WO2014054057A2

WO2014054057A2 - System and method for online transactions with packaging

Info

Publication number: WO2014054057A2
Application number: PCT/IN2013/000606
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jamsheed Hasan Burney
Original assignee: Travelsurf Private Limited
Priority date: 2012-10-05
Filing date: 2013-10-04
Publication date: 2014-04-10
Also published as: WO2014054057A3

Abstract

An enhanced offer and counteroffer system and method for negotiating online transactions. The system and method enable the offers and counteroffers to be based on both price and options associated with the product being purchased.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ONLINE TRANSACTIONS WITH PACKAGING

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates generally to negotiating online transactions. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Online travel distribution enables distribution of travel products including, for example, airline seats, hotel rooms, car rentals, cruises and packaged tours. ,

[0003] Existing online travel distribution models can broadly be grouped into two categories, the direct model and third party aggregator model. A variation to the aggregator model is the, reverse auction model, which offers buyers the option to set a price for a certain category of travel product. The buyer provides a binding blind offer for such a product without knowing the actual travel seller or the actual product. These details are communicated to the buyer only after the binding offer is accepted by one of the travel sellers and the transaction is processed. [0004] Another distribution model is also described in co-pending commonly owned patent publication number WO2011/109892. In this model/generally, a buyer can generate one or more dissimilar offers to one or more sellers which are each associated with a price. A predetermined number of sellers can accept their respective offer.

Alternatively, sellers can counter-offer to the buyer by offering the product to the buyer at a different price.

[0005] The foregoing solutions rely on determining a mutually beneficial price for the product.

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to mitigate or obviate at least one of the above disadvantages. SUMMARY

[0007] In one aspect, a method for enabling a buyer to purchase a product from a seller is provided, the method comprising: (a) enabling the seller to make the product available for purchase, the product being associated with one or more selectable options; (b) enabling the buyer to generate a package comprising the product and the buyer's selection of any of the one or more selectable options; (c) enabling the buyer to submit an offer for the package; and (d) processing, by a computer processor, a transaction including a purchase of the product and each of the buyer's selected options if the offer is greater than or equal to a minimum price for the package. [0008] In another aspect, a system for processing a transaction is provided, the system comprising a network connected server configured to perform the foregoing method.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the appended drawings wherein: [0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a network linked computer system;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a buyer placing one or more offers;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating processing of an offer;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a counteroffer by a seller and an increased offer by a buyer; [001 ] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a counteroffer by a buyer; and

[0015] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method of negotiating an online transaction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0016] Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures. It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.

[0017] It will also be appreciated that that any module, component, server, computer, terminal or device exemplified herein that executes instructions may include or otherwise have access to computer readable media such as storage media, computer storage media, or data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Computer storage media may include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by an application, module, or both. Any such computer storage media may be part of the device or accessible or connectable thereto. Any application or module herein described may be implemented using computer readable/executable instructions that may be stored or otherwise held by such computer readable media.

[0018] The present invention provides a system and method for online transactions with packaging. In one aspect, the present invention enables a buyer to enter into a predetermined number of transactions with one or more sellers by negotiating to purchase a product from the sellers. The negotiation comprises negotiating a package comprising at least one of a price or one or more options associated with the product. [0019] Sellers may, for example, sell any type of surplus perishable product or service. Sellers may also sell non-perishable products or services. For simplicity, the term "product" shall hereinafter be used to refer to perishable and non-perishable products and services. [0020] Typically, the buyer requires the product and desires but does not require the options. In a particular example, the products may be hotel rooms. Options for the products may comprise Internet service, airport shuttle service, meals, room service credit, extra beds and cribs, higher floors, premium views, access to loyalty points, bonus loyalty points, free or low-cost upgrades, priority upgrades, free or discounted rental car service, retailer promotions or discounts and any other service or privilege that can be tied to the purchase of the product.

[0021] The present invention may be implemented with any system in which a buyer can place one or more offers for one or more products that may result in the purchase of a predetermined number of the one or more products. [0022] For example, the present invention can be implemented in a system enabling a seller to directly sell a product to a buyer or to a reverse auction system having either a single seller or a plurality of sellers. In the former, a direct sale interface or shopping cart model may be used, while in the latter a buyer typically can place price offers based on a value assigned by the buyer to each product. Sellers of the products are typically provided with the opportunity to accept, reject or counter-offer on price, and as many as the predetermined number of the acceptances may be processed as transactions.

[0023] The present invention can alternatively be implemented by a travel seller, a third party aggregator or an auction (or reverse auction) site. For example, a particular travel seller or auction site could implement the present invention to sell only the products of that travel seller, or a third party aggregator or auction (or reverse auction) site could implement the present invention to sell products of a plurality of travel sellers. It will be appreciated that while the following involves sellers, in various implementations, an administrator of the third party aggregator or auction (or reverse auction) site could make decisions on behalf of, or in place of, any or all of the sellers. [0024] It will also be appreciated that any number of sellers may be provided, wherein any number of the sellers may participate in a proposed sale to a buyer. For example, four different sellers may compete to sell a product to a buyer in accordance with the present invention. In such a scenario, sellers are incentivized to complete transactions since they are aware that the buyer may be negotiating with other sellers and only a predetermined number of transactions may be processed. -

[0025] The present invention can additionally be implemented in the system described in co-pending commonly owned patent publication number WO2011/109892, incorporated herein by reference. [0026] For the sake of simplicity, the following describes the purchase by a buyer of a single product from a single seller. However, in view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that any number of sellers, and any number of purchases by the buyer, can be provided. Furthermore, the buyer may be provided with the ability to purchase a predetermined number of products from one or more sellers^"," even in view of making more offers than the predetermined number, as is described, for example, in co-pending commonly owned patent publication number WO2011/109892.

[0027] Referring now to FIG. 1 , a system in accordance with the present invention is shown. The system may comprise a server 102 accessible via a network 104, such as the Internet, a seller computer 114 and a buyer computer 120. It will be appreciated that a plurality of seller computers and buyer computer may be provided to enable more than one seller and more than one buyer to participate in the system and method described herein.

[0028] The server comprises, or is linked to, a processor 106 for processing

transactions. The server may be linked to a server database 108 for storing or recording the data and information described herein.

[0029] The server further comprises, or is linked to, a rules module 110. The rules module 110 implements a decision tree to enable negotiation and processing of transactions between a buyer and a seller, as hereinafter described. [0030] The server may further comprise, or be linked to, an analytics module 112. The , analytics module 112 may analyze data to provide the seller with analytics and reports corresponding to various metrics including, for example, types of offers received, average offer price, mean average and weighted averages of accepted offer price, mean average and weighted average of rejected offer price, commonality of offer options selected, demographic information of buyers associated with selected offer options, correlation between offer options selected, and similar data and reports relating to competitors and to local market trends.

[0031] The analytics module 112 may further obtain data directly from the buyer. For example, the analytic module 112 may obtain the buyer's demographic profile, buying behaviour, spending habits, purchase history, information via surveys and feedback, information from the buyer during purchase via questionnaire, etc. In particular, the analytics module 112 may obtain purchase data, including options that the buyer commonly selects/accepts or is likely to select/accept, and may provide this data to a seller from which the buyer is attempting to buy a product.

[0032] The analytics module 112 may further be given authority to make any decisions of the seller as hereinafter described. Such decisions are preferably made based upon analytics generated by the analytic module. For example, a buyer may be attempting to purchase a hotel room subsequent to having purchased a flight. The analytics module may determine that a suitable option to pair with the hotel room for this buyer is an airport shuttle. Additionally, the buyer may have previously purchased particular options, or may have demographic information corresponding to buyers that purchase particular options. These options can be offered to buyers to incentivize them to purchase products. [0033] The seller computer 114 comprises, or is linked to, a processor 116. The seller computer 114 is further linked to the network 104 to enable communication between the server 102 and the seller computer 114. The seller computer 1 14 may be linked to a seller inventory database 118 that is configured by the seller to include information regarding the seller's products. [0034] It is understood that, in various embodiments, the seller inventory database 118 can be made accessible to the server 102, the information recorded on the seller inventory database 118 can be replicated on the server database 108, or the seller computer 114 can be configured to provide information regarding the seller's products directly to the server database 108 via the server 102. For simplicity, the following embodiments shall describe an implementation including the seller inventory database 1 18 being accessible by the server 102.

[0035] The seller inventory database 118 may be configured by the seller to include a listing of available inventory of the seller's products for specific times and dates. For each product, the seller may include list pricing, amount of inventory to make available, one or more product attributes, descriptions, pictures or other media, virtual tours, online brochures, etc.

[0036] For each product, the seller further includes one or more options which may be optionally selected to be purchased as a package with the product by the buyer and/or sold by the seller.

[0037] For each product, the seller may also configure a minimum reserve amount (hereinafter, "reserve") and a "no deal amount". The seller may further configure a reserve and/or a no deal amount for any or all of the options.

[0038] The seller can optionally identify in the seller inventory database 118 that the reserve and/or the no deal amount for any of the products or options is to be dynamically adjusted by the server 102 in response to one or more factors. The factors may include, for example, the time that the product or option is being requested by the buyer, the amount of time between the potential transaction and the time that the product or option is required by the buyer, the amount of inventory of the product or option that has been sold in a given timeframe, the duration that the product or option is requested by the buyer, the prospective usage of the product or option (e.g., number of persons to stay in a hotel room, or distance that a rental car is to be driven), amount of inventory of product or option for which offers are being submitted, specific day(s) of the week for which offers are made, cancellation restrictions (e.g., no cancellation, cancellation within 24, 48, 72 hours, penalty amounts, etc.) and amount of loyalty or reward points associated with an accepted offer based on the above criteria.

[0039] The seller inventory database 118 may also be configured by the seller to include information relating to the seller and/or to all products from the seller. For example, the seller may include seller information, descriptions, pictures or other media, virtual tours, online brochures, etc.

[0040] The seller can optionally identify in the seller inventory database 118 that the amount of inventory or options to be made available is to be dynamically configured by the server 102. For example, the seller may wish to enable the server 102 to dynamically configure the amount of available inventory for a particular product based on information provided by the analytics module 112. For example, the analytics module 112 may provide analytics indicating that a particular product is likely to sell well during a specific time. Therefore, the seller may wish to configure the seller inventory database 118 to be dynamically configurable based on data provided by the analytics module 112. The reserve and/or the no deal amount may also be dynamically configurable in this way. Option availability can be similarly configured.

[0041] A seller interface 132 may also be linked to the seller computer 114. The seller interface 132 enables the seller to provide information to the seller inventory database 118. The seller interface 132 also enables the seller to accept, reject or counteroffer each offer made by a buyer. The seller interface 132 also enables the server 102 to provide notifications to the seller.

[0042] The seller interface 132 may also enable the seller to access marketing tools, purchase and place advertising to be displayed to buyers, and access analytics and reports. [0043] The buyer computer 120 comprises, or is linked to, a processor 122. The buyer computer 120 is further linked to the network 104 to enable communication between the server 102 and the buyer computer 120. The buyer computer 120 comprises a buyer interface 124 that enables the buyer to locate, and negotiate to purchase, products configured by the seller. [0044] The buyer interface 124 may be a web interface provided by a web server 126 linked to the server 102. The buyer interface 124 may, alternatively, be provided by an application 130 executable by the processor 122 on the buyer computer 120.

[0045] The buyer interface 124 enables the buyer to locate products using browse, search or other locating mechanisms. Browsing and searching may be made available by categorizing products based on any of their attributes, the names of the sellers, words appearing in descriptions, by selection of pictures or other media, types of options available or any other information associated with particular sellers and products.

[0046] For example, if the product relates to travel products, such as hotel rooms, the buyer may locate products based on attributes including city, check-in date, check-out date, star rating, brand name, loyalty program, etc. The buyer may further locate products having particular options available. For example, a seller of hotel rooms may provide an option to have a shuttle service for transporting the buyer from the airport to the hotel, and the buyer may wish to locate a seller providing such an option or any other option listed in the seller inventory database 118.

[0047] The analytics module 110 may also locate products that are likely to be of interest to the buyer, based, for example, on past purchasing behaviour of the buyer or other buyers, or by suggesting products similar in attributes or options to ones located by the buyer. [0048] The buyer interface 124 may enable the buyer to select a product upon which to make an offer. It will be appreciated that the buyer interface 124 may enable the buyer to make multiple offers, such as is described in co-pending commonly owned patent publication number WO2011/109892. In either implementation, the buyer may configure a predetermined number of transactions to enter into with one or more sellers. [0049] The buyer interface 124 may provide the buyer with the selectable options for the selected product and enable the buyer to select one or more of the options. The options may be selected (opt out) or deselected (opt in) by default. Alternatively, the buyer interface 124 may provide to the buyer the options that will be selected for the product, which may have been preconfigured by the seller or the analytics module, without any choice by the buyer to select options, in order for the buyer to more properly assign a value to the product in view of the options.

[0050] The buyer may then assign a value to the product given consideration of the selected options using the buyer interface 124. [0051] The buyer interface 124 enables the buyer to submit an offer to the seller and to accept, reject or counteroffer each offer or counter-offer submitted by a seller. The buyer interface 124 also enables the server 102 to provide notifications to the buyer.

[0052] The buyer interface 124 may also enable the buyer to obtain additional information relating to particular products or to the seller, as provided in any of the seller inventory databases 118. This information includes, for example, brochures, product presentations, virtual tours, reviews/ratings by other buyers, etc. The buyer interface 124 may also enable the buyer to place reviews/ratings for previously purchased products.

[0053] A payment gateway 28, accessible by the server 102 via the network 104, provided by an administrator of the server 102 or a trusted third party payment clearance entity, may be provided for enabling payment to be made from a buyer to a seller. Any known means of associating payment information with a buyer may be provided. For example, each buyer may provide billing information, such as for a deposit account or credit card, either when registering with the server 102 as a registered user or at the time of making offers. The server 102 is operable to communicate the payment information with the payment gateway 28.

[0054] Alternatively, a buyer's billing information could be retained by the server 102 and passed to the seller upon completing a transaction. The seller would then process payment.

[0055] Referring now to FIG. 6, a seller may list inventory of one or more products 602. The listing of inventory for each product includes at least a price and one or more options. A buyer may locate a product of interest 604 from among the listed products. [0056] The located product may be available to the buyer with zero, one or more than one preselected options. Alternatively, or in addition, the buyer may select zero, one or more than one of the options to purchase with the product 606. The buyer may assign a value to the located product given consideration of any selected (including preselected) options 608. The buyer may submit the offer 610.

[0057] The system enables a purchase to be made of the products for which the assigned value by the buyer exceeds the minimum price by the seller 612. The minimum price may correspond to the reserve price of the product plus the reserve price of any selected (including preselected) options. [0058] Referring now to FIG. 2, a buyer may be attempting to purchase a product from a seller that has listed inventory on the seller inventory databases 1 8. The seller may list inventory 202 of the product. Any number of one or more sellers can list inventory, although one seller is shown listing inventory in FIG. 2.

[0059] The seller may configure a reserve and a no deal amount for its products and corresponding options. If a reserve or no deal amount is not configured, the reserve or no deal amount, respectively, may be preconfigured to be zero or any other

preconfigured number. The preconfigured number can differ for the product and any of the options.

[0060] The buyer locates a product 204 that may be of interest based upon browsing or searching criteria set by the buyer.

[0061] The located product may be available to the buyer with zero, one or more than one preselected options. Alternatively, or in addition, the buyer may select zero, one or more than one of the options to purchase with the product 206. The buyer may assign a value to the located product given consideration of any selected options 208. [0062] Alternatively, the buyer may provide more than one offer for the product, wherein each offer differs in price and/or selected options. For example, the buyer may provide a first offer 208 for the product at a first price with a set of selected options and a second offer 210 for the product at a second price with the same set of selected options. Alternatively, the first offer may be at a first price with a set of selected options and the second offer may be at the first price or a second price with a different set of selected options. Alternatively, one of the sets of options may comprise zero options.

[0063] If more than one offer is provided, the buyer may configure an order of preference among the products on which the buyer will be making offers 212. It will be appreciated that the buyer can optionally configure the system to process a

predetermined number of transactions 214, for example to purchase more than one product.

[0064] The buyer may then submit the offers 216 for acceptance by the seller. [0065] During or subsequent to the offer process, buyer interface may obtain from the buyer various information relevant to the purchase. For example, using a questionnaire, the buyer may be requested to provide information regarding options that the buyer may be interested in but not selected. This information may be provided to the analytics module and provided to the seller via the seller interface, at the time of

acceptance/counteroffer so that the seller can make a more informed choice of whether acceptance or counteroffer is likely to be optimal.

[0066] The rules module 110 generates the reserve and no-deal amounts for each offer based on the reserve and no-deal amounts, respectively, for the product plus selected options and determines whether all of the buyer's offers are less than their respective no deal amounts 218. If all of the buyer's offers are below the respective no deal amount, the buyer may be notified that its offers are too low 220. The buyer may be given the option to provide a new set of offers at step 204 or 208.

[0067] If at least one of the buyer's offers meets or exceeds its respective no-deal amount, those offers that meet or exceed the reserve may be processed by the rules module 1 0 to determine which offer to have the seller accept. The offer to accept is preferably determined by the buyer's configured order of preference. Alternatively, the order can be determined based on the lowest offer, the highest offer, a randomly selected offer, or an offer selected by the seller. It will be appreciated that additional steps may be provided if a multiple-offer system for a plurality of sellers is used, such as the one described in co-pending commonly owned patent publication number

WO2011/109892.

[0068] Referring now to FIG. 3, if an offer is accepted, the server 02 may submit the price of the accepted offer (including, optionally, applicable taxes, service fees and other charges) to the payment gateway 128 to authorize payment 301. The server 102 determines 302 whether the payment gateway 28 has authorized the payment.

[0069] If the buyer's payment account is not successfully authorized, the rules module 110 may cancel the accepted offer 303, and determine whether there are any remaining offers 304 that are acceptable and are lower in price than the cancelled offer. [0070] If there are remaining offers, the server 102 may attempt to authorize another acceptable offer 301 which is lower in price than the cancelled offer with the payment gateway 128. If all the buyer's offers are cancelled, the buyer can locate another set of products of interest 204.

[0071] If the buyer's payment account is successfully authorized, the seller inventory database 118 corresponding to the accepted offer, including all selected options, is queried to determine whether there is remaining inventory for the particular product 306 and selected options 307.

[0072] If there is remaining inventory of the product and options, the server 102 generates an acceptance signal and communicates the acceptance signal to the buyer computer to notify the buyer 306 that its offers has been accepted.

[0073] The server 02 directs the payment gateway 128 to deduct the offer amount (including, optionally, applicable taxes, service fees and other charges) from the buyer's payment account 308, deducts inventory of the product and options from the respective seller inventory database 310, and books the inventory and options for the buyer 312. A confirmation message can be sent to the seller 314 and/or buyer 316 to confirm the transaction. [0074] If there is no remaining inventory of the product from the seller, the seller may be notified that it may add product inventory to accept the offer 318. The server 02 determines whether the seller has added product inventory 320. Otherwise, the offer may be rescinded 322. [0075] If there is no remaining inventory of any of the selected options included in the offer, the seller may be notified that it may add option inventory to accept the offer 324. The server 102 determines whether the seller has added option inventory 326. If so, the transaction may be processed by the rules module 110 from step 306. Otherwise, the seller may reject the offer 328 or counteroffer to the buyer 330, or the server may automatically do so.

[0076] Referring now to FIG. 4, if all offers are less than the reserve for their respective products and options, the server 102 generates a rejection signal and communicates the rejection signal to the seller computer to notify the seller 402 that a buyer has submitted an offer lower than the reserve. The rules module 110 may provide the seller with a preconfigured amount of time 406 to reduce the reserve for any of the offers, or to provide one or more counteroffers to the buyer 404.

[0077] It will be appreciated that a seller may provide more counteroffers to the buyer than the number of offers made by the buyer. For example, a seller may provide a plurality of counteroffers to a single offer from the buyer. Additionally, a seller may provide fewer counteroffers to the buyer than the number of offers made by the buyer.

[0078] A counteroffer may comprise a change in price and/or options. Optionally, the seller interface may provide information related to the buyer from the analytics module. For example, the seller interface may provide the seller with a list of options the buyer in interested in, such that the seller may select those options in its counteroffer. Optionally, an automated counteroffer may be provided by building a counteroffer using the buyer's offer and adding some or all of the options the buyer indicated it would be interested in, at a price acceptable to the seller. Such price may be automatically determined by adding to the buyer's offer the price of each such counteroffered option plus an optional markup or discount. [0079] Concurrently, a notification may be provided to the buyer 408, enabling the buyer to modify any of its offers 410 by increasing its price or selecting a different set of options within the same preconfigured amount of time 406 that the seller has been provided. If the buyer modifies any of its offers so as to increase any offer above its reserve, the acceptable offers may be processed as previously described.

[0080] therwise, once the preconfigured amount of time expires 424, the rules module 110 determines whether the seller reduced its reserve or counteroffered 436. If not, the offer may be rescinded.

[0081] The rules module 1 0 may optionally enable any counteroffer submitted by a seller to be accepted or further counteroffered by a buyer, and counteroffers by a buyer to be accepted or further counteroffered by a seller, until an offer is either rescinded or processed.

[0082] Referring now to FIG. 5, if a seller counteroffers to a buyer, a notification may be provided to the buyer 502, notifying the buyer of the counteroffer and providing the buyer with the option to accept or reject the counteroffer, or provide a further counteroffer 504. The buyer may be provided with a preconfigured amount of time to accept or reject the counteroffer, or provide a further counteroffer 506.

[0083] The further counteroffer may comprise the buyer modifying its original offer, including by modifying the price and/or options association with the product. [0084] Once the preconfigured amount of time expires 508, the rules module 1 0 determines whether the buyer accepted the counteroffer 510, in which case the transaction may be processed by the rules module 1 10 as previously described.

[0085] If the buyer provides a further counteroffer 512, the transaction may be processed by the rules module 110 as previously described. [0086] If not, the rules module 110 determines whether the buyer rejected the counteroffer or failed to respond within the preconfigured time 514, the counteroffer is rescinded and the transaction is terminated 516. A notification that the transaction has been terminated may be provided to the seller 518 and/or buyer 520. The preauthorization may also be released 520. The buyer may locate another set of products of interest 206.

[0087] Once each transaction is completed, the server 102 may optionally provide to the seller the ability to communicate upgrade options to the buyer. Upgrade options could be communicated to the buyer through notifications, for example.

[0088] An illustrative example of the present invention is now provided. A buyer wishes to purchase a hotel room from a seller via an auction website. The buyer accesses the website and locates a seller providing a hotel room for a first retail price. The seller also provides airport shuttle service for a second retail price and breakfast for a third retail price. The buyer places an offer to purchase a hotel room and shuttle service for an offer price lower than the sum of the first retail price and second retail price. The seller determines that the offer is too low, and counteroffers to the buyer by removing the shuttle service and adding the breakfast, and increasing the offer price. The buyer determines that the counteroffer is acceptable, and accepts the counteroffer.

[0089] Another illustrative example of the present invention is now provided. A buyer wishes to purchase a hotel room from a seller via an auction website. The buyer accesses the website and locates a seller providing a hotel room for a first retail price. The seller also provides airport shuttle service for a second retail price and breakfast for a third retail price. The buyer places an offer to purchase a hotel room and shuttle service for an offer price lower than the sum of the first retail price and second retail price. Thus far, the present example is identical to the foregoing example. The seller determines that the offer is too low, and counteroffers to the buyer by removing the shuttle service and leaving the offer price the same, the buyer determines that the counteroffer is acceptable, and accepts the counteroffer.

[0090] Another illustrative example of the present invention is now provided. A buyer wishes to purchase a hotel room from a seller via an auction website. The buyer accesses the website and locates a seller providing a hotel room for a first retail price. The seller also provides airport shuttle service for a second retail price and breakfast for a third retail price. The buyer places an offer to purchase a hotel room and shuttle service for an offer price lower than the sum of the first retail price and second retail price. The seller determines that the offer is too low, and counteroffers to the buyer by removing the shuttle service and leaving the offer price the same. Thus far, the present example is identical to the foregoing example. The seller further provides a second counteroffer to the buyer by removing the shuttle. service, adding the breakfast, and increasing the price. The buyer determines that the first counteroffer is unacceptable, and counteroffers the second counteroffer to the seller by retaining the breakfast and lowering the offer slightly. The seller determines that the counteroffer is acceptable, and accepts the counteroffer.

[0091] Numerous other examples can be contemplated.

[0092] Although the above has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art as outlined in the appended claims.

Claims

I/We claim:

1. A method for enabling a buyer to purchase a product from a seller, comprising:

(a) enabling the seller to make the product available for purchase, the product being associated with one or more selectable options; (b) enabling the buyer to generate a package comprising the product and the buyer's selection of any of the one or more selectable options;

i

(c) enabling the buyer to submit an offer for the package; and

(d) processing, by a computer processor, a transaction including a purchase of the product and each of the buyer's selected options if the offer is greater than or equal to a minimum price for the package.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the minimum price for the package comprises a minimum product price for the product and one or more minimum option price for each respective one of the buyer's selected options.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the seller configures the minimum product price and each minimum package price.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, further comprising enabling the seller to generate a counteroffer to the buyer by altering the product or one or more of the selectable options or the minimum price.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, further comprising enabling the buyer to

generate a plurality of alternative offers for the product each comprising a different price.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising enabling the buyer to

generate a plurality of alternative offers for the product each comprising a different selected options.

7. The method of claims 5 or 6, further comprising enabling the buyer to configure an order of preference for processing the plurality of alternative offers.

8. The method of any of claims 5 to 7, further comprising enabling the buyer to

configure a predetermined number of transactions.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the price and selected options are dynamically adjusted based on analytic information.

10. A system for processing a transaction, the system comprising a network connected server configured to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 9.