WO2000043933A9 - System and method for on-line auctioning/buying/selling goods, services and information - Google Patents
System and method for on-line auctioning/buying/selling goods, services and informationInfo
- Publication number
- WO2000043933A9 WO2000043933A9 PCT/US2000/001852 US0001852W WO0043933A9 WO 2000043933 A9 WO2000043933 A9 WO 2000043933A9 US 0001852 W US0001852 W US 0001852W WO 0043933 A9 WO0043933 A9 WO 0043933A9
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- seller
- buyer
- items
- sponsor
- item
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to "on-line" commerce, and particularly to methods for buying, selling and/or auctioning and exchanging goods, services and information over the World Wide Web/Internet.
- this problem has been solved by offering auctions on a city by city basis, at WWW sites such as cityauction.com, which enables auctions, or generally, the selling of goods relatively locally within a pre-determined geographic area, e.g., the Philadelphia area.
- a pre-determined geographic area e.g., the Philadelphia area.
- not one on-line auction system or on-line publisher of classified ads on a web site enables purchasers to specify a desired geographic limitation within which they would be willing to purchase items. That is, not one on-line auction system or on-line publisher of classified ads on a web site will automatically initiate an item search based on the individual buyer's desired geographic limitation entered, and presents to the prospective buyer the results of such a search.
- current systems may enable buyers or sellers to limit their sales/purchases geographically in a pre-determined sense, i.e., a business enters their business address information once and it is stored, such that if a business wanted to sell from a temporary or new location, they would (probably manually) have to update their information.
- e-commerce is currently widely conducted via the Internet, there is currently not a single web site that is offering the ability to actually transact business over the net based on a user's proximity to one another.
- on-line auctions e.g., through a web-browser, or browsing through on-line "classified” ad sites, to dictate a desired geographical distance for items desired to be purchased and in which the buyer is willing to travel to or willing to pay the shipping costs (or seller is willing to pay for or provide) from the purchased item's location, i.e., local to the buyer based on their location and a radius of their choosing, and, moreover, one that will search out items based on the buyer's (or seller's) geographical limitations as well as other item parameters, e.g., type, age, color of item, etc.
- item parameters e.g., type, age, color of item, etc.
- a system and method for facilitating the exchange of goods and services, on-line, between entities that are within a certain distance as specified by the user and, even more generally, the ability to locate people/items and exchange information, goods, or services with others based on the location of the two (or more) parties, and, the ability to communicate with other entities based on the location of the two (or more) parties.
- this is based on a one-to-one relationship between each of the item(s) being sold and the buyer, even though the web-site providing the auction may display general ads and general ads that are local to the user.
- the system constantly generates new relationships since it is always putting new people together based on items for sale and location.
- the distance between the buyer and seller is variable and can be set by the user at the time they are searching to buy or sell their item. The distance is based on the object for sale or service or information.
- a shipping rate may be applied to any distance calculation rendered according to the invention in order to provide an added shipping/delivery price information to the item being auctioned/offered, thus facilitating a buyer's purchasing decision, and/or the seller's item asking price.
- This also provides additional functionality not currently offered in existing on- line auctions and classified ads.
- other new types of relationships are created between trading partners.
- the methodology of the invention may be implemented by currently existing software that may be easily and readily used in conjunction with currently existing auction and/or classified ad software running on WWW/Internet (or intranet) servers that provide web sites to enable buyers to buy used items for example, as in an auction or classified ad.
- the system and method makes use of geographiccoding, i.e., the system for determining latitude and longitude of locations based on street addresses, and the "Great Circle Distance” or "Flat Earth” calculation which provides for the distance calculation between any two locations on the planet earth. It is understood that other methods of calculating distance may be used.
- the system further enables on the fly interaction between the buyer and the seller so that items desired to be purchased may be located by incrementing radius distances by a particular granularity, e.g., one mile, and initiating new searches for each iteration.
- This in conjunction with the pricing and/or shipping information allows discovery of the cheapest item, which may actually be located further away, than closer, more expensive, items.
- a capability is provided that would allow either an auction or classified ad site on the Internet to provide local auctions or local classified ads, i.e., local to the individual based on their location and a radius of their choosing.
- This will allow for the creation of a national (or world wide) web site, that operates locally which capability is not currently offered anywhere on the Internet. For international address locations, it is assumed that appropriate geographical information, i.e., street address/latitude/longitude correlation is available.
- the method of finding one another geographically enables the creation of stronger bonds amongst people in a given area, thus, fostering economic growth in a region. Transactions are now encouraged and enabled by the system that formerly would not have occurred because people could not "find one another", or because there was not enough trust to complete the transaction. Thus, when people meet and exchange cash for objects, there is less likelihood of one party being "ripped off, as has been happening with greater frequency at current on-line auctioning sites.
- the system may be used to automatically forward information such as local news and scheduled future events to Users within a distance and/or date/time specified by the user.
- Figure 1(a) generally depicts the environment within which the system and method of the invention operates
- Figure 1(b) generally depicts a web site home page enabling the functionality of the present invention
- Figure 2(a) is a flow chart depicting the methodology enabling a buyer to specify a geographical purchase limitation according to the invention
- Figure 2(b) is a flow chart depicting the methodology enabling a seller to specify a geographical limitation for selling items according to the invention
- Figures 3(a)-3(c) is a flow chart depicting the item search methodology for sales/auctions according to the principles of the invention
- Figure 4(a) illustrates an example Web-enabled GUI from the buyer's perspective used for participating in the on-line auction system of the invention and Figure 4(b) illustrates display enabling specification of a range of distances;
- Figures 5(a) and 5(b) are flow charts depicting the employment of sponsors and recruiters in facilitating system growth according to the principles of the invention
- Figure 6(a)-6(d) depict a database organized in accordance with the principles of the invention
- Figure 7 illustrates use of the inventive system for generating and forwarding to users information including locations and times of future (or past) events/occurrences pertaining to the User's interests, within a desired geographic radius;
- Figure 8 illustrates an example web page display depicting the ability of the system to perform a search based on both distance and time
- Figure 9 depicts a user registration form to be completed by a user participating in said system
- Figures 10(a) and 10(b) illustrate exemplary screen displayed for a user selling an item such as an automobile ( Figure 10(a)) and the exemplary screen displayed for a user searching an item such as an automobile ( Figure 10(b));
- Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary user screen providing a drop down menu for selecting a specific date or time interval of a particular item's availability.
- Figure 1(a) generally depicts the environment 10 within which the system and method of the invention operates.
- a plurality of prospective Buyers or Sellers and/or exchangers of goods, services or information (“Users") 12a, 12b,...,12n employ PCs, workstations, or other devices having Internet/Web- based browsing capability (e.g., via commercially available browsers such as Netscape 5.0, Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater, and the like).
- Users may enter into web sites over the Internet 15 which include one or more web-servers 20 including, for example, an SQL server and Windows NT, running the on-line auction software or an on-line classified advertisement service either commercially available or developed in-house.
- the system includes one or more databases 18a- 18c for storing all of the information necessary to run the system of the invention, and provides a real-time search engine for tracking and retrieving the information.
- the system of the invention is embodied as software, e.g., written in ColdFusion (http://www.allaire.com) , and is easily integrated into current on-line auction software [e.g., such as provided by Opensight- Opensite Technologies Inc. P.O. Box 12542, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 (Opensite.com)], classified ad software or, other e-commerce software that provides Web/Internet based auction, sales or other "e-commerce" functionality.
- current on-line auction software e.g., such as provided by Opensight- Opensite Technologies Inc. P.O. Box 12542, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 (Opensite.com)
- classified ad software or, other e-commerce software that provides Web/Internet based auction, sales or other "e-commerce” functionality.
- a typical auction/classified ad system affords "world-wide” availability.
- the system of the invention provides proximity calculations, e.g., at a granularity of miles, for facilitating the transacting (selling/purchasing) of goods and services at a "local level.”
- the "localness" afforded by the system may be exploited for facilitating the creation and fostering the growth of direct sales relationships between Users, i.e., Sellers and Buyers of goods.
- the system of the invention maintains and tracks these direct sales relationships.
- Figure 1(b) depicts a web based communication, e.g., a web page 50, offered to Users of the system to enable entry into a Classified Advertisement service incorporating functionality according to the invention.
- the web page 50 includes links 55 enabling User's to search out products or services in a variety of general categories.
- a search bar 70 is provided for enabling the search functionality within a specified radius.
- the search bar 70 includes a search item entry field 58 enabling a user to enter a search term, and includes a drop-down menu 80 enabling a user to enter a specified search radius, e.g., in units of miles, and a drop-down menu 85 enabling drill-down of specific categories for a selected general category 55.
- Users such as sellers are able to place ads within the system by selecting a link 60 or, are additionally able to receive a list of Sponsors by selecting a link 65.
- Sponsors are people that, for a small commission, provide services that may be beneficial to sellers desiring to participate or enter in the system for advertising goods/services.
- FIG. 2(a) is a flow chart depicting the process according to one aspect of the invention.
- a Buyer or Bidder, in the case of an auction system
- an area radii
- a Buyer has dialed into or otherwise accessed the Internet, and have pointed their browser to a URL for access to an on-line auction or the on-line classified advertisement system such as shown in Figure 1(b).
- a Seller selling items may have previously registered on the system by specifying their address and the type of goods/services for sale.
- the steps according to this aspect of the invention include:
- Buyer enters item(s) to be purchased and search criteria, i.e., category, which may include a detailed description of the item (step 102) and a price which the Buyer (or Bidder) is willing to pay. Then, a decision is made as to whether Buyer is to purchase item from their own location (step 104). It is understood that the Buyer and Seller may buy or sell from a variety of locations of their choice.
- search criteria i.e., category, which may include a detailed description of the item (step 102) and a price which the Buyer (or Bidder) is willing to pay.
- a decision is made as to whether Buyer is to purchase item from their own location (step 104). It is understood that the Buyer and Seller may buy or sell from a variety of locations of their choice.
- the process obtains the street address of the buyer's purchasing location (step 108), performs a verification if required (for example, via techniques including, but not limited to: credit card address verification, mail/e-mail verification, credit reports, driver license verification, a caller-id system that matches the dial in phone number (e.g., the modem line) to available databases in order to match the address), and, determines the seller's latitude/longitude, for example, by "geographiccoding" (step 112). Geographiccoding is the preferred process where the address is located in a database and a corresponding latitude/longitude are determined. This geographiccoding process is well known and has been done by the U.S.
- DBF database file format
- Bamberg-Handley [3377 Forsyth Road, Winter Park FL 32792] offers a database that allows address-to-latitude/longitude conversions in a DBF file format, with software for searching through the addresses.
- Figure 1(a) depicts the provision of a database 18a for providing all geographiccoding system information for determining distances. It is understood that other methods may be used either alone or in combination with geographiccoding to find distance approximations. For example, other approximations for geocodes could be obtained by users who possess a local landmark's latitude/longitude designation, or that of a nearby street corner intersection. Alternately, users may enter their current location's latitude/longitude designation if they know it.
- step 106 if the Buyer does specify to purchase an item from their own location, a decision is made as to whether Buyer's latitude/longitude location is already known. If the Buyer's latitude/longitude location is not known, the process determines the Buyer's latitude/longitude by "geographiccoding" or any of the above-described techniques (step 110). Once the system has located the appropriate latitude/longitude it will be put it in the record that contains the buyers information, so that unless modified, the buyer's latitude/longitude will always be known. A decision is then made as to whether
- the Buyer wishes to specify a distance within which item is to be purchased (step 115). If the Buyer specifies a distance, the Buyer enters onto the system the radius (or diameter, or square miles, or other unit of distance) of the number of miles they would like the search to be conducted (regions other than circles may be determined, e.g., a region outside of a particular circle, or within a circular band region) and a variable representing the specified radius distance is set (step 118). If the Buyer does not specify a distance, a flag is set indicating that there is no radius distance limitation for this Buyer (step 120).
- the system software executes a search to meet the buyer's criteria including item to be purchased, desired price bid, and distance which is represented by the distance variable (step 150).
- additional parameters such as type of object they wish to buy, the item condition, e.g., new, used, etc. or type of item such as age, etc. may be added so that the search could be done all at once for the appropriate items.
- the search engine implemented by the system may include natural language parsers that try to understand the meaning of all words, and also learn from the placement of words in the entry field.
- a database search engine that functions in the manner disclosed in commonly-owned, co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Serial No.
- Figure 1 (a) depicts the provision of a database 18c used to store and track all information pertaining to Users of the system, i.e., Buyer/Seller information.
- FIG 4(a) illustrates an example GUI 21 downloaded to a Buyer web browser at his/her PC or workstation.
- typical auction software provides the user web browser with a web page including the following entry fields: an entry field (22) enabling entry of a particular item a Buyer wishes to purchase; and entry fields specifying maximum, minimum, or range of prices
- entry fields 26a, 26b and autobid features which enable entry of minimum (31a) and maximum (3 lb) amounts that a buyer is willing to have the system automatically bid for a particular product. It should be understood that other entry fields may be provided to enable entry of other parameters relating to the item(s) desired. Moreover, other information will appear on this screen such as a shipping option (i.e., does the Buyer want additional information as to terms and availability of product shipment), an initial offering price of the auctioned product, and the option of seeing a picture of any products that are found as a result of searching.
- the web page downloaded to the browser's web page further includes an entry field (24) enabling entry of the preferred radius value (geographic distance in any units, e.g., miles, kilometers, etc.) which is used by the auction software search engine to limit the search for the desired item to within a radius surrounding the Buyer's purchasing location (the User may in addition or, alternately specify a minimum range, e.g., greater than 30 miles, or, a range, e.g., between 30 and 40 miles, as enabled by the drop down menu columns provided in the GUI display illustrated in Figure 4(b)).
- a Seller may also dictate the geographical bounds within which the seller is to sell items (or provide services).
- a Seller may only be willing to offer a service or sell a product within a certain distance radius, e.g., in accordance with a particular state/local licensing regulation (for example, "within 20 miles and within the state of PA"), or, specify a geographic distance in which they are willing to pay for shipping.
- Figure 2(b) is a flow chart depicting the methodology of the invention for the case where the Seller enters the system offering products/services and would like to specify an area (radii) within which they would like to sell items or provide a service. It is understood that a Seller selling items may but are not required to pre-register on the system by specifying their address and other pertinent information which is stored in database 18c ( Figure 1(a)).
- the steps according to this aspect of the invention include:
- step 124 a decision is made as to whether Seller is to sell item from their own location. If the Seller does not sell an item from their own location, the process obtains the street address of the location where the item is to be sold (step 128) and determines the item's latitude/longitude, for example, by "geographiccoding.” (step 132). The latitude and longitude determined by the geographiccoding is associated with the record of the item to be sold, (step 135). If, at step 124, the Seller is able to sell an item from their own location, then a decision is made as to whether Seller's latitude/longitude location is already known (step 126).
- step 130 determines the seller's latitude/longitude, e.g., by "geographiccoding.” It should be understood that at steps 128 and 130 an optional address verification may be performed if required, for example, in accordance with the herein mentioned techniques. It is understood that if an address verification is performed, an indication may be stored with
- Buyer's/Seller's record Once the system has located the appropriate latitude/longitude it will be put it in the record that contains the seller information, so that unless modified, the seller's latitude/longitude will always be known. The latitude and longitude determined by the geographiccoding is then associated with the record of the item to be sold, (step 135). In the system, in a matter of seconds, the database is updated with any new information from the seller, such that if a seller has a sale item, it is immediately available for sale. Not only do current systems not allow the display of the item, the basic information they provide is delayed, which would defeat the purpose of last minute sales, or items that must be sold quickly.
- Figure 1(a) depicts the provision of a database 18b used to store and track all information pertaining to goods/service offered for auction or sale including any location and distance range information associated therewith.
- Figures 3(a)-3(c) illustrate the search procedure conducted by the auction/classified ad software implementing the methodology of the invention. It is assumed that the bidder/Buyer have previously entered their address, and all vital information such as the buyers location, distance etc. are stored in the database 18c ( Figure 1(a)). Further, the 18c maintains records of Sellers, their goods and services for sale/auction, and the address locations of the items for sale/auction.
- the search conducted by the system is performed to meet the buyer's criteria including item to be purchased, desired price (bid), and distance which is represented by the distance variable ( Figure 2(a)).
- the search conducted by the Buyer/Bidder includes obtaining the latitude and longitude location of the item(s) to be purchased are determined (step 155). Then, a distance is calculated between the item's location (taking into account of whether the item to be purchased is located at the Seller or, at a location different from the Seller) and the Buyer's purchasing location (step 160), e.g., by executing a well-known "Great Distance", "Flat Earth", or other like distance calculation between the two. Then, a determination is made as to whether the calculated distance is within the specified radius (step 165). For example, if the
- Buyer/Bidder specifies a 20 mile radius, then the software will use the distance variable (Buyer's radius distance) and compare it against the distance calculated at step 160. If, at step 165, it is determined that the calculated distance is outside the specified radius, then the item will not be displayed at the Buyer's GUI (step 168). If it is determined that the calculated distance is within the specified radius, then the process continues by making a determination as to whether the Seller has specified selling distance limitation (step 170). If the Seller has specified selling distance limitation (stored in the database record), then a determination is made as to whether the calculated distance (step 165) is within the Seller's distance range (step 175).
- step 165) If the calculated distance (step 165) is not within the Seller's distance range, then the item will not be displayed at the Buyer's GUI (step 180). If, at step 170, the seller has not specified distance limitation, or, at step 175 the calculated distance is within the Seller's distance range, then the item(s) will be available for bidding/purchase and are displayed at the Buyer's /bidder's GUI (step 190).
- the auction software may be modified to present to the user an additional display field 35 indicating the found item's distance from the Buyer's purchasing location for each item found from the database search (if within the specified distance radius) thus facilitating the Buyer's decision to continue bidding or make the purchase, as the case may be.
- a buyer may actually pay for their items on-line (i.e., with an electronic check or credit card), so that the system is e-commerce enabling for local transactions. That is, a Seller may obtain a merchant account for charging credit cards and checks on line.
- a decision may be made as to whether the buyer is to be immediately billed (step 191). If the buyer is to be billed, then a process is initiated to accept credit card payment, for example, and notify Seller that they payment funds have been transferred for the item purchased (step 193). Otherwise, the buyer will notify the seller themselves, for example if another billing/payment scheme is to be arranged
- the DueSeller table 695 in the database ( Figure 6) maintains data of much is due each seller at any given time. As the sellers are paid, negative amounts in the amount field are entered. It is understood that by allowing users to enter credit card information (or other payment systems) a User can pre-purchase items at seller locations in their neighborhood and pick them up or have them delivered. Additionally the items may be ordered by the Seller if the Seller does not have them in stock. Current systems that are based on localness do not provide this service because they do not provide any detail of what is being sold at the establishments. Without this detail and without offering these payment systems current systems do not provide any practical e-commerce capability. A user can simply call or visit their local shop based on current systems. Additionally, the store may be contacted and the items can be packaged and waiting for the Buyer.
- the Buyer's purchasing decision may also be influenced by the total cost of the item(s) purchased including any cost involved in shipping, transport and delivery of the purchased item(s).
- FIG 3(b) there is depicted an optional step of determining whether the Buyer wants current shipping information (step 182) for the item(s) prior to a potential purchase.
- the Buyer does not request shipping arrangements to be made, then the item(s) will be available for bidding/purchase, and displayed via the Buyer's/bidder's GUI (step 190) without this additional information.
- step 182 if the buyer has indicated a desire for shipping information prior to bidding/purchase then a determination is made as to whether Buyer wants to enter a shipping cost of his own or that of which he is aware (step 184).
- the Buyer enters a shipping rate/cost
- the buyer enters the rate (e.g., or an average shipping rate of available shippers) (step 185) and that amount is multiplied by the distance for each search result item found (step 187).
- a SET RATE variable may be set and the calculated result is added to the column of the display for each item (as is an additional column which sums the price and the cost of shipping). If, at step 184, it is determined that the Buyer has not entered a shipping rate, then for each record of item that is found as a result of the distance calculations, a search is then performed for shippers who may provide this service in this region (step 186).
- This search may include a real-time database table lookup in a database (not shown) maintained for storing currently available shipping information.
- Shipping services information maintained by the system would be stored in an Shipping_Services table 678 in the database of Figure 6 and include such variables as: an 'Itemid' variable which is the Item ID (everything on the system has an item id even though services such as shipping are not really items).
- Each available time block for each shipper gets a unique itemid; 'prid' variable which is the Product ID; a 'seqnumber' variable which represents a sequencing number used in case more than one record is needed for shipping.
- a 'price' variable indicating the price per mile (or unit) if known upfront
- a 'title' variable which represents the title of the ad (used for keyword search, which may be further indexed). This is where a user would pick the keywords the person shipping the object will search for
- 'start' variable representing a starting date/time (multiple records for a single shipper will be maintained if they are available over multiple periods of time).
- a start time correlates with the beginning point of the shipping; an 'ending' variable representing the ending date/time of the particular availability, (an end time correlates with the ending time of any shipment engaged even though they may have many shipments between the start and ending time); a 'picturefile' representing the name of the picture file that is stored on the System server, for example, if they have included a picture of their truck; a 'picturefileclient' representing the name of the picture file that the client used (in case they want to edit/change their picture); a 'fulldescription' variable representing an entry field for any comments the user may want to add; and, a 'Mileageforpickup' variable representing an amount of miles from their current location that the shipper is willing to travel to pick the item up; a 'Mileagetravel' variable representing the amount of mileage they are willing to travel for the delivery.
- the table lookup is performed to determine each available shipper's cost (e.g., dollars/cents per mile) for multiplication by the number of miles.
- the result is then added as a separate field to the results display ( Figure 4(a)) to indicate the item's cost, the shipping cost, and the addition of the two (step 188).
- the user may modify the display to sort on the column of their choice (i.e. total cost of object).
- the system enables a User to enter a preferred shipping criteria, for example, a preferred shipping time, a cheapest shipper, or most reputable shipper.
- the system will automatically choose those shipper(s) that match the user's shipping criteria (i.e., no more than 1 negative complaint, the cheapest shipper, etc.).
- the "quality" of the shippers e.g., measured in terms of complaints or other rating system
- This functionality is available in the Opensite software and is easily created using ColdFusion. From the foregoing, it is understood that it is advantageous for a buyer/seller to expand their range to be very large and, enable the system (Buyer) to sort based on the total cost of the item (cost of the item + shipping cost) because the cheapest overall cost may be farther away than the originally specified radius. Therefor, the system enables the user to make a more informed decision than currently available systems.
- the actual land transportation driving distance between each item and the buyer may be calculated in accordance with known algorithms, and a more exact estimate of the shipping cost may be made.
- the system would, for each item that is found, calculate the distance to travel the specific streets between the buyer and seller. It would then determine exactly what the shipping charges would be based on the correct mileage from seller to buyer and provide that information to the person paying for the shipping.
- the System may additionally be modified to calculate full routes, (multiple buyers/sellers), and calculate a "fair" charge based on distance between a particular buyer/seller and the overall cost of running the route (i.e. how did this particular buyer/seller pair affect the cost of running the entire route).
- the information for traveling specific streets is available from third parties and is easily integrated into the system by using the starting and ending points of the delivery, the true distance (whether approximate or not) and calculating the cost for delivery based on distance and/or time since these third parties also have the average road speed for many roads. Additionally, in a more advanced system, multiple shippers may deliver one item and they could coordinate via the system as the system provides information enabling the scheduling of a time and place where they can meet.
- step 187, 188 a decision is then made as to whether the Buyer is to bid on shipping services, or whether shippers are to bid based on Buyer's/sellers delivery (step 189). If there is no bidding at step 189, the process exits. If there is bidding for shipping services, then a determination is made (step 200) as to whether the Buyer has chosen either: (1) to Buy a specific item , i.e., is
- step 202 is just researching shipping information and is TENTATIVE about committing to a purchase (step 204).
- a variable is accordingly set at respective steps 202 (Tentative) and 204 (Committed).
- the process then makes a determination as to whether the Buyer/Seller of shipping services (referred to as shipping purchaser or "SP") is interested in putting their shipment up for TENTATIVE bid (steps 210, 212 Figure 3(c)); or, (2) is interested in viewing specific scheduling information to ascertain available times in order to make a TENTATIVE bid on specific times (or range of times and dates) being offered
- SP shipping purchaser
- step 220, 222 simply TENTATIVELY picking a currently available best firm quote from a shipper (firm in the sense the shipper is absolutely offering this shipment at this cost, but clear to the shipper that this may not happen, so they do not have to commit to the actual shipment), and schedule a date/time (step 230).
- the system is setup such that TENTATIVE is clearly labeled on all bids/offers that are tentative and NO tentative bid/offer may outbid a firm bid/offer.
- Clearly a TENTATIVE bid is met with a TENTATIVE offer, and vice- versa. It should be understood that negotiations and rate quotes may take place without specific dates/times.
- a shipper may enter their own criteria for shipping availability.
- Figure 3(d) illustrates a situation where the Shipper inputs their criteria (step 235) for shipping availability such as maximum radius of availability, times of availability, any special restrictions, the prices for the various times/dates, fixed pricing, and any specials offered.
- Shippers may input last minute offers, for example, proposing for $50 an offer to ship a purchased item between these two points for the next 4 hours . This is put in the shipper database and can be viewed by anyone at anytime (step 240). This information is available for use immediately by purchasers so that in the case of a canceled delivery, a new purchaser may make use of the idle time of a delivery person/truck.
- Shippers may additionally enter their schedule if they choose, and the system can help them bid on jobs that are appropriate based on their schedule and availability (step 250). Shippers may also bid on previously arranged schedules created by the System based on the current needs for shipments throughout the
- shippers may: 1) bid on specific deliveries that are currently available on the
- the shipping option availability offered by the system of the invention is easily implemented in auction/classified ad software and may shipping services may be 'bid' for , as done for regular auctioned items.
- the System 10 allows the integration of shippers/buyers/sellers such that the shippers can become integrated and work like a much larger company, yet still operate independently.
- a shipping company A may pre-arrange (or bid) a daily rate with another local shipping company B so that B knows A's daily rate for a certain truck (and a certain number of workers.) Based on current market conditions in A's market, it may make sense for A to simply work on a job for B. This helps A by providing work for A (or at least A's truck) and potentially higher pay work, and B, by getting a job done that might not have been done at all.
- a benefit of the system of the invention is that the individuals on both sides of the transaction are informed, i.e., they have a new relationship that is shown to them from the resulting data provided by the System that the parties would not otherwise have known.
- they know some of the details of what is being offered.
- they know the distance, but no details.
- the users when the two are combined, the users know that their goods/services/etc are both nearby and specifically, what is available, and whether it is immediately worthwhile to pursue phone calls, research, expense, etc. This saves the buyer (and seller) significant time and expense. They are made immediately aware of the practical options available.
- the invention departs from current auctions/classified ad type software systems on account of: (1) it is based on distance and specific items for sale; (2) the items for sale are potentially put up by both individuals and business and the search results can be interspersed; (3) there is a negotiated price in the case of the auction format; (4) a calculation is made that is dynamic and real-time and offered on both ends of the transaction;(5) it offers the option of searching based on time and dates, such as events; (6) it enables on-line e-commerce such that a seller can immediately sell an item and charge a credit card on-line (and then the seller can package up the items sold for pick-up or shipping); (7) it is real-time and allows for dynamic information exchange based on distance; (8) it offers the ability to integrate with their inventory/scanning system if they have one; (9) it does not use political boundaries or any boundaries thus obviating the problems associated with crossing boundaries; ( 10) is simple to understand as users only have to specify a distance; (11) it creates a much
- both the buyer and seller interactively enter information including address information.
- the result of using the system is that in one session, a distance search and shipping arrangement transaction is facilitated; and, (13) it offers detailed searching down to very close distances (i.e., one-quarter mile) so that the system facilitates true commodity item such as a $10 used desk..
- shipping is integrated into the system such that Buyer's have only one place to go in order to get their used furniture (or other heavy local items) such that it is a one step process.
- geographiccoding being used for fixed price or bidding issues, it is used to create schedules for shipments, or, individual pick-ups or deliveries, that may be bid upon by a variety of local shippers that have joined the system.
- the furniture buyer picks a time/place for the item to be picked up and the place where it is to be delivered, and they schedule it.
- the shipper can then better plan their schedules for delivery, and the consumer gets a cheaper price due to bidding.
- a shipping rate may be applied to the distance calculation result in order to supply added cost information to the item being offered.
- This provides additional information that allows a user to bid on an item with the knowledge of its full (including shipping) cost.
- the system could find the closest item currently for sale, thereby saving the user travel time.
- the list could be sorted by distance or cost or both. (In a more sophisticated version it could determine the closest driving distance, by traveling street-by-street to determine the true shortest route)
- a further benefit of the invention is that the "localness" of the system may be exploited for facilitating creation and fostering growth of direct sales relationships among and between sellers and purchasers of goods.
- FIGs 5(a) - 5(b) depict the process for setting up a user-sponsor relationship according to another aspect of the invention.
- a User will first register with the auctioning (or classified advertisement) system by entering information on a registration form via their web browser, the information including a mailing address or other designation that enables quick determination of a latitude/longitude (step 1001).
- a "User” is a person that either searches (for goods or services) or places ads (e.g., classified ads) at the site.
- the next step depicts a User, i.e., a person with an advertisement for sale of goods or services, who is interested in putting their item (goods/services) up for sale in, a local sense, via the system web site.
- the User via his/her web browser, may first search the database for a "Sponsor" who may be an organizer, flea market operator, etc., or a person that provides services, such as scanning or consulting services, for assisting the User in placing their ads on the system web site (step 1010).
- the system enables a User to search for a Sponsor who has already registered in the system as an entity providing services and whose latitude/longitude designator has been determined.
- a determination is made as to whether the User has specified a distance radius they are willing to travel to meet with a Sponsor providing the service (step 1012). If a distance radius was specified, a database search is conducted for Sponsor assumed to be "locally" available, i.e., the User is willing to travel a certain distance as indicated by the location (lat./long. designation) of the Sponsor, to personally meet with the Sponsor and provide all the services necessary for assisting the User in the manner specified (step 1015).
- the Sponsor may indicate a distance radius that the Sponsor is willing to travel to meet the User, and the search may be conducted according to the distance a Sponsor is willing to travel to meet with a User (step 1020).
- Sponsors may list their services on-line and will eventually even be able to auction their services as well, based on a distance calculation as described herein.
- the services may include typing or scanning services, e.g., for generating a digital representation, e.g., an image for display, of the User's product to be auctioned and/or advertised for sale via the System, and/or may include consulting services, e.g., providing the User with informative business ideas for selling, displaying goods/services via the System.
- the Sponsor in return, will earn a commission from the System, and additionally, may receive a separate fee from the user.
- One critical role of the Sponsors in this system is to determine that the User is "real" and that a fraud is not being committed. It is understood that a Sponsor is not required to provide services for a client.
- Figure 5(b) depicts the next step where an arrangement is made between the parties involved, i.e., the Sponsor and the prospective User to determine if they are interested in working together (step 1030). This may include a face-to-face meeting or other telephonic communication.
- the System includes a listing of " recruiters” who are defined as persons who convince others to place ads (or possibly search ads) on the System. recruiters earn a commission based on revenues the System receives from those people (Users) they have convinced to join. These fees could be direct commissions, or indirect through revenues earned by the Company by having increased traffic. recruiters, at least initially, are expected to determine that the User is "real" and that fraud is not being committed. Initially, a Sponsor may be thought of as a recruiter, as the Sponsor has personally met or communicated with the User and has enabled the User to join the system, by providing a service and placing an ad for the User in the system.
- the Sponsor/ recruiter will earn both fees.
- a User enters the system and chooses an S/R by entering the particular S/R's ID code when they pay for the System. The S/R is then, in turn, compensated. If the User signs up for a 1-year subscription then the S/R is to be compensated over the course of a year, or, a quarterly basis, with one-quarter (! ) of the yearly commission paid at the end of each quarter. If the User signs up on an ad-by-ad basis, then the S/R is compensated when the ad runs.
- S/R's offer Users more free ads than they would normally receive simply by typing in the S/R's user Code when they sign up for the System.
- a S/R may get ten percent (10%) (as a recruiter) plus twenty-five percent (25%) (as a Sponsor) of revenues for a total of thirty- five percent (35%) commissions. It is understood that a Sponsor/ recruiter must place an ad at the site giving their address (or some other designation) that allows the System to determine latitude/longitude and enable proximity calculations in the manner described herein. As previously mentioned, the S/R may specify the amount of distance they are willing to travel to help a User join the system (and earn a commission).
- FIG. 5(b) there is depicted the case of a relationship having been developed between the Users and Sponsor/ recruiter as enabled by the System (step 1040).
- the S/R continues to earn commissions from the system (step 1050) as the database provides a linking between the User and the Sponsor/ recruiter. That is, on a periodic basis, e.g., every month, the system calculates how much is due each sponsor by searching a Client-Sponsor table 638 ( Figure 6) to see who is the User's (Client's) current sponsor. Then the system searches for specific payments that have been made (not implemented yet) and multiplies this by their commission percentage (currently 25%) for Sponsors. This is additionally applicable for the case of recruiters (a person is initially both a recruiter and a sponsor for a client), except recruiters currently earn 10%. (so a total of 35% if they are both a recruiter and a sponsor).
- this Sponsor loses their sponsor commissions for this user (e.g., their commissions are reduced by 25%) but still earns recruiter commissions (step 1060). Thereafter, the User, via the System, may search out a new Sponsor to support them (step 1070). If a new Sponsor is found, the new Sponsor is not considered a recruiter and hence, will only earn the 25% Sponsor fees and not the recruiter fees. The incentive to earn commissions and attain a recruiter status by convincing other Users to join the system, enables growth of the system. By providing distance calculations, in a direct sales environment offered by the
- a direct-sales organization comprising people who can work face-to-face with each other may be built from scratch.
- Current direct sales organizations fail because the value-added from the recruiting system is minimal and the cost to the consumer is high (there is too much focus on recruiting and not selling product).
- a direct sales organization developed in accordance with the system of the invention only the recruiter who earns, e.g., ten per cent (a common percentage for referrals on the Web), will not be so high as to provide an overpriced product (service) for the consumer (advertiser).
- a client may always fire a sponsor and allocate those funds toward another sponsor or other co-op marketing arrangements.
- a flea market operator has a weekend flea market that has about 100 vendors.
- the operator convinces 50 vendors to join the System and automatically becomes both the Sponsor and recruiter for each of these 50 vendors.
- the operator receives a commission from the System based on being both a Sponsor and recruiter.
- a Sponsor he/she may provide additional services to these 50 vendors. Any of these 50 people could decide to drop the flea market operator as a Sponsor, yet the operator will function in the capacity of a recruiter having brought in these Users, and earn a smaller commission.
- anyone who drops their Sponsor may hire another Sponsor or place those fees into other joint marketing arrangements with the Company, such as cooperative advertisements in the local paper, or even placing the Company name on their business card.
- the system 10 of the invention further enables Users to search out the occurrence of events or gatherings pertaining to User's interests within a specified radius.
- User's may subscribe to receive automatic notifications, e.g., via e- mail, about events pertaining to User's interests (e.g., music concerts, poetry readings, art exhibits, and the like) within a specified distance and/or specified times, or may initiate a search any time via their web browser.
- Figure 7 illustrates such a system 400.
- one or more Event organizers provides respective information feeds into the system that each specifies a date/time and address location where an event is occurring (step 403).
- the system calculates a latitude/longitude associated with the event address location and stores this event information in an events/news database 18d.
- a database table Events able 18d includes fields having a description of the event and event latitude and longitude data, or other designation that allows the system to determine the event's approximate latitude and longitude.
- the system will determine if a subscriber has selected an event search option (step 410) and particularly, whether an automatic event notification option has been specified (step 415). If no automatic option has been specified, then the system will wait to receive a
- the system receives the user specified date and/or time and/or radius (e.g., distance in miles) for events that they are interested in (i.e., 1/5/00 2pm 10 miles) (step 425) and performs the search (step 450).
- the System calculates the distance between the User's location and the address of the event locations in the manner as described herein, compares the User specified radius, and searches for events within the given radius that match the selected dates (or range of dates/times) and/or the keywords entered.
- the search step 450 is performed automatically. Once the search is performed, the search results will either be displayed for the User (steps 455, 470) with an ability for the user to view the results in more detail, or, the system automatically sends the user an e- mail when new events come up that meet their criteria (step 465). If the User has chosen the automatic option, the system will perform the events database search for the desired criteria automatically at a specified frequency (e.g., weekly) and automatically e-mail them the results of the search. The same principle may apply from other information feeds, e.g., news feeds which may be provided from a variety of well-known sources via electronic means - most likely Internet.
- a specified frequency e.g., weekly
- Figure 8 illustrates an example web page display depicting the ability of the system to perform a search for a user based on both distance and time.
- a web page screen 500 downloaded to the user to enable a user to receive a notification of an event, for example, a garage sale, at a specific data/time and distance.
- Event information entered by the event organizer would be stored in an Events_GarageSale table 673 in the database of ( Figure 6) and include such variables as: the 'Itemid', variable which is an Item ID (even though events are not really items); the 'prid', i.e., which is the Product ID (and is used for events even though it is not really a "product”); a 'seqnumber' variable representing a sequencing number used in case more than one record is needed for an event.
- a 'price' variable indicating the price of the event if any; a 'title' representing the title of the ad (used for keyword search, which may be further indexed); a 'start' variable representing the starting date/time (multiple records for single event if it occurs over multiple periods of time); an 'ending' variable indicating the ending date/time of the event; a 'picturefile' variable indicating the name of the picture file that is stored on the System server; a 'picturefileclient' variable indicating the name of the picture file that the client used (in case they want to edit/change their picture); a 'fulldescription' variable representing an entry field for any comments the user may want to add.
- the database is preferably organized as a series of tables including: an Adblocks_table 605 including variables for tracking blocks of Advertisements that users have purchased; an Address_table 610 including variables for tracking User Addresses with the possibility that a user may have multiple addresses; an AdRatesLine_table 613 for storing and maintaining the current rate table for users advertisements, with the price of the ad determined by an advertisement duration, e.g., for 31 days, 91 days or 366 days, and the 'prid' (product id of the product a user is selling); an Attribute_types table 615; an Auction table 620 including variables that define the current parameters of the auction; an AuStatusCode_table 622 including variables indicating the current status of the auction; an AuTypeCodeJable 625 including variables indicating the type of auction, e.g., bid up, bid down, etc., a Bid table 628 including variables specifying the terms of each bid submitted; a Category table 630 including variables for indicating the categories of
- a Streetlocjable 693 including a 'slid' field representing the Street Location ID, a 'fromlat' field representing a beginning latitude, a 'Fromlon' field representing a beginning longitude, a 'tolat' field representing an ending lat., a 'tolon' field representing an ending long., and, a 'Milesperdegree' field representing the mileage per one degree of longitude at this latitude (used for interpolation); and, a Srchitems_table 688 including variables which provide the link for connecting users searches to the items that were found; and, a DueSeller_table 695 including a 'DSID' flag which is an ID for each entry in the table; the 'ItemID' variable, i
- a user registers on the system by completing a registration form 700 such as shown in Figure 9.
- the registration form includes standard use identifier information, e.g., name, location address, password and login id, e-mail address, company name, fax and phone numbers, etc.
- the registration form includes field 702 for enabling "blind" finds (i.e., a mechanism for preventing the seller's information from being disclosed or displayed to other users in search results) and, a field 704 for indicating dates/times (e.g., hours) that a particular seller's items may be available for purchase.
- the reason for enabling blind find in the current system via designation in the field 702 of the
- field 702 permits the standard method of "checking off from a list of possible descriptors what they are willing to reveal. For example, a user can check off email address and name and then those two items will be shown to anyone who is interested in buying an item from them. Of course, they can add more information, such as address if they choose. In some cases, where the seller wants complete privacy, and/or in a business to business case, the seller must ensure the buyer is truly the right type of business to buy the item (and reveal wholesale pricing) a "blind find" is desirable.
- the seller is sent an email from the System that includes the buyer's (more generally the "searchers") email (and/or other pertinent information), and they can choose to send the Searcher an email or choose not to engage in a dialog.
- the Searcher must be willing to reveal their email to the Seller.
- the System will generate random, temporary identification numbers so that they may continue their dialog and yet not be aware of who the other person is.
- Seller S wishes to Sell an item and Buyer B wishes to buy items.
- Buyer B wishes to buy items.
- neither wants to reveal their identity Seller S uses a previously randomly generated email address such as RND8494@planetzozo.com which forwards to their normal System email, such as Seller@planetzozo.com and the Buyer will also use a previously created randomly generated email address as their System Email such as
- RND74849@planetzozo.com These emails are always forwarded to a "randomizer" (not shown) that will strip the headers off of the emails (so users will not know their source) and assign a random id to the email, such as RND10495790@planetzozo.com and then forward it onto the recipient.
- the randomly generated e- mails can be re-randomized after each interaction between the two parties, or there could simply be a random email generated for each item sold in the case of a seller, and for each series of interactions with a Seller, in the case of a Buyer. Each time an email is sent the same random email is used for the next immediate correspondence to respond.
- a client record is created for storage in a Client_table 635 such as shown in Figure 6.
- the Client_ table 635 shown in Figure 6 is updated with all current user information and includes fields such as: 'clid' -theClient ID; 'cltype'- the type of client; 'ssseqno' -the Sequence Number; 'clserial'-the Serial Number; 'lastname'
- the system searches for their address in the Streetloc table 693 and determines if it is an existing address in the current database. If it is an existing address then the latitude and longitude are already contained in the Streetloc table and based on the address, an interpolation may be performed for calculating the approximate latitude/longitude and the adding the appropriate latitude/longitude to the user's record. If it is not contained in the database, then the system will "downgrade" by finding a street name match and placing the user somewhere on their street.
- a user decides to sell an item using the system, i.e., placing an ad, and the user has not yet registered on the system, then they are prompted to register first in the manner described herein, before they may enter items for sale.
- the user starts at the home page 50 ( Figure 1(b)), and chooses the "Submit Ads" link 67 at the top of the screen. They are then brought to a screen that prompts the User to select a Category 55, 85 of the item that they wish to sell. Then, they are prompted to enter the specific type of product they are selling (e.g., a car).
- a web-page screen 800 may be presented, such as shown in Figure 10(a), prompting the user to enter the details 802 of the car they are selling (i.e. Make, Model, Year).
- Each of the items that can be sold at the site has its own web-based screen where the user enters this information.
- the information the seller enters is immediately stored in an appropriate database table ( Figure (6)) that correspond to their product, (e.g., automobile, furniture, apartments for rent, etc.).
- Vehicle_Cars table 670 to store the appropriate fields for the search engine which would include entries such as 'prid', 'price', 'title', 'year', 'forsaleby', 'pic ⁇ urefile', and 'fulldescription' etc. Alternately, all these tables may be combined into one larger table.
- a user who decides to search for an item that is for sale starts at the home page ( Figure 1(b)) and generally, has two options for searching: a detailed and "general" search.
- the "general" search appears at the top of most pages of the site.
- the general search allows a user to type in keywords that they are searching for (e.g., 1999 Ford Escort) and specify a mileage they are interested in searching.
- the system will then return all records (on a page by page basis) that have the selected search criteria and also are within the distance (e.g., point to point mileage) range specified by the user.
- a search screen 850 will be displayed such as shown in Figure 10(b) which is very similar to the screen used by the seller.
- the searcher may specify in detail the item they are looking for and the system will find matches based on the fields being entered. For example there are fields for Year, Mileage etc. If the entry is too specific, they may not get any matches at all (e.g., there aren't that many 99 Ford
- Escorts within a 10 mile radius of any given house the user is offered the option to have an e-mail sent to them when new items appear that match their criteria. Particularly, the system periodically runs everyone's requested query once per night, and will e-mail them the results in the evening. Now a user is getting email notices about only items they are interested in (because they have specified in detail what they are looking for). When they choose either the detailed search or the general search they are then presented with a grid of items from which to choose. Once they choose a specific item they are interested in, they are brought to another screen where the details of the item are shown. In the case of an auction, the user does the exact same search for an item, and they are presented with a choice of items on the same display grid on which to bid. Once the user chooses a particular item, they are presented with the detail screen that shows all the particulars of the item and the current auction status including current high bid (or low bid if auction is bidding down) and auction duration (when the auction is ending), etc.
- the system 10 includes an option for enabling a seller to specify a specific date that an item will be available for purchase or shipping (that are not currently available), and, an option enabling a buyer to specify when a particular item is needed.
- a further variable may be entered by a seller to indicate when a particular item to be sold may be available and/or the number of days as to how long it will take the item to be ordered.
- Figure 1 1 shows such a user screen 900, for the example of a home furniture sale, providing a drop down selection 902 indicating the date or time interval of a particular item's availability (e.g., maple living room set).
- the item variable 'itdateavail' in Figure 6 will store such a value.
- a corresponding user search screen (not shown) for the buyer will provide a like drop down menu for indicating a desired delivery date or date of an item's availability for pick-up.
- the Users may purchase ads on a subscription basis or an individual basis.
- the rates vary based on the product to be sold.
- the AdRatesLine_table 613 stores the data for what the current rates are for the product the User is selling.
- the system checks which people have money in their account to enable them to put up ads or ads that have expired. Preferably, the system performs checks more frequently (e.g., every 5 minutes to get expiring ads and those that really don't have any money in their account).
- the system searches for all events that occur within their specified range of date/times.
- the system particularly stores multiple records for each event with each record corresponding to one block of time. Thus, if an event occurs over three days from 10am to 5pm then there will be three entries in the table (e.g., Event_Garagesales). When a user does a search they can find any one of these event records as a match.
- the Services_shipping table stores information about shippers that are offering their services for sale, similar to any of the other services screens and tables. Like many of the other services or products, they do have fields that are unique to their service.
- a user who wishes to have shipping done can search for a shipper that provides the services they desire or they can set to email all the shippers who could possibly offer their services or just have their "shipping job" automatically posted at the site so that shippers can review jobs that interest them. In similar fashion to other service providers the shippers can provide information about the distance they are willing to work.
- the shipper can specify the length of distance they are willing to travel for a given job (e.g., point to point distance in miles or actual road milage) and the system, since it knows the distance between the two points, can find shippers who work in the given area and can do the job. Then the job can be offered for bids, or just given to one of the shippers by the person who requires the shipping.
- This allows seamless integration of local shippers, and is especially useful for shipping smaller items, such as drug store deliveries, that are currently fragmented. It allows for companies to form who could provide just local deliveries for local stores and have multiple stores as clients. The system will provide them with a steady stream of business.
- the system of the invention additionally changes the dynamic of how much work is done by the respective buying and selling parties.
- the system is employed with an electronic billing/payment system that accepts credit cards, for instance.
- a buyer may be able to purchase items, and the seller may be able to package up a group of items for the buyer in advance of a buyer's pick up. This is more efficient for the buyer who now only has to pickup the items, with the seller doing the "packing" during off-peak times, for example.
- This provides a more efficient system than is currently in place for local merchants as this type of interaction is facilitated by the distance search.
- the system functions as a trusted intermediary with the ability to release funds upon receipt of goods in acceptable condition. Further, given the localness of the system, employees of the System could actually inspect the goods themselves in some cases, prior or after shipment.
- This system can be arranged to charge the sellers merchant account should they have one, or charge the system's credit card. This saves both the buyers and sellers time, and changes the role of clerks at the store, e.g., from a function of "finding things" for clients who come into the store, to packaging up packages for those that come to pick up items, or those that want delivery. It moves the retail store one step closer to becoming just a stopping point for goods, as opposed to a place where users browse and shop as shopping and browsing is now conducted on line.
- a widely distributed distribution system allows integration of manufacturers more directly with consumers, however with the "local" merchant in the middle of the transaction, providing services such as trust (and the ability to order an item, allow the ultimate consumer to "touch it” and see it first hand, without the obligation of purchasing the item) which, as before, saves both the buyers and sellers time.
- the system also facilitates orders that can be placed in advance of the seller actually having the item in stock. For example, in the case of a bakery, a user can now place their orders on-line to be picked up at specific times, and have their order waiting. The baker now has more of an idea what customers want and will produce more efficiently.
- the system provides guidance as to what inventory to maintain thus creating efficiencies.
- the distinction between this and other e-commerce is that the system allows these functions to be performed for local merchants, whereas formerly there was no efficient means for local businesses to communicate and provide e-commerce for the appropriately targeted audience.
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Abstract
Description
Claims
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US5918213A (en) * | 1995-12-22 | 1999-06-29 | Mci Communications Corporation | System and method for automated remote previewing and purchasing of music, video, software, and other multimedia products |
US5852810A (en) * | 1996-01-29 | 1998-12-22 | Student Housing Network | Geographic specific information search system and method |
US5799285A (en) * | 1996-06-07 | 1998-08-25 | Klingman; Edwin E. | Secure system for electronic selling |
US5960407A (en) * | 1996-10-08 | 1999-09-28 | Vivona; Robert G. | Automated market price analysis system |
US6047274A (en) * | 1997-02-24 | 2000-04-04 | Geophonic Networks, Inc. | Bidding for energy supply |
US6029141A (en) * | 1997-06-27 | 2000-02-22 | Amazon.Com, Inc. | Internet-based customer referral system |
US5991739A (en) * | 1997-11-24 | 1999-11-23 | Food.Com | Internet online order method and apparatus |
-
2000
- 2000-01-26 WO PCT/US2000/001852 patent/WO2000043933A1/en active Application Filing
- 2000-01-26 AU AU27369/00A patent/AU2736900A/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2000043933A1 (en) | 2000-07-27 |
AU2736900A (en) | 2000-08-07 |
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