Method and system automatically to support multiple transaction types, and to display seller-specific transactions of various transaction types in an integrated, commingled listing

• US 8,428,996 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2001
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Grove, Steve, Yan, Steve, Aidun, Rashid, Singh, Premendra, Somani, Preeti, Cooney, Kevin, Rajesh, S. N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kyle, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chencinski, Siegfried E
• Application Number:
  US10/023,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20020188551A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,148 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/5, 705/44, 705 35- 40, 705/36.R
• US Class Current: 705/7.29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

This invention provides for a method of (or apparatus for) facilitating the display of items of multiple transaction types in a commingled listing. The display of items of multiple transaction types in a commingled listing may include items which are being offered by a specific Seller at a network based commerce facility.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a network-based transaction facility including a plurality of front-end servers coupled to at least one network and to at least one back-end server, the plurality of front-end servers operable to facilitate communications between the network-based transaction facility and at least one client machine coupled to the network;

the network-based transaction facility operable to receive a request from a client machine to view items that are offered for sale on the network-based transaction facility and to communicate the request through the plurality of front-end servers to the at least one back-end server,

the at least one back-end server operable to search a database maintained by the network-based transaction facility, wherein the network-based transaction facility includes a database engine server coupled to at least one engine server database including a user table, the engine server database includes an items table that is linked to the user table and that includes a sellers items table and a bidders items table, wherein the items table includes a number of fields for each of a plurality of records that describe an item offered for sale via the network-based transaction facility, wherein at least one of the number of fields includes a sale type field operable to record a type of item that indicates a price-setting process by which a price for the item relevant to the record associated with the item being offered for sale is established, the database including at least one item offered for sale using an auction-type price setting process and at least one item offered for sale using a fixed price setting process;

the at least one back-end server operable to generate a commingled list of items offered for sale based on the request and on data stored within the database, wherein the commingled list includes items being offered for sale by any combination of an auction-type price setting process and a fixed price setting process; and

wherein the commingled list includes items being offered for sale by any combination of an auction-type price setting process and a fixed price setting process, and wherein if the request includes a specified transaction type, the at least one back-end server is operable to filter the comingled list to include only items offered for sale that have a type of item in the sale type field for the item offered for sale that matches the specified transaction type,

the at least one back-end server operable to communicate the commingled list through the plurality of front-end servers and over the network to the client machine.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of front-end servers includes:

a page server operable to deliver web pages;

a picture server operable to dynamically deliver images to be displayed within web pages;

a listing server operable to facilitate category-based browsing of one or more items being offered for sale on the network-based transaction facility; and

a search server operable to receive search requests and facilitate keyword-based browsing of the one or more items being offered for sale on the network-based transaction facility.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one back-end server includes a search index server coupled to a search index server database.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one back-end server includes a credit card database server coupled to a credit card server database.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user table includes a respective record for each of a plurality of users of the network-based transaction facility.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of users is a seller, a buyer, or both a seller and a buyer within the network-based transaction facility.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein each link between the items table and the user table indicates whether a user listed in the user table is a seller or a buyer with respect to one or more items for which records are included within the items table.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of front-end serves act in combination as a display engine to facilitate the display of the at least one client machine of the commingled list of items generated by the network-based transaction facility.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the database includes items offered for sale in at least one seller'"'"'s virtual store that offers for sale both at least one item for sale using an auction-type price setting process and at least one item offered for sale using a fixed price setting process.

9. A method comprising:

storing in a database maintained by the network-based transaction facility a listing of a plurality of items being offered for sale by a seller in a virtual store of the seller, wherein the items offered for sale are associated with a plurality of transaction types including an auction price-setting process and a fixed price-setting process, wherein the database includes a database engine server coupled to at least one engine server database including an items table, the items table defining a plurality of fields for each of the plurality of item being offered for sale, including a sale type field for each given item being offered for sale, wherein the sale type field records the price setting process for each of the plurality of items being offered for sale;

accepting at the network-based transaction facility a first request from a client machine accessing the transaction facility over a network, the first request to retrieve a specific item offered for sale by the seller that meets search criteria provided with the first request;

searching the database to determine if any items being offered for sale by the seller meet the search criteria;

generating a commingled list of located items offered for sale by the seller that meet the search criteria;

communicating across the network to the client machine the generated commingled list for display at the client machine;

accepting at the network-based transaction facility a second request from the client machine, the second request to sort the commingled list by specific criteria, wherein the specific criteria includes a specified transaction type of the plurality of transaction types;

using the sales type field from the items table, looking up in the items table the specified transaction type to determine if any of the items from the commingled list meet the requirements for the specified transaction type by comparing the specified transaction type to the sales type field in the items table;

generating a sorted list, the sorted list sorted to include only items offered for sale by the seller that meet the specified transaction type included in the second request; and

communicating across the network to the client machine the sorted list for display at the client machine.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein

accepting the second search request includes the specified transaction type requesting to view only those items in the commingled list that are an auction items;

generating an auction items list of items from the commingled list, the auction items list including only auction items; and

displaying the auctions items list of items at the client machine.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of transaction types include items for sale using a hybrid auction/fixed price-setting.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein

accepting the second search includes a request from the buyer to view only those items from the commingled list that include a fixed price purchase option;

generate a fixed price list of items from the commingled list, the fixed price list including items that have a fixed price purchase option; and

display the fixed price list of items at the client machine.

13. The method of claim 9, further including

storing in the database a stores portion including a listing of stores available for buyer selection;

providing an interface at the client machine which allow the buyer to indicate a selection from the listing of stores; and

receiving from the client machine a selection including an indication of a selection from the listing of stores.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the selection includes a selection from a listing of stores provided according to a category;

and

providing an interface displaying a list of seller'"'"'s virtual stores based on the selected category.

15. The method of claim 14, further including:

receiving from the client machine a selection indicating a chosen one of seller'"'"'s virtual stores from the listing of stores.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein after receiving a selection indicating the chosen one of the seller'"'"'s virtual stores, performing a look-up operation on an items table within the database to obtain a title and details including a transaction type associated with each of one or more items available in the chosen one of the seller'"'"'s virtual stores.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a sequence of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method comprising:

storing in a database maintained by the network-based transaction facility a listing of a plurality of items being offered for sale by a seller in a virtual store of the seller, wherein the items offered for sale are associated with a plurality of transaction types including an auction price-setting process and a fixed price-setting process, wherein the database includes a database engine server coupled to at least one engine server database including an items table, the items table defining a plurality of fields for each of the plurality of item being offered for sale, including a sale type field for each given item being offered for sale, wherein the sale type field records the price setting process for each of the plurality of item being offered for sale;

accepting at the network-based transaction facility a first request from a client machine accessing the transaction facility over a network, the first request to retrieve a specific item offered for sale by the seller that meets search criteria provided with the first request;

searching the database to determine if any items being offered for sale by the seller meet the search criteria;

generating a commingled list of located items offered for sale by the seller that meet the search criteria;

communicating across the network to the client machine the generated commingled list for display at the client machine;

accepting at the network-based transaction facility a second request from the client machine, the second request to sort the commingled list by specific criteria, wherein the specific criteria includes a specified transaction type of the plurality of transaction types;

using the sales type field from the items table, looking up in the items table the specified transaction type to determine if any of the items from the commingled list meet the requirements for the specified transaction type by comparing the specified transaction type to the sales type field in the items table;

generating a sorted list, the sorted list sorted to include only items offered for sale by the seller that meet the specified transaction type included in the second request; and

communicating across the network to the client machine the sorted list for display at the client machine.