Patent ID: 7729977
Filing Date: 2010-06-01
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method in a system for grouped sellers to sell grouped merchandise to grouped buyers via a merchandise trading system, the method comprising the steps of: a) defining by at least one buyer a set of buyer characteristics to offer, defining a set of acceptable seller characteristics to require and a set of acceptable merchandise characteristics for a desired merchandise item; b) defining by at least one seller a set of seller characteristics to offer, defining a set of acceptable buyer characteristics to require and a set of merchandise characteristics for an offered merchandise item; c) defining by the merchandise trading system the buyer characteristics, the seller characteristics and the merchandise characteristics; d) grouping the buyers based upon the sets of buyer characteristics, the buyer characteristics may be encoded into a code which can later be used as identifier of the certain buyer group whose member buyers have the same sets of buyer characteristics; e) grouping the sellers based upon the sets of seller characteristics, the seller characteristics may be encoded into a code which can later be used as identifier of the certain seller group whose member sellers have the same sets of seller characteristics; f) grouping merchandise items based upon the sets of merchandise characteristics, the merchandise characteristics may be encoded into a code that can later be used as identifier of the certain merchandise group whose member merchandise have the same sets of merchandise characteristics; g) comparing the sets of merchandise characteristics of the seller's offered merchandise against the set of acceptable merchandise characteristics by the buyer so as to determine a merchandise match between buyer's desired merchandise item and seller's offered merchandise item; comparing the buyer's sets of offered buyer characteristics and the acceptable seller characteristics against the seller's acceptable buyer characteristics and the sets of offered seller characteristics, respectively, so as to determine a buyer/seller match between buyer and seller; i) if there is a merchandise match and, a buyer/seller match processing the sale transactions on the basis of a gap price, a deal match, or an order generation between the buyer and the seller; and j) trading from the seller to the buyer by shipping the merchandise to the buyer from the seller if there is a merchandise match and a buyer/seller match.