (ii) an address associated with the buyer, (iii) demographic information associated with the buyer, (iv) psychographic information associated with the buyer, (v) a credit rating associated with the buyer, (vi) another offer associated with the buyer, and (vii) an indication of a plurality of merchants associated with the buyer.

93. The method of claim 91, wherein the evaluating comprises:

calculating a probability that an offer associated with the buyer offer information will be accepted based at least in part on one or more of;

(i) the offer amount, and (ii) at least one minimum acceptable price associated with the selected products.

94. The method of claim 91, wherein the evaluating is further based at least in part on at least one minimum acceptable price associated with the selected set of products from the plurality of product categories.

95. The method of claim 94, wherein the minimum acceptable price is based at least in part on one or more of:

(i) a product cost, and (ii) a product retail price.

96. The method of claim 94, wherein the evaluating further comprises:

calculating a total minimum acceptable price based on the sum of each minimum acceptable price associated with each of the products from the selected set of products from the plurality of product categories; and

comparing the total minimum acceptable price to the offer amount.

97. The method of claim 91, further comprising:

applying a penalty to the buyer based on the evaluation.

98. The method of claim 91, wherein the evaluating is further based on the subsidy amount.

99. The method of claim 67, wherein the determining of the subsidy amount is based at least in part on the plurality of product categories.

100. The method of claim 67, wherein the determining of the subsidy amount comprises:

selecting the subsidy amount from a plurality of potential subsidy amounts.

101. The method of claim 67, wherein at least one of the plurality of product categories is defined by the buyer.

102. A controller operated by an entity other than a buyer, comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device coupled to the processor and storing instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to;

determine an indication of a plurality of product categories, each product category being associated with a plurality of products;

receive buyer offer information from the buyer, the buyer offer information including an indication of an offer amount that the buyer is willing to pay for a set of products from the plurality of product categories, wherein no buyer preference is indicated among the plurality of products in each of the plurality of categories;

determine a subsidy amount that is applicable to the offer amount; and

select, for the buyer, the set of products from the plurality of product categories, wherein the selecting is based at least in part on the subsidy amount.

103. A medium storing instructions adapted to be executed by a processor to perform a method for facilitating a transaction, said method comprising:

determine an indication of a plurality of product categories, each product category being associated with a plurality of products;

receive buyer offer information from a buyer, the buyer offer information including an indication of an offer amount that the buyer is willing to pay for a set of products from the plurality of product categories, wherein no buyer preference is indicated among the plurality of products in each of the plurality of categories;

determine, by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, a subsidy amount that is applicable to the offer amount; and

select, for the buyer and by the controller, the set of products from the plurality of product categories, wherein the selecting is based at least in part on the subsidy amount.

104. A method, comprising:

determining an indication of a first product category comprising a first plurality of products;

determining an indication of a second product category comprising a second plurality of products;

providing a listing of the first and second plurality of products for display to a buyer;

determining an offer price that the buyer is willing to pay for first and second subsets of products from the listing of each of the first and second plurality of products, respectively, wherein the first and second subsets of products are not selected by the buyer;

selecting, after the determining of the offer price and by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, the first and second subsets of products, wherein the selecting is based at least in part on a subsidy amount applicable to the offer price; and

providing an indication of the controller-selected first and second subsets of products.

105. A method, comprising:

determining an indication of a plurality of product categories, wherein each of the plurality of product categories comprises at least two products;

receiving, from a buyer, an indication of an offer price that the buyer is willing to pay for either of the at least two products from each of the plurality of product categories, wherein no buyer preference is indicated between the at least two products from each of the plurality of product categories;

selecting, for the buyer, by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, one of the at least two products from each of the plurality of product categories, wherein the selecting is based at least in part on a subsidy amount applicable to the offer price; and

providing an indication of the selected products.

106. A method, comprising:

determining an indication of a first product that a buyer is willing to buy;

determining an indication of a product category comprising a plurality of products;

providing a listing of the first product and the plurality of products for display to the buyer;

determining an offer price that the buyer is willing to pay for the first product and a second product selected from the listing of the plurality of products, wherein the second product is not selected by the buyer;

selecting, after the determining of the offer price and by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, the second product; and

providing an indication of the controller-selected second product.

107. The method of claim 106, wherein the selecting is based at least in part on the offer price.

108. The method of claim 106, wherein the selecting is based at least in part on a subsidy amount applicable to the offer price.

109. The method of claim 106, further comprising:

receiving, from the buyer, an indication of a definition of the second plurality of products.

110. The method of claim 109, wherein the indication of the definition of the plurality of products comprises an indication that the buyer has selected the plurality of products to define the product category.

111. The method of claim 106, wherein the providing further comprises providing a listing of another plurality of products, wherein the buyer is allowed to choose between the plurality of products and the other plurality of products to define the product category, and wherein the determining of the indication of the product category comprising determining a selection, buy the buyer, of the plurality of products.

112. A controller operated by an entity other than a buyer, comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device coupled to the processor and storing instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to;

determine an indication of a first product that the buyer is willing to buy;

determine an indication of a product category comprising a plurality of products;

provide a listing of the first product and the plurality of products for display to the buyer;

determine an offer price that the buyer is willing to pay for the first product and a second product selected from the listing of the plurality of products, wherein the second product is not selected by the buyer;

select, after the determining of the offer price, the second product; and

provide an indication of the controller-selected second product.

113. A medium storing instructions adapted to be executed by a processor to perform a method for facilitating a transaction, said method comprising:

determine an indication of a first product that the buyer is willing to buy;

determine an indication of a product category comprising a plurality of products;

provide a listing of the first product and the plurality of products for display to the buyer;

determine an offer price that the buyer is willing to pay for the first product and a second product selected from the listing of the plurality of products, wherein the second product is not selected by the buyer;

select, after the determining of the offer price and by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, the second product; and

provide an indication of the controller-selected second product.

114. A method, comprising:

determining an indication of a plurality of product categories, each product category being associated with a plurality of products;

receiving buyer offer information from a buyer, the buyer offer information including an indication of an offer amount that the buyer is willing to pay for a set of products selected from the plurality of product categories, wherein no buyer preference is indicated among the plurality of products in each of the plurality of categories; and

selecting, for the buyer and by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, the set of products from the plurality of product categories.

115. A method, comprising:

determining an indication of a first product category comprising a first plurality of products;

determining an indication of a second product category comprising a second plurality of products;

providing a listing of the first and second plurality of products for display to a buyer;

determining an offer price that the buyer is willing to pay for first and second subsets of products from the listing of each of the first and second plurality of products, respectively, wherein the first and second subsets of products are not selected by the buyer;

selecting, after the determining of the offer price and by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, the first and second subsets of products; and

providing an indication of the controller-selected first and second subsets of products.

116. A method, comprising:

determining an indication of a plurality of product categories, wherein each of the plurality of product categories comprises at least two products;

receiving, from a buyer, an indication of an offer price that the buyer is willing to pay for either of the at least two products from each of the plurality of product categories, wherein no buyer preference is indicated between the at least two products from each of the plurality of product categories;

selecting, for the buyer and by a controller operated by an entity other than the buyer, one of the at least two products from each of the plurality of product categories; and

providing an indication of the selected products.

117. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a customer, an indication that the customer is willing to pay an amount for an unspecified (i) plane ticket to a destination, (ii) hotel stay at the destination, and (iii) rental car for use at the destination;

selecting, on behalf of the customer, (i) a specific plane flight to the destination, (ii) a specific hotel at the destination, and (iii) a specific rental car for use at the destination;

billing the amount to an account associated with the customer; and

revealing, by providing an indication to the customer, the selected (i) plane flight, (ii) hotel, and (iii) rental car.