WO2001071597A1

WO2001071597A1 - Commodity guarantee system and method for electronic commerce

Info

Publication number: WO2001071597A1
Application number: PCT/KR2001/000460
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sang-Jo Lee
Original assignee: Lee Sang Jo
Priority date: 2000-03-23
Filing date: 2001-03-22
Publication date: 2001-09-27
Also published as: KR100311710B1; KR20000071931A

Abstract

Disclosed is a commodity guarantee system and method for electronic commerce that comprises a commodity information database for storing information on commodities; an authentication information database for storing information on authenticated commodities; a commodity authenticator for referring to the commodity information database, authenticating each commodity and updating the authentication information database by referring to authentication results; an insurance registration unit for receiving commodity buying information from a server of a seller, updating the commodity information database, and performing an insurance registration on the corresponding commodity; an insurance information database for storing insurance information registered by the insurance registration unit; and a compensation processor for receiving claims from the server of the seller, referring to the insurance information database, and processing an insurance process on the insurance-registered commodity, in a commodity guarantee system that enables transactions between a plurality of sellers and buyers on a network.

Description

Commodity Guarantee System and Method for Electronic Commerce

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a commodity guarantee system.

More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic commerce

system and method for guaranteeing commodity quality and after sales

service.

(b) Description of the Related Art

As the Internet has widely spread, new electronic commerce that

enables implementing conventional transactions on the Internet has been

introduced. In this electronic commerce, a buyer can shop around and make

a purchase at an Internet shopping mall site on a network without directly

visiting a local store. Since this electronic commerce via the Internet

shopping mall reduces the time and expense of going to the local store, it is

becoming a major commerce pattern.

However, ordinary buyers make purchases by only referring to

commodity information provided by the shopping mall site. Accordingly, it

may happen that some service providers maliciously manage shopping malls

to cheat buyers, like when shopping sites at which buyers make purchases

are closed, commodities are not delivered to the buyers even though they have been paid for, goods differing from the advertisement are delivered to

the buyers and corresponding goods are not refunded. Hence, financial

losses can occur to the buyers, and these phenomena shrink the number of

general buyers' electronic commerce transactions.

To solve the above-noted problems, authentication authorities

conventionally provide buyers with goods authentication information on

Internet shopping mall goods. This method normalizes goods buying for an

Internet user, but it cannot provide a detailed compensation method for

incidents that may be generated after a purchase, and therefore the

authentication system is not powerful, and it is not seen as being reliable by

the buyers. Also, when a buyer buys a defective product via the Internet

shopping mall, the shopping mall compensates the buyer for the defective

product with a refunding method, but this refunding method cannot cover

various other losses, and hence buyers are generally reluctant to make a

purchase via electronic commerce.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a commodity

guarantee system and method for connecting authentications transacted via

electronic commerce and buyers' complaints about authenticated

commodities with insurance. It is another object of the present invention to provide a commodity

guarantee system and method for providing information on the authenticated

goods to sellers and buyers on the network to make the authenticated goods

known to more buyers, and to increase purchasing.

In one aspect of the present invention, in a system for

guaranteeing transactions between a plurality of sellers who provide various

commodities on a network and a plurality of buyers who buy the commodities,

and guaranteeing the corresponding commodities, a commodity guarantee

system for electronic commerce comprises: a commodity information

database for storing information on the commodities; an authentication

information database for storing information on the authenticated

commodities; a commodity authenticator for referring to the commodity

information database, authenticating the respective commodities, referring to

authentication results, and updating the authentication information database;

an insurance registration unit for receiving commodity buying information

from a seller server, updating the commodity information database, and

processing an insurance registration on the corresponding commodities; an

insurance information database for storing insurance information processed

by the insurance registration unit; and a compensator for receiving claims

from the seller server, referring to the insurance information database, and

processing insurance on the insurance-registered commodities, on line. In another aspect of the present invention, a commodity guarantee

method for electronic commerce comprises: referring to a commodity

information database and an authentication information database and

authenticating commodities sold by a plurality of member malls that provide

various commodities on the network; receiving buying information on the

authenticated commodities from the member malls and registering them into

insurance information; and compensating the buyer, when receiving a

request for performing insurance processing on the authenticated

commodities from the member mall, for the corresponding commodities with

a predetermined ratio of a purchasing price, on line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and

constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the

invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles

of the invention:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a commodity guarantee

system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a detailed schematic diagram of a commodity

guarantee system according to a preferred embodiment of the present

invention; FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a transaction between a shopping mall

and a buyer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a step of authenticating goods of a

commodity guarantee method according to a preferred embodiment of the

present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a step of buying insurance of a

commodity guarantee method according to a preferred embodiment of the

present invention; and

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a step of compensation of a commodity

guarantee method according to a preferred embodiment of the present

invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, only the preferred embodiment

of the invention has been shown and described, simply by way of illustration

of the best mode contemplated by the inventor(s) of carrying out the

invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in

various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention.

Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in

nature, and not restrictive.

FIGs. 1 and 2 respectively show general and detailed schematic diagrams of a commodity guarantee system according to a preferred

embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the commodity guarantee system comprises: a

commodity information database 1 1 1 for storing commodity information; an

authentication information database 1 13 for storing authentication

information on the authenticated commodities; an insurance information

database 1 15 for storing insurance information on the purchased

commodities; a commodity authenticator 120 for authenticating the

commodities; an insurance registration unit 130 for registering insurance on

the purchased commodities; and a compensator 140 for compensating

buyers on line. In this instance, a shopping mall server (seller server) 151 , a

member mall commodity database 152 for storing various kinds of

information on the commodities to be sold, and a shopping mall homepage

153 for displaying the commodities to the buyers who access via the server

151 and for receiving buying orders are provided to a seller, and a

communication device 161 for accessing the network and a terminal 162 for

searching the shopping mall and buying desired commodities are provided to

a buyer.

The commodity information database 1 1 1 stores various kinds of

information on the general commodities transacted on the network. Here, the

information comprises fields for objectively comparing merits and demerits of the commodities such as manufacturers, specifications, prices, durability,

after sales services, usage, PC magazine recommendation points, and

buying numbers via shopping malls for respective commodities in the case of

notebook computers. The commodity information database 111 periodically

retrieves brand-new goods sold by the shopping malls on the network, and it

automatically updates present data by using buying information provided by

shopping malls registered as members (referred to as member malls

hereinafter), or it is manually updated by managers referring to off-line new

product catalogs.

The authentication information database 113 extracts commodities

the qualities of which can be authenticated from the commodity information

database 111 , and stores the authenticated commodities and corresponding

commodity information, and in this instance, the merits and demerits of the

commodities are determined according to total score of comparison factors

(e.g., specifications, prices, durability and after sales service) of the

commodities. The insurance information database 115 stores various kinds

of insurance information needed for processing buyers' claims such as the

buyers' identities, addresses, buying dates, prices and insurance

compensation methods for respective authenticated commodities. In this

instance, the insurance compensation methods comprise a method for

depositing money to the buyer's on-line bank account and a method for resenting electronic money to a predetermined shopping mall where the

buyer makes a purchase.

Devices for exchanging information with or storing the same in the

databases 111 , 113 and 115 will now be described.

The commodity authenticator 120 refers to the commodity

information database 11 1 to perform authentication, generates or updates

the data of the authentication information database 113, and adds an

authentication mark 117 to corresponding authenticated commodities of the

member mall. In detail, the commodity authenticator 120, as shown in FIG. 2,

comprises an authentication inspector 121 for referring to the commodity

information stored in the commodity information database 111 and extracting

quality commodities from respective categories of the commodities; an

authentication registerer 123 for storing the commodities extracted by the

authentication inspector 121 in the authentication information database 113;

an authentication commodity discriminator 125 for searching the member

mall commodity database 152 and extracting commodity records that match

the authenticated commodities stored in the authentication information

database 113; and an authentication mark generator 127 for generating the

authentication marks 117 to the commodity records of the member mall

commodity database 152 extracted from the authentication commodity

discriminator 125. Here, the authentication inspector 121 searches the commodities to be authenticated from the commodity information database

1 1 1 according to total scores of the comparison factors (e.g., specifications,

prices, durability and after sales service) of the respective commodities, and

extracts the commodities. The authentication commodity discriminator 125

searches commodities identical with those stored in the authentication

information database 1 13 from the member mall commodity database 152

and extracts them, and the authentication mark generator 127 adds

authentication marks 1 17 to records of the extracted commodities.

The insurance registration unit 130 stores buying information on the

authenticated commodities in the insurance information database 1 15 so as

to process claims that can be generated after the authenticated commodities

are sold to the buyer from the member mall, and also provides identical

buying information to the commodity information database 1 1 1 so that the

authentication inspector 121 may use the same as reference data on sales

volumes of the commodities when performing an authentication inspection.

In this instance, the buying information processed by the insurance

registration unit 130 includes commodity buying motives, buyers'

identification, addresses, buying dates, and process and insurance

compensation methods input by the buyers for the respective commodities.

When a buyer who buys an authenticated commodity finds a flaw or

facts different from the authentication contents and generates claims to the member mail via the claim raiser 171 , the compensator 140 receives the

claims from the member mall and compensates the buyer registered in the

insurance information database 1 15 for the claims according to a

predetermined method. In this instance, the insurance money is either

directly deposited to the buyer's bank account via a network connected to

the banking agency 181 or paid to the buyer with electronic money according

to the insurance compensation method input by the buyer, thereby

compensating the buyer at once, on line.

The commodity guarantee system can further comprise a web server

190 to which buyers and sellers can be connected on the Internet, and a

homepage 191 implemented on the web server 190. The homepage 191

displays information on the authenticated commodities stored in the

authentication information database 1 13 and has frames for linking to the

sellers that sell the authenticated commodities in order for potential buyers to

check commodity information, usage memos and guarantee contents on the

authenticated commodities via the homepage 191 and automatically moves

to a shopping mall that sells commodities desired by the buyer when

selecting the corresponding commodity.

FIGs. 3 through 6 show flowcharts of a commodity guarantee

method using the commodity guarantee system according to the preferred

embodiment of the present invention. An electronic commerce method between a member mall and a buyer in connection with the commodity

guarantee method will now be described in reference to FIG. 3.

As to the transaction between the member mall and the buyer on the

Internet, when the buyer accesses the shopping mall server 151 using the

terminal 162 in step S301 , checks detailed information on the commodities,

selects authenticated commodities on which the authentication marks are

attached from among the commodities, clicks an order button in step S302,

and pays money according to a settlement method in step S303,

corresponding authenticated commodities are delivered to the buyer in step

S304, and buying information on the authenticated commodities is

transmitted to the insurance registration unit 130 of the commodity guarantee

system in step S305A. When the buyer cancels the order in step S309, the

transaction is terminated. When the buyer finds a flaw or makes claims with

respect to the authenticated commodities after the transaction, the buyer

raises claims via the claim raiser 171 in step S306. When receiving the

buyer's claims and examining the same, the member mall returns,

exchanges, offers refunds for the commodities or performs after sales

service in step S307. In addition to these functions, an additional insurance

process is performed on the authenticated commodities by the commodity

guarantee system, and for this, the member mall requests an insurance

process from the compensator 140 in step S308B. The commodity guarantee method for guaranteeing the transactions

between the member mall and the buyer comprises: authenticating the

commodities provided by various shopping malls including the member mall

(FIG. 4); receiving buying information on the authenticated commodities from

the member mall and buying insurance (FIG. 5); and processing insurance

compensation according to the buyer's raising of the claims (FIG. 6).

As shown in FIG. 4, the step of authenticating the commodities

comprises: referring to the authentication information database 113 and

searching the authenticated commodities from the member mall commodity

database 152 in step S401 ; extracting, when the authenticated commodities

are found in step S402, records of the authenticated commodities, and

adding authentication marks 1 17 in step S403; and standing by to receive

buying information on the authenticated commodities from the member mall

in step C. The authentication commodity discriminator 125 searches the

authenticated commodities, and the authentication mark generator 127 adds

the authentication marks 117.

The above-described step of authenticating the commodities further

comprises: requesting whether to request a commodity authentication on the

commodities stored in the member mall commodity database 152 when the

authenticated commodities are not found in step S404; inspecting whether to

authenticate the commodities by the authentication inspector 121 when the request for a commodity authentication from the member mall is confirmed in

step S405; determining whether to authenticate the commodities in step

S406; and storing, when the authentication of the commodities is determined,

authentication information on the corresponding commodities in the

authentication information database 1 13 in step S407.

As shown in FIG. 5, the step of processing buying information

comprises: receiving, when the member mall transmits buying information to

the insurance registration unit 130 in steps A and C, the buying information

on the authenticated commodities via the network in step S501 ; registering

the buying information in the commodity information database 1 1 1 and the

insurance information database 1 15 in steps S502 and S503; and standing

by to receive an insurance processing request from the member mall in step

D. The insurance buying is executed for each buyer's transaction so as to

compensate the buyer for the authenticated commodities.

As to the compensation for the authenticated commodities,

compensation in addition to the compensation by the member mall with

respect to flaws or bad commodities is performed to improve reliability of the

buyers. As shown in FIG. 6, the compensation step comprises: receiving

claim information on the authenticated commodities from the member mall

via the network in step S601 when the insurance buying step is done in step

D and the member mall requests insurance processing in step B; referring to the insurance information database 1 15 with respect to the buying

information on the commodities purchased by the buyer, and checking

insurance buying states in step S602; referring to the insurance information

database 1 15 and determining a compensation method for the buyer in step

S603; and performing insurance compensation for the buyer or the member

mall in step S604. In this instance, the compensation money is transferred to

the buyer's bank account via a network connected to a banking agency.

Accordingly, the buyer can be fully compensated against defects that can be

attributed to the authenticated commodities, and the shopping malls

registered as members can increase sales volumes on the authenticated

commodities, and hence both the buyers and the shopping malls can rely on

the authentication marks.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is

presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is

to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed

embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications

and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the

appended claims. For instance, a service for comparing prices of the

member malls using the commodity information database can be provided,

or a device or method for paying electronic money as a compensation

method can be further added. According to the present invention, since the commodities on which

the authentication marks are attached remove latent dangers that can be

generated after the buyer makes a purchase, the buyers can strongly rely on

the commodities transacted on the network, and sales volumes are

increased.

In addition, monetary and mental damages of the buyers who buy

defective commodities can be removed, and therefore, electronic commerce

is stabilized and conventional off-line transactions can be led to on-line

electronic commerce.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1 . In a system for guaranteeing transactions between a plurality of

sellers who provide various commodities on a network and a plurality of

buyers who buy the commodities, and guaranteeing the corresponding

commodities, a commodity guarantee system for electronic commerce

comprising:

a commodity information database for storing information on the

commodities;

an authentication information database for storing information on

authenticated commodities;

a commodity authenticator for referring to the commodity

information database, authenticating the respective commodities, referring to

authentication results, and updating the authentication information database;

an insurance registration unit for receiving commodity buying

information from a seller server, updating the commodity information

database, and processing insurance registration on the corresponding

commodities;

an insurance information database for storing insurance

information processed by the insurance registration unit; and

a compensator for receiving claims from the seller server, referring

to the insurance information database, and processing insurance on the insurance-registered commodities, on line.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the commodity authenticator

comprises:

an authentication inspector for referring to commodity information

stored in the commodity information database and extracting quality

commodities for respective commodity categories;

an authentication registerer for storing the commodities extracted

by the authentication inspector in the authentication information database;

an authentication commodity discriminator for searching a member

mall commodity database and extracting commodity records that match the

authenticated commodities stored in the authentication information database;

and

an authentication mark generator for generating authentication

marks to the commodity records of the member mall commodity database

extracted from the authentication commodity discriminator.

3. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the system further comprises

a web server for referring to the authentication information database, and

providing information on the authenticated commodities to the sellers and the

buyers.

4. A commodity guarantee method for electronic commerce

comprising: (a) referring to a commodity information database and an

authentication information database and authenticating commodities sold by

a plurality of member malls that provide various commodities on a network;

(b) receiving buying information on the authenticated commodities

from the member malls and registering it into insurance information; and

(c) compensating the buyer, when receiving a request for performing

an insurance processing on the authenticated commodities from the member

mall, for the corresponding commodities with a predetermined ratio of a

purchasing price, on line.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein (a) comprises:

(1 ) referring to the authentication information database and

searching authenticated commodities from a member mall commodity

database; and

(2) extracting, when the authenticated commodities are found in (1 ),

records of the authenticated commodities, and adding authentication marks.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein (a) comprises:

(3) requesting, when the authenticated commodities are not found in

(1), whether to request commodity authentication on the commodities stored

in the member mall commodity database;

(4) inspecting commodity authentication when the member mall

checks the request for the commodity authentication; and (5) storing the authentication checked commodities in the

authentication information database.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein (b) comprises:

receiving buying information on the authenticated commodities from

the member mall via a network;

registering the buying information in the commodity information

database; and

registering the buying information in the insurance information

database.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein (c) comprises:

(1) receiving claim information on the authenticated commodities

from the member mall via the network;

(2) referring to an insurance information database with respect to the

claim information and checking whether to buy insurance;

(3) referring to the insurance information database and determining a

compensation method for a buyer who raises a claim; and

(4) performing insurance compensation for the buyer or the member

mall on line.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein in (3), the compensation method

is to transfer compensation money to the buyer's bank account via the

network connected to a banking agency.