Abstract:
An on-line price discounting system and method that enables a host retailer to sell an item at different prices to different buyers, the method comprising offering the item for sale on a host site, the item having a host item description and a host offering price; providing a buyer with an option of lowering the host offering price based on information for the item from a competitor site; accepting buyer-provided information regarding the item from the competitor site; calculating a discount price for the item using the buyer-provided information; presenting the buyer with the discount price for the item; and enabling the buyer to place an order for the item at the discount price. The method can include steps for reviewing and approving the buyer order. The method can include steps for making requests from the host website to the competitor website not appear to originate from the host website.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/714,447, filed on Sep. 6, 2005, entitled “Online Real-Time Price Discounting System and Method,” and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/808,395, filed on May 25, 2006, entitled “Online Real-Time Price Discounting System and Method,” both of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce over a network, such as the Internet, for items offered for sale on multiple web sites. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and associated method for enabling a retailer to give a buyer an option to try to discount the retailer&#39;s price based on the price offered by competitors.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Online internet retailers need to adjust prices of their products and services (items) in order to be competitive with other retailers selling the same items. Given two retailers (host and competitor) each selling the same item, the one selling that item for less is more likely to sell more items.  
         [0004]     Retailers are keenly aware of this. As a result, they browse each others&#39; websites in order to learn what prices items are being sold for. For example, when the host retailer discovers that a competitor is selling the item for $10.00, the host retailer could change its price to $9.99. Later, the competitor discovers the price change at the host retailer&#39;s website and changes its price to $9.98. Then the host retailer later discovers the lower price that the competitor has and lowers its price to $9.97; and so on and so on.  
         [0005]     These price reductions are a so-called “race to the bottom” or simply a “race”. In other words, back-and-forth price discounts decrease the profits of both the host and competitor retailers until an equilibrium is reached where neither can decrease prices further without loosing money.  
         [0006]     The race to the bottom helps buyers save money at the expense of both retailers who lose profits. Luckily for the retailers, the race is not always a race. Some buyers don&#39;t care to check different retailers to find lower prices—especially for low cost items where any potential savings could not offset the buyer&#39;s time and effort finding lower prices.  
         [0007]     So, some retailers choose not to participate in the race. They sell at higher prices. But those retailers lose sales to lower price competitors who do participate in the race. Whether to participate in the race or not is a dilemma facing every retailer who sells into a competitive market. There are two questions that retailers struggle to answer: “Would I earn more profit by dropping my price to increase sales volume?” and “Would I earn more by raising my price to make more profit on each sale?” Retailers have tried to find a balance between these opposing views with limited success.  
         [0008]     The present invention resolves this long-standing dilemma by changing the choice of participation in the race from the retailers to the buyers and in doing so, both groups benefit. It enables the retailers to discount prices when selling to buyers who care about low prices; and not discount prices when selling to buyers who do not care about lower prices. The retailer can make some sales at higher prices (for higher profits) and other sales at lower prices (for more sales volume) depending on the buyers&#39; preferences. Buyers can save money by having the retailers participate in the race, or save time by choosing not to have the retailers participate in the race.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0009]     Embodiments of the present invention include an on-line price discounting system and method that enables a host retailer to sell an item at different prices to different buyers. The system includes a host webpage that offers the item for sale at a host offering price and that has a host item description; a price discounting option that enables a buyer to attempt to lower the host offering price based on information for the item from a competitor site; a data collection module that collects buyer-provided information regarding the item from the competitor site; a discount price calculation module that calculates a discount price for the item using the buyer-provided information; and a host webpage revision module that offers the item for sale at the discount price.  
         [0010]     The data collection module can include a data collection page with one or more fields for entry of the buyer-provided information. In some embodiments, the data collection page can include fields for entry of a buyer-entered price or a competitor item webpage address. The data collection page can also include an embedded web browser to enable the buyer to navigate the embedded web browser to a competitor item page. The data collection page can include functionality to compare the buyer-entered price to a competitor price, and take a non-approval action if the buyer-entered price does not equal the competitor price.  
         [0011]     The system can also include a discount database containing a plurality of discount records, each discount record being for a unique buyer, and the host webpage revision module can include functionality to search the discount database for a buyer discount record for the buyer and create a buyer discount record for the buyer if none is found, and store the host item code and the discount price in the buyer discount record. This can enable the system, whenever a current item price for the item is presented to the buyer, to check the discount database for a stored discount record for the buyer, the stored discount record containing a stored item code and a stored discount price, and if a matching record is found to retrieve the stored discount price for the host item code; and present the stored discount price for the host item code as the current item price for the buyer.  
         [0012]     The system can also include a price approval module that retrieves a competitor item description and a competitor price using buyer-entered competitor information; checks whether the competitor item description and the host item description describe the same items; checks whether the buyer-entered price and the competitor price are equal; and, when the competitor and host item descriptions describe the same items and the buyer-entered price and the competitor price are equal, approves the buyer order.  
         [0013]     The discount price calculation module can include functionality to calculate the discount price using discount parameters stored in an administrative discount setup record. The discount price calculation module can include the functionality to calculate a temporary price less than or equal to the competitor price; calculate a minimum price based on the discount parameters; set the temporary price equal to the minimum price when the minimum price is greater than the temporary price; and set the discount price equal to the lesser of the temporary price and the host offering price. The discount price calculation module can also include functionality to calculate a shipping cost difference, and incorporate the shipping cost difference in the discount price calculation for the item. Alternatively, the discount price calculation module can include functionality to calculate an additional discount to be deducted from the host offering price, such that the discount price is equal to the host offering price minus the additional discount; and the buyer can be presented with the additional discount. The additional discount can be offered as cash, a cash equivalent or a non-cash equivalent.  
         [0014]     The system can also include an arrangement that makes requests from the host site for information on a competitor site not appear to originate from the host site. In one embodiment, the arrangement includes a relay on a buyer computer such that requests from the host site for requested information on the competitor site are sent to the relay, and the requested information on the competitor site is received from the relay. In another embodiment, the arrangement includes a relay installed on a relay computer such that requests from the host site for requested information on the competitor site are sent to the relay, and the requested information on the competitor site is received from the relay. In yet another embodiment, the arrangement includes a dynamic network connection at the host site having a dynamic IP address such that requests from the host site for requested information on the competitor site are sent through the dynamic network connection; and the requested information on the competitor site is received through the dynamic network connection.  
         [0015]     Additional embodiments, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of an exemplary environment for an embodiment of the present invention that includes a host webserver, a competitor webserver and a buyer computer connected through a network;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram showing an embodiment of an ordering method;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is an example browser display of a host retailer item page;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is an example browser display of a buyer shopping cart;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is an example browser display of a data collection page;  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is an example browser display of a competitor retailer item page;  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is an example browser display of a revised host retailer item page;  
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is an example browser display of a webpage copy used by the host retailer;  
         [0024]      FIG. 9  is an example browser display of a further revised host retailer item page;  
         [0025]      FIG. 10  is an example browser display of a checkout address page;  
         [0026]      FIG. 11  is an example browser display of a shipment and payment method selection page;  
         [0027]      FIG. 12  is an example browser display of a payment information page;  
         [0028]      FIG. 13  is an example browser display of an invoice page;  
         [0029]      FIG. 14  is an example browser display of an order approval page;  
         [0030]      FIG. 15  is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a clerk approval system;  
         [0031]      FIG. 16  is a flow diagram showing an embodiment of an approval method;  
         [0032]      FIG. 17  is an example browser display of an order approval page with an approved order;  
         [0033]      FIG. 18  is an example browser display of an administrative discount setup page;  
         [0034]      FIG. 19  shows an example of a discount price calculation;  
         [0035]      FIG. 20  shows an alternate embodiment using a relay on the buyer&#39;s computer;  
         [0036]      FIG. 21  shows an alternate embodiment using a relay computer;  
         [0037]      FIG. 22  shows an alternate embodiment in which the host webserver has a second connection to the network;  
         [0038]      FIG. 23  is a flow diagram showing an alternate ordering method embodiment;  
         [0039]      FIG. 24  is a flow diagram showing an alternate approval method embodiment;  
         [0040]      FIG. 25  is an example browser display of an alternate order approval page;  
         [0041]      FIG. 26  is an example browser display of a competitor retailer item page accessed from the alternate order approval page;  
         [0042]      FIG. 27  is an example browser display of a data collection page having an embedded web browser;  
         [0043]      FIG. 28  is an example browser display of a data collection page using a Bitty Browser;  
         [0044]      FIG. 29  is an example browser display of a dual window browser used for data collection;  
         [0045]      FIG. 30  is an example browser display of an order approval page with an approved order under the alternate approval method of  FIG. 24 ; and  
         [0046]      FIG. 31  is an example browser display of a host retailer item page as displayed in browser window  16004  of clerk&#39;s computer  16001 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
       [0047]     For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.  
         [0048]      FIG. 1  shows an exemplary embodiment of the present invention which includes a host retailer webserver  14004  for hosting a host retailer website, a competitor webserver  14005  for hosting a competitor&#39;s website, a buyer&#39;s computer  14001  capable of displaying web browser windows  14002 , 14003 , a pointing device  14007  for selecting objects in the web browser windows, and a network  14006  connecting webservers  14004 ,  14005  and computer  14001 . Computer  14001  also includes a standard input device (e.g., a keyboard) and a video monitor (not shown). The network  14006  may include Local Area Networks (“LANs”) and/or Wide Area Networks (“WANs”), including the Internet and World Wide Web, that are operably coupled to one another via routers, switches, hubs, gateways, proxies, firewalls and/or other devices (not shown).  
         [0049]      FIG. 2  shows a flow chart of an ordering method  15000  of an exemplary embodiment. At Step  1 , the buyer navigates web browser window  14002  to a host retailer item page  1000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 3 . The host retailer item page  1000  is supplied by host retailer webserver  14004 . The host retailer item page  1000  contains information about an item  12  that host retailer has available for sale. The host retailer item page  1000  can include a description  1001  of item  12 , an image  1005  of item  12 , an offering price  1002  for item  12 , an “Add to Cart” object  1003 , a “Beat the Price” object  1004 , and a “Checkout” object  1006 .  
         [0050]     At Step  2 , the buyer chooses to accept or reject the offering price  1002  provided by the host retailer. The buyer accepts the offering price  1002  by selecting the “Add to Cart” object  1003  which adds the item  12  to a buyer&#39;s shopping cart  13001 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 4 . After selecting the “Add to Cart” object  1003 , control is transferred to Step  10 . Alternatively, the buyer rejects the offering price  1002  by selecting the “Beat the Price” object  1004 , and control is transferred to Step  3 .  
         [0051]     At Step  3 , the buyer navigates the browser window  14002  to a data collection page  2000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 5 . By selecting the “Beat the Price” object  1004 , the buyer indicates his/her desire for the host retailer to participate in the race. The data collection page  2000  can include operating instructions  2001 ,  2002 ,  2003  and  2004 ; a price entry field  2005 ; a web address entry field  2006 ; and a “Show New Price” object  2007 . Operating instruction  2001  instructs the buyer to find the item  12  on a competitor retailer website.  
         [0052]     At Step  4 , the buyer navigates the browser window  14003  to a competitor website and finds competitor item page  3000  for item  12 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 6 . The competitor item page  3000  is supplied by the competitor webserver  14005  and has a web address  3002 . The competitor item page  3000  contains information about an item  12 ′ that the competitor retailer has available for sale. The competitor item page  3000  can include a description  3004  of item  12 ′, an image  3005  of item  12 ′, an offering price  3001  for item  12 ′. The buyer compares the item description  1001  and image  1005  on the host retailer item page  1000  ( FIG. 3 ) to the item description  3004  and image  3005  on the competitor item page  3000  ( FIG. 6 ), respectively, in order to verify that the items  12  and  12 ′ on both retailers pages are the same item  12 .  
         [0053]     At Step  5 , the buyer follows the instructions  2002 ,  2003  on the data collection page  2000  ( FIG. 5 ) and copies the competitor item price  3001  from the competitor item page  3000  ( FIG. 6 ) to the price entry field  2005  of the data collection page  2000  ( FIG. 5 ); and copies the web address  3002  from the browser address bar  3003  of the competitor item page  3000  to the web address entry field  2006  of the data collection page  2000 . The buyer then follows instruction  2004  of the data collection page  2000  and selects the “Show New Price” object  2007  to see the host retailer response on a revised item page  4000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0054]     In Step  6 , the host retailer webserver  14004  communicates with competitor webserver  14005  in order to get a webpage copy  11001  of the competitor item page  3000  using a buyer-entered web address  2009  ( FIG. 5 ). One embodiment of the webpage copy  11001  is shown in  FIG. 8  which includes a page header  11002 , the description  3004  of item  12 ′, the image  3005  of item  12 ′, and the offering price  3001  for item  12 ′. If the host webserver  14004  is not able to get a webpage copy  11001  of the competitor item page  3000 , it returns the buyer to Step  5  and adds an error message to data collection page  2000  indicating that it was unable to get a copy of the competitor item page  3000  using the buyer-entered web address  2009 . If host webserver  14004  is able to get a webpage copy  11001  of the competitor item page  3000 , control is transferred to Step  7 .  
         [0055]     It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the host retailer does not check or verify that items  12  and  12 ′ are the same during the ordering method  15000 . Instead, after the order has been completed by the buyer but before the host retailer approves the transaction and sends the item to the buyer, the host retailer can verify that the items  12  and  12 ′ are the same. The verification occurs in an order approval method  17000  described below.  
         [0056]     In Step  7 , the host webserver  14004  tries to find competitor item price  3001  in the webpage copy  11001  of competitor item page  3000 . If host webserver  14004  can not find item price  3001 , control is transferred to Step  5  and the host webserver adds an error message to data collection page  2000  indicating that it was unable to find the buyer-entered price  2008  in the webpage copy  11001 . If host webserver  14004  finds the buyer-entered price  2008  in the webpage copy  11001 , control is transferred to Step  8 . It should be noted that step  7  is optional; it can be eliminated if the host retailer does not wish to validate the buyer-entered price  2008  on the webpage copy  11001 .  
         [0057]     At Step  8 , the host webserver  14004  saves the webpage copy  11001  to a database and calculates a discount price  4001  according to a predetermined formula specified by the host retailer. The host webserver  14004  then inserts the discount price  4001  into the revised item page  4000  (see  FIG. 7 ) and sends the revised item page  4000  to the browser window  14002 .  
         [0058]     At Step  9 , the buyer views the discount price  4001  and can select the “Add to Cart” object  1003  on the revised item page  4000  to add the item  12  to the shopping call  13001  ( FIG. 4 ). After selecting the “Add to Cart” object  1003 , the browser window  14002  displays a further revised item page  5000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 9 . The further revised item page  5000  includes a basket quantity  5001  of items in the shopping cart  13001  and the “Checkout” object  1006 .  
         [0059]     At Step  10 , the buyer has several options, including returning to Step  1  to do further shopping and checking out. If the buyer wishes to do further shopping, they return to Step  1  and can use the same competitor website or other competitor websites for further price references on a given order. This enables the buyer to receive the lowest prices offered by several retailers at the host retailer website - and enables the host retailer to sell more items.  
         [0060]     When the buyer is done adding items to the cart  13001 , the buyer can select the “Checkout” object  1006  to begin the checkout process, which takes the buyer to Step  12 .  
         [0061]     At Step  12 , the browser window  14002  displays a checkout address page  6000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 10 . The checkout address page  6000  can include a buyer information table  6001  and a “Shipping Choices” object  6002 . The buyer Ship-To and Bill-To addresses are entered in the buyer information table  6001 . This can be done automatically by the host webserver  14004  or manually by the buyer using a keyboard connected to the buyer computer  14001  or by other methods known in the art.  
         [0062]     After the buyer&#39;s addresses are entered in the buyer information table  6001 , the buyer can select the “Shipping Choices” object  6002  to go to a shipment and payment method selection page  7000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 11 . The shipment and payment method selection page  7000  can include a shipment method selection table  7001 , a payment method selection table  7002 , and a “Payment Info” object  7003 .  
         [0063]     After selecting shipment and payment methods in tables  7001  and  7002 , respectively, the buyer can select the “Payment Info” object  7003  to proceed to a payment information page  8000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 12 . The payment information page  8000  can include a payment information table  8001  and a “Submit Order” object  8002 . The buyer can enter their payment information into the payment information table  8001  and then select the “Submit Order” object  8002  to complete the purchase and proceed to an invoice page  9000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 13 .  
         [0064]     Referring briefly back to  FIG. 1 , the network  14006  enables the host webserver  14004  and another webserver, such as competitor webserver  14005  to communicate in real-time with each other. It can often take less than one minute for webservers to establish connections with each other over the Internet and exchange information. The host retailer and the competitor retailer are competitors, and they could be fierce competitors that are not friendly to each other. Nevertheless, the host and competitor webservers can communicate to help the host retailer beat the competitor in the competition over the buyers&#39; purchases.  
         [0065]     When the buyer selects the “Show New Price” object  2007  of the data collection page  2000  ( FIG. 5 ) in Step  5 , the host retailer webserver  14004  receives a buyer-entered price  2008  from the price entry field  2005  and a buyer-entered web address  2009  from the web address entry field  2006 . Utilizing a so-called “screen scraping” process, the host webserver  14004  makes a request  14009  ( FIG. 1 ) to the competitor webserver  14005  using the buyer-entered web address  2009 . The competitor webserver  14005  responds by sending a reply  14008  to the host webserver  14004 . The reply  14008  includes the competitor item page  3000  shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0066]     The host webserver  14004  searches the information in the reply  14008  for the buyer-entered price  2008 . If a match is found, the host webserver  14004  can add a page header  11002  to the reply  14008  and save a copy in a database. An example of the saved reply for one embodiment is the webpage copy  11001  shown in  FIG. 8 . The host webserver  14004  then calculates the discount price  4001  and sends the revised item page  4000  for the host retailer to the browser window  14002 . This gives the host retailer flexible control over the method of calculating the discount price  4001 , and enables the host retailer to underprice the competitor at will in winning buyers&#39; orders.  
         [0067]     The host retailer can sell a given item to different buyers at different prices. Buyers who accept the offering price  1002  at Step  2  ( FIG. 2 ) proceed directly to Step  10  and pay a potentially higher price than the buyers who do not accept the offering price  1002  and proceed to Step  3 . One embodiment for implementing this aspect includes a discount database record  100  (Table 1) that stores the header information for the shopping cart  13001 . The discount database record  100  can include a birn_code field and a birn_price field, which hold the item code and the item price, respectively. Collectively the discount database records  100  with the added fields comprise a real-time price discounting database  101 . The host webserver  14004  can allocate a shopping cart  13001  for each buyer by allocating a different discount database record  100  for each buyer in the real-time price discounting database  101  on the host retailer website. Since each buyer can have his/her own discount record  100 , each buyer can have his/her own price stored in the birn_price field for the item indicated by the product code stored in the birn_code field. Then on future visits to the host website, the price for the item will be displayed as the previously saved discount price stored in the birn_price field. Additionally, an expiration option can be implemented on the host website whereby the discount price expires after a predetermined period, for example 30 days. Using the expiration option, the discount record  100  is no longer used after the predetermined period and on future visits to the host website, the price for the item will be displayed as the then current offering price.  
                           TABLE 1                                       session_id   CHAR(64),           cust_id   NUMBER,           basket_id   NUMBER,           lastupdate   CHAR(10),           order_id   NUMBER,           order_proc   BOOL,           ship_fname   CHAR(50),           ship_lname   CHAR(50),           ship_email   CHAR(50),           ship_comp   CHAR(50),           ship_phone   CHAR(50),           ship_fax   CHAR(50),           ship_addr   CHAR(100),           ship_addr2   CHAR(100),           ship_city   CHAR(50),           ship_state   CHAR(50),           ship_zip   CHAR(50),           ship_cntry   CHAR(50),           bill_fname   CHAR(50),           bill_lname   CHAR(50),           bill_email   CHAR(50),           bill_comp   CHAR(50),           bill_phone   CHAR(50),           bill_fax   CHAR(50),           bill_addr   CHAR(100),           bill_addr2   CHAR(100),           bill_city   CHAR(50),           bill_state   CHAR(50),           bill_zip   CHAR(50),           bill_cntry   CHAR(50),           noship   BOOL,           tax   NUMBER(10.2),           shipping   NUMBER(10.2),           ship_id   NUMBER,           ship_data   CHAR(100),           pay_id   NUMBER,           pay_data   CHAR(100),           advsource   CHAR(100),           total   NUMBER(10.2),           ccattempts   NUMBER(2.0),           pack_id   NUMBER,           birn_code   CHAR(50),           birn_price   NUMBER(10.2)                      
 
         [0068]     After the host webserver  14004  confirms the competitor price in Step  7 , the webserver  14004  can save the result in the discounting database  101  by storing the discount price  4001  in the birn_price field and storing the product code  4002  in the birn_code field. The product code  4002  can be determined by a products database  13  of the host webserver  14004 . The products database  13  stores information used by the webserver  14004  to create host retailer item pages, an example of which is page  4000  ( FIG. 7 ). The products database  13  includes the product code  4002 , the item image  1005 , and the description  1001  ( FIG. 3 ). The products database  13  is the source of the product code  4002  which the host webserver  14004  copies to other databases, files, and the host retailer item pages. The products database  13  can have a plurality of records each corresponding to a different item offered for sale by the host retailer at its website. Each item in the products database  13  can be differentiated by a different set of characters for product code  4002 . While the host webserver  14004  creates an item page for the buyer, such as the revised item page  4000  ( FIG. 7 ), the host webserver  14004  compares the item product code  4002  of the item page  4000  to the product code stored in the birn_code field of the discount record  101 . If there is a match, the host webserver  14004  retrieves the discount price  4001  from the birn_price field and displays it on the item page  4000  instead of the initial offering price  1002 . Since the comparison is done for each buyer who can have different product codes and prices saved in his/her birn_code and birn_price fields respectively, the host retailer can sell the same item to different buyers at different prices.  
         [0069]     In an alternate embodiment of the invention, discount records  100  having a birn_code field and a birn_price field are not used for the shopping cart  13001 . Instead, discount records that include the discount price  4001  and a copy of the product code  4002  are stored in a buyer file  102  of a discount file system  103  of the host webserver  14004 . The host webserver  14004  can store a discount record in the buyer file  102  for each product code  4002  in each buyer&#39;s shopping cart  13001  and maintains a one-to-one relationship between each buyer and each buyer file  102 .  
         [0070]     In another embodiment of the invention, the host webserver  14004  stores information in a discount database  202 . The host webserver  14004  allocates a discount record  33002  (shown in Table 1A) in the discount database  202  for each buyer using the host retailer website. The discount record  33002  includes a data field for information items shown in an order approval page  10000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 14  shows a feature of the administrative services of the host webserver  14004  which can be accessed by a clerk of the host retailer after the clerk&#39;s identity is authenticated by the host webserver  14004  which is described below.  
                           TABLE 1A                                       session_id   CHAR(64),           approval_checkbox   BOOL,           birn_code   CHAR(50),           buyer_entered_price   NUMBER(10.2),           birn_price   NUMBER(10.2)           date_time   CHAR(50),           recorded_page   MEMO,           live_page_url   CHAR(254),                      
 
 The order approval page  10000  includes an approval checkbox  10001 , a product code link  10002 , the buyer-entered price  2008 , a webpage copy link  10004 , a competitor web address link  10005  (which displays the buyer-entered web address  2009 ), and an “Update Order” object  10006 . 
 
         [0071]     In this embodiment, the host webserver  14001  saves a unique data string in the session_id field so that it can identify each buyer using the host retailer website. The host webserver  14001  can utilize the session_id field to maintain a one-to-one correspondence between each buyer and each discount record  33002 . The approval _checkbox field saves the state of the approval checkbox  10001 . The birn_code field saves a copy of the product code  4002  which is displayed as the product code link  10002 . Webserver  14001  accesses the discount database  202  and the product database to retrieve information displayed in the example of  FIG. 14 . The buyer_entered_price field saves buyer-entered price  2008  which is 13.57 shown in the example of  FIG. 14 . The birn_price field saves discount price  4001  which is shown under the “New Price” heading in  FIG. 14 . The date_time field saves the date and time that record  33002  was written to the discount database  202 . In the example of  FIG. 14 , the record shown was written to the discount database on Sep. 20, 2005 at 2:14 PM. The recorded_page field saves a copy of the competitor item page  3000 , and selecting the webpage copy link  10004  of  FIG. 14  can display the webpage copy  11001  shown in  FIG. 8 . The live_page_url field saves the buyer-entered web address  2009  which is the same as the web address  3002  of the competitor item page  3000 , and is displayed under the “Live Page” heading in  FIG. 14  as the competitor web address link  10005 .  
         [0072]     It should be noted that the host webserver  14004  can write information to the records of Table 1 and/or Table 1A at any step after step  6  ( FIG. 2 ).  
         [0073]     Administrative Services  
         [0074]     The administrative services of the host webserver  14004  can be accessed by a clerk of the host retailer after his/her identity is authenticated by the host webserver  14004 . Authentication can be achieved by each clerk submitting a login name and password to the host webserver  14004 , which determines whether the clerk is in a predetermined list of clerks who are authorized to access the administrative services of the host webserver  14004 . It should be noted that a clerk can be a person, a computer program, or any other means for performing administrative tasks on host webserver  14004 . The administrative services of the host webserver  14004  are private. By providing the clerk a username and password, or by providing the clerk other means for authenticating its identity to webserver  14004 , the host retailer grants the clerk access to the administrative services.  
         [0075]      FIG. 15  shows an embodiment of the elements that enable the clerk to review buyers&#39; orders and record whether the orders are approved or unapproved.  FIG. 15  shows a clerk&#39;s computer  16001  with a video monitor that can display multiple browser windows  16002 ,  16004 ,  16005 ; a pointing device  16003  for selecting objects in the browser windows; and a connection to the network  14006 .  
         [0076]      FIG. 16  shows a flow chart of an embodiment of the order approval method  17000 . In Step  1 , the clerk gains access to the administrative services of the host webserver  14004  by entering authorization information. When the host webserver  14004  confirms that the clerk is authorized to access the administrative services, control is passed to Step  2 .  
         [0077]     In Step  2 , the clerk navigates the browser window  16002  to an order approval page  10000 , an example of which is shown in  FIG. 14 . The information on the order approval page  10000  was collected and saved by the host retailer webserver  14004  during the Steps of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0078]     At Step  3 , the clerk selects the product code link  10002  to view the host retailer item page  1000  ( FIG. 31 ), which can be displayed in browser window  16004 . The clerk also selects the webpage copy link  10004  to view the competitor webpage copy  11001  ( FIG. 8 ), which can be displayed in browser window  16005 .  
         [0079]     At Step  4 , the clerk compares the item image  1005 , the item description  1001  and other relevant information on the host retailer item page  1000  with the item image  3005 , the item description  3004  and other relevant information on the competitor webpage copy  11001 .  
         [0080]     At step  5 , the clerk makes a judgment whether or not item  12  of the host retailer item page  1000  is the same as item  12 ′ of the competitor webpage copy  11001 . If the items are not the same in the clerk&#39;s opinion, the clerk proceeds to Step  9  and the buyer&#39;s order is not approved. On the other hand, if the items are the same in clerk&#39;s opinion, the clerk proceeds to Step  6 .  
         [0081]     At step  6 , the clerk determines whether the competitor offering price  3001  on the competitor webpage copy  11001  is the same as buyer-entered price  2008  on the order approval page  10000 . If the prices are not the same in the clerk&#39;s opinion, the clerk proceeds to Step  9  and the buyer&#39;s order is not approved. On the other hand, if the prices are the same in the clerk&#39;s opinion, the clerk proceeds to Step  7 .  
         [0082]     At Step  7 , the clerk selects the approval checkbox  10001  and then selects the “Update Order” object  10006  to approve the buyer&#39;s order. An example of the order approval page  10000  with the approval checkbox  10001  selected is shown in  FIG. 17 . In response to the clerk&#39;s approval, the host retailer webserver  14004  transfers control to Step  8 .  
         [0083]     At Step  8 , the host retailer webserver  14004  sends an acknowledgement to the buyer indicating that the buyer&#39;s order is approved. In one embodiment of the invention, the webserver  14004  sends the buyer a message via electronic mail (e-mail) in response to the clerk completing the steps in  FIG. 9 . The message indicates whether the buyer&#39;s order was approved or not. In another embodiment, the clerk sends the e-mail message instead. Alternatively, the clerk or the webserver  14004  can post the message to the customer&#39;s private login account on the webserver  14004 . It should be noted that any means for communicating the approval status of the order can be used to notify the buyer whether the order is approved or not approved. In yet another embodiment, the means for notifying the buyer of order approval can be the host retailer delivering the purchased item to the buyer; and the means for notifying the buyer of order non-approval can be the host retailer canceling the order and refunding the buyer&#39;s credit card the purchase amount less a service fee. The service fee can be greater than or equal to $0.00 (zero). In another embodiment, the buyer can initiate an appeal to the host retailer for reconsideration if the order was not approved. The buyer can provide additional information to the host retailer to change the clerk&#39;s opinion and approve the order.  
         [0084]     An embodiment of an administrative discount setup  21000  is shown in  FIG. 18  which includes a discount percent field  21001 , a discount dollars field  21002 , a minimum profit percent field  21003 , and a minimum profit dollars field  21004 , and an enable checkbox  21005 . In the example shown, the discount percent field  21001  contains the value 0.05% (0.0005), the discount dollars field  21002  contains the value $0.01 (one penny), the minimum profit percent field  21003  contains the value of 10.00% (0.1000), the minimum profit dollars field  21004  contains the value of $0.50 (fifty cents), and the enable checkbox  21005  is checked in order to activate discounting at the host retailer website. The host webserver  14004  stores the administrative discount setup  21000  in a database and applies it to discount price calculations such as those shown the example of  FIG. 19 . These calculations or other discount price calculations that provide discount prices approved by the host retailer can be used by webserver  14004  in step  8  of  FIG. 2  to determine the discount price  4001 .  
         [0085]     The formulas and variables of the discount price calculations are defined by the host retailer (for example, by a sales manager of host retailer) and can be changed in response to changing market conditions, supplier agreements, sales volume changes, etc. Different discount price calculations can be used for different items to account for variations in parameters between items. This arrangement gives host retailer control over the method of calculating discount price  4001 .  
         [0086]      FIG. 19  provides an example of a discount price calculation that uses the administrative discount setup  21000  of  FIG. 18 . In step  71 , an initial discount price is computed using the buyer-entered price  2008  and the discount percent value from the discount percent field  21001 . In Step  73 , the value of the buyer-entered price  2008  minus the discount dollars value from the discount dollars field  21002  is computed. If the discount price from Step  71  using the discount percent is greater than this computed value using the discount dollars, then the discount price is revised and set equal to the computed value using the discount dollars. In Step  75 , a temporary cost value is computed using the item cost for the host retailer and the minimum profit dollars from the minimum profit dollars field  21004 . In step  77 , if the discount price is less than this temporary cost value, then the discount price is revised and set equal to the temporary cost value. In Step  79 , a temporary percent value is computed using the item cost for the host retailer and the minimum profit percent from the minimum profit percent field  21003 . In step  81 , if the discount price is less than this temporary percent value, then the discount price is revised and set equal to the temporary percent value. In Step  83 , the discount price resulting from this discount price calculation is compared with the previous offering price  1002 . If the computed discount price is greater than or equal to the previous offering price  1002 , then the discount price is revised and set equal to the previous offering price  1002 . The resulting discount price is the discount price  3001 .  
         [0087]     Offline Analogy  
         [0088]     Embodiments of the present invention are more than just an online version of the same business method that buyers and sellers normally use offline. The following example will illustrate some of the differences that would be encountered in an offline version of a price comparison and revision method. An embodiment of the price comparison and revision method for the present invention is shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0089]     In example offline version could proceed as follows:  
         [0090]     Step  1 . A buyer walks into a first retailer with the intention of purchasing a pair of shoes. The buyer finds the shoes in his/her preferred size and color.  
         [0091]     Step  2 . The buyer rejects the first retailer&#39;s price because he/she thinks it is too high.  
         [0092]     Step  3 . The buyer walks to a checkout lane and tells a cashier at the first retailer that he/she wants a price discount.  
         [0093]     Step  4 . While the cashier at the first retailer waits, the buyer uses a phone to call a second retailer. An employee at the second retailer tells the buyer that the second retailer has the same shoes in the same size and color on sale for a lower price than the first retailer. The buyer learns the sale price at the second retailer and also learns the location of the shoes (aisle number, shelf number and box number) in the second retailer store.  
         [0094]     Step  5 . The buyer gives the second retailer information (the second retailer price and location of the shoes in the second retailer store) to the cashier of the first retailer.  
         [0095]     Steps  6 . The cashier of the first retailer sends a photographer to the second retailer who finds the shoes at the given location and photographs them. The photograph also captures an image of a sign near the shoes showing the sale price of the second retailer.  
         [0096]     Steps  7 . The photographer returns to the first retailer and gives the photograph to the cashier of the first retailer. Neither the cashier nor the photographer knows at this point if in fact the photograph shows the same pair of shoes that the first retailer has (nor do they care because that is not likely to be in their job descriptions). Neither do they know or care whether the sign in the photograph refers to the shoes in the photograph.  
         [0097]     Step  8 . The cashier of the first retailer puts the photograph into a file and then uses a calculator to work a predetermined formula given by a sales manager of the first retailer. The formula provides a discount price that is less than or equal to the price of the second retailer.  
         [0098]     Step  9 . The buyer accepts the discount price and puts the shoes in his/her shopping cart. But first the cashier of the first retailer changes the price of only that one pair of shoes—perhaps by attaching a paper tag and writing the discount price on it. The cashier also indicates on the tag that there is a photograph on file for the pair of shoes sold to that buyer.  
         [0099]     Step  10 . The buyer then decides to purchase another pair of shoes for a friend so he/she walks away from the cashier and goes back to Steps  1  through  9  to put another pair of shoes in his/her shopping cart.  
         [0100]     Steps  11 ,  12 . The buyer is ready to checkout and gives a credit card to the cashier for payment. The cashier charges the buyers credit card for the two pairs of shoes.  
         [0101]     Finally, the buyer attempts to walk out of the first retailer store but is stopped by a clerk who asks to see a cash register receipt and the shoes. The buyer complies and waits while the clerk finds and reviews the photographs taken earlier. The clerk returns the second pair of shoes to the buyer but keeps the first pair. In the clerk&#39;s opinion, the shoes in the first photograph from the second retailer&#39;s store do not match the first pair of shoes purchased from the first retailer. The clerk makes an apology to the buyer and the buyer leaves—a little upset and embarrassed by the whole experience. The clerk gives the shoes back to the cashier who then cancels the first pair of shoes from the buyer&#39;s credit card transaction. Later that day, the credit card transaction settles and the buyer&#39;s card is charged for only the second pair of shoes.  
         [0102]     It is apparent that the above steps taken offline would take a significant amount of time, including travel time and waiting time, and are potentially very embarrassing for the buyer. The speed and broad access of the Internet greatly reduces the time, and the relative anonymity of the Internet relieves that embarrassment but also increases the potential for intentional buyer fraud. Another drawback of an offline price comparison and revision method is that buyers in close physical proximity to each other could readily share information about competitor retailers and obstruct the first retailer&#39;s ability to sell an item at different prices to different buyers.  
         [0103]     It should be noted that the photos, the second retailer prices, and the shoe locations in the second retailer store can be saved in the file at any step after step  6 . If the photos are not saved in the file, the clerk of step  11 , 12  can simply send the photographer out again to take more photos. If the prices and shoe locations of the second retailer are saved in the file, the clerk can use that saved information to instruct the photographer where to go. If the prices and shoe locations of the second retailer are not saved in the file, the clerk can ask the buyer to provide that information.  
         [0104]     Results  
         [0105]     The inventor installed an embodiment of the present invention on a webserver at http://www.music44.com. That is the website of Music44.com, Inc., an Indiana corporation and online retailer of sheet music, music books, musical instrument and accessories. The results were surprising.  
         [0106]     Firstly, the invention was deployed without advertising or promotion. Nevertheless, commercial success was immediate. Buyers began using the invention within hours of deployment and Music44.com won orders away from other retailers, including major online retailers as well as smaller retailers.  
         [0107]     Secondly, some of the Music44.com staff personnel were concerned that buyers would use the invention fraudulently. For example, buyers had a means to change the selling price, and could intentionally enter an incorrect (lower) price for the competitor price  2008 . Alternatively, a buyer could intentionally reference an incorrect or invalid competitor web address. However, that did not happen. In five days of use, not one buyer used the invention fraudulently.  
         [0108]     Thirdly, some of the staff personnel at Music44.com were concerned that buyers would be confused and enter the wrong information unintentionally—wrong web address and/or wrong price. That happened only once—the first order. The buyer confused a Volume 2 music book at music44.com with a Volume 1 music book at a competitor&#39;s website. The inventor clarified the instructions on the data collection page  2000 , and no further mistakes were found. Every order was approved during the period of time when all incoming orders were being monitored.  
         [0109]     In the months that followed, further monitoring of incoming orders revealed that less than 1% of buyers tried to use the invention fraudulently. Of course, none of the fraudulent orders were approved. In a further embodiment, a warning was added to indicate that misuse of the discount feature would result in order cancellation and a cancellation service fee. This warning further reduced the fraudulent order rate.  
       ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0110]     A competitor retailer can configure their competitor webserver  14005  to ignore requests from the host retailer webserver  14004 . To avoid this problem, an alternate embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 20  could be used. This alternative embodiment includes a relay  18001  installed on the buyer&#39;s computer  14001 . Preferably, the relay  18001  is a small software application that the buyer could quickly and easily download from the host retailer webserver  14004  and install on the buyer computer  14001 . With the relay  18001  installed, the host retailer webserver  14004  makes a request  18002  to the relay  18001  which sends a follow-on request  18003  to the competitor webserver  14005 . The competitor webserver  14005  responds and sends a reply  18004  to the relay  18001  which send a follow-on reply  18005  to the host retailer webserver  14004 . This embodiment enables the host retailer webserver  14004  to mask it&#39;s identity by allowing the competitor webserver  14005  “to think” it is communicating with the buyer.  
         [0111]     In another embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 21 , a relay  19002  is installed on a relay computer  19001  connected to the network  14006  via a connection  19007 . The host webserver  14004  makes a request  19003  to the relay  19002  which sends a follow-on request  19004  to the competitor webserver  14005 . The competitor webserver  14005  responds and sends a reply  19005  to the relay  19002  which sends a follow-on reply  19006  to the host webserver  14004 . This embodiment enables the host webserver  14004  to mask it&#39;s identity by allowing the competitor webserver  14005  “to think” it is communicating with another potential buyer. The connection  19007  preferably has a dynamic IP address that changes at predetermined times.  
         [0112]     In another embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 22 , the host webserver  14004  has a second connection  20001  to the network  14006  preferably with a dynamic IP address that changes at predetermined times. The host webserver  14004  uses the connection  20001  to communicate with the competitor webserver  14005 . This embodiment enables the host webserver  14004  to mask it&#39;s identity by allowing the competitor webserver  14005  “to think” it is communicating with another buyer.  
         [0113]     In another embodiment of the invention, the buyer-entered price  2008  of Step  5  ( FIG. 2 ) is not required and may be excluded from the input required on the data collection page  2000  ( FIG. 5 ). The host webserver  14004  can be enabled to implement a parsing method that finds the competitor price  3001  in the webpage copy  11001  ( FIG. 8 ) of the competitor item page  3000  ( FIG. 6 ). The host webserver  14004  can then utilize the parsed product price in place of the user-entered price  2008 .  
         [0114]     In another embodiment of the invention, the host webserver  14004  includes a price-verifier parsing method added to Step  7  ( FIG. 2 ) that responds to a predetermined format of competitor item page  3000  ( FIG. 6 ). The price-verifier parsing method parses the page information to derive the item&#39;s price from the page and compares the parsed price to the buyer-entered price  2008 . If a match is found, the host webserver  14004  proceeds to Step  8 . This embodiment can decrease buyer fraud (the buyer deliberately entering an incorrect price) and buyer errors (the buyer accidentally entering an incorrect price).  
         [0115]     In another embodiment of the invention, an ordering method  22000  shown in  FIG. 23  is used. The ordering method  22000  differs from the ordering method  15000  of  FIG. 2  in that the branches at Steps  6  and  7  are disabled to decrease the time the buyer waits for the revised host retailer item page  4000  ( FIG. 7 ) to be displayed in the browser window  14002 ; and to decrease the information processing load on the host webserver  14004 . This arrangement can speed up other processes that could be occurring on the host webserver  14004  at the same time. In this embodiment, the buyer-entered price  2008  must be entered by the buyer if the “No” branches of Steps  6  or  7  are taken, or if the webserver  14004  does not parse the offering price  3001  from the webpage copy  11001 . This embodiment uses an alternative order approval method  23000  shown in  FIG. 24 . The approval method  23000  differs from the order approval method  17000  of  FIG. 16  at Steps  3 - 7 . Since the host webserver  14004  might not have saved a webpage copy  11001  ( FIG. 8 ) in the ordering method  22000 , the clerk selects the competitor web address link  10005  ( FIG. 25 ). The host webserver  14004  utilizes the buyer-entered web address  2009  to display the competitor item page  3000  ( FIG. 26 ). The clerk compares the item pages of  FIGS. 3 and 26  to approve or not approve the order.  
         [0116]      FIG. 27  shows another embodiment of the invention where the data collection page  2000  has an embedded web browser  30001  in place of the web address entry field  2006 . In operation, the buyer navigates the embedded browser  30001  to the competitor item page  3000  and reads the competitor item price  3001 . After determining that the competitor price  3001  is lower than the offering price  1002 , the buyer enters the buyer-entered price  2008  into the price entry field  2005  then selects the “Show New Price” object  2007  in order to proceed to the host retailer revised item page  4000 . Once there, the buyer can checkout and pay the discount item price  4001 . This arrangement does not require any communication between the host retailer webserver  14004  and the competitor webserver  14005  because the embedded browser  30001  is included in a HTML form  30002  along with the “Show New Price” object  2007  and the price entry field  2005 . When the buyer selects the “Show New Price” object  2007 , the buyer&#39;s browser  14002  sends not only the buyer-entered price  2008  but also the HTML script of the competitor webpage shown in the embedded web browser  30001  to the host webserver  14004 . Whether the competitor webserver  14005  is configured to ignore requests from the host webserver  14004  is irrelevant because the webservers do not communicate with each other directly.  
         [0117]     Embedded web browser  30001  can be an ActiveX WebBrowser component provided by Microsoft Corporation. Alternatively,  FIG. 28  shows a Bitty Browser  31001  which is a JavaScript browser provided by Scott Matthews (http://www.bitty.com/). The Bitty Browser  31001  is embedded on the form  30002  instead of the browser  30001 . Cross-site scripting is a computer security vulnerability typically found in web applications which can be used by an attacker to compromise a computer system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_site_scripting). To prevent such an attack, many commercially available web browsers do not support cross-site scripting. Practical implementations of the alternative embodiments of  FIGS. 27 and 28  are preferably configured to not rely on cross-site scripting for operation.  
         [0118]     Another embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 29  where a dual-window browser  32003  displays two websites simultaneously. The dual-window browser  32003  can be implemented as an Active-X application written in Microsoft Visual Basic that runs inside a browser window. The application installation files can be delivered to the browser window  14002  on the buyer computer  14001  which installs the application automatically. In operation, the buyer navigates a first window  32004  to the host retailer data collection page  2000  and navigates a second window  32005  to the competitor item page  3000 . The dual-window browser  32003  is configured to recognize this condition and copy the HTML script of the page shown in the second window  32005  to a hidden element of the form  30002 . When the buyer selects the “Show New Price” object  2007 , the dual-window browser  32003  sends the user-entered price  2008  and the HTML script to the host webserver  14004 . Whether the competitor webserver  14005  is configured to ignore requests from the host webserver  14004  is irrelevant because the webservers do not communicate with each other directly. In another embodiment of the invention, the dual-window browser  32003  is configured to recognize competitor item page  3000 , parse price  3001  from it, and insert price  3001  into the price entry field  2005  as the user-entered price  2008  in order to eliminate a step for the buyer.  
         [0119]     In another embodiment of the invention, host webserver  14004  is configured to perform an additional operation at step  8  in  FIG. 2 . After calculating the discount price  4001 , webserver  14004  changes the offering price  1002  of item  12  to the discount price  4001  by overwriting the numerical value of offering price  1002  with the numerical value of the discount price  4001  and saving that change to the products database  13  of webserver  14004 . This changes the offering price  1002  of  FIG. 3  to the discount price  4001  for all future buyers who use the host retailer website after the buyer places an order. Any future buyer can later reference a competitor website to change the offering price  1002  for himself/herself, place an order, and again change the offering price  1002  for all buyers who use the host retailer website after his/her order has been placed.  
         [0120]     In another embodiment of the invention, host webserver  14004  is configured to perform an additional operation at step  8  in  FIG. 16 . After notifying the buyer of order approval, webserver  14004  changes the offering price  1002  of item  12  to the discount price  4001  by overwriting the numerical value of offering price  1002  with the numerical value of the discount price  4001  and saving that change to the products database  13  of webserver  14004 . This changes the offering price  1002  of  FIG. 3  to the discount price  4001  for all future buyers who use the host retailer website after the order is approved. Any future buyer can later reference a competitor website to change the offering price  1002  for himself/herself, place an order, and again change the offering price  1002  for all buyers who use the host retailer website after his/her order has been approved by the clerk.  
         [0121]     In another embodiment of the invention, data collection page  2000  of  FIG. 5  includes an additional data entry field and more instructions for the buyer. The instructions  2001  instruct the buyer to enter a competitor retailer&#39;s shipping cost  2012  for item  12 ′ into a shipping cost entry field  2011 , which is added to page  2000 . The discount price calculations of  FIG. 19  include an additional step that calculates a numerical shipping cost difference  19010  by subtracting the competitor retailer&#39;s shipping cost  2012  from a predetermined host retailer shipping cost  21006 , which the host retailer defines and includes in the administrative discount setup page  21000  of  FIG. 18 . The shipping cost difference  19010  is subtracted from the discount price  4001  when the discount price  4001  is calculated by the host webserver  14004  at Step  8  of  FIG. 2 . When the shipping cost difference  19010  is greater than zero, it decreases the discount price  4001  in response to the host retailer&#39;s shipping cost being “more expensive” than the competitor retailer&#39;s shipping cost  2012 . On the other hand, when the shipping cost difference  19010  is less than zero, it increases the discount price  4001  in response to the host retailer&#39;s shipping cost being “less expensive” than the competitor retailer&#39;s shipping cost  2012 .  
         [0122]     In other words, this embodiment enables the host retailer to automatically lower the discount price  4001  when the competitor retailer is offering a lower cost, subsidized or free, shipping cost; and automatically raise the discount price  4001  when the competitor retailer is offering a higher cost, excessive or inflated, shipping cost.  
         [0123]     Some competitor retailers artificially inflate their shipping cost above the actual cost of shipping and make an offsetting decrease in there offering price. Other competitor retailers do the opposite. They discount their shipping cost below the actual cost of shipping (to at or near zero) and make an offsetting increase in their offering price. This embodiment of the invention enables the host retailer to readily compete and beat competitor retailers, regardless of whether they inflate or discount their shipping cost.  
         [0124]     In another embodiment of the invention, the host webserver  14004  eliminates the buyer&#39;s step of entering the competitor retailer&#39;s shipping cost  2012  by parsing the shipping cost  2012  from the competitor webpage copy  11001  ( FIG. 8 ). But since the shipping cost  2012  might not be available on webpage copy  11001 , the host webserver  14004  is preconfigured to calculate a competitor retailer&#39;s estimated shipping cost  2012 ′, when the shipping cost  2012  can not be parsed.  
         [0125]     Many competitor retailers post their shipping policy and shipping charge information on a designated page of their website. In this embodiment, personnel working for the host retailer acquire and review the shipping information, develop a formula to calculate the estimated competitor shipping costs and then configure the host webserver  14004  to respond to the competitor retailer&#39;s website address  2009  as entered by the buyer. When the competitor&#39;s website address  2009  is entered by the buyer, the host webserver  14004  uses the formula to calculate the estimated competitor shipping cost  2012 ′; and automatically inserts the estimated cost shipping  2012 ′ into the shipping cost entry field  2011  in order to eliminate the step for the buyer.  
         [0126]     In another embodiment of the invention, the shipping cost difference  19010  is subtracted from the shipping costs in the shipment method selection table  7001  of  FIG. 11 , instead of being subtracted from the discount price  4001 . For example, if the shipping cost difference  19010  is $1.00, then the cost of Media Mail becomes $2.88 instead of $3.88, Preferred Mail becomes $4.59 instead of $4.59, and Parcel Post becomes $5.40 instead of $6.40, etc.  
         [0127]     In another embodiment of the invention, the discount price  4001  is not displayed explicitly on any host webpage, such as the revised item page  4000  of  FIG. 7 ; or on the buyer&#39;s shopping call page  13001 , such as the page shown in  FIG. 4 . Instead, the discount price  4001  is implied by showing offering price  1002  accompanied by an additional discount  4007 , where the additional discount  4007  is computed by the host webserver  14004  as the numerical difference between the offering price  1002  and the discount price  4001 . The additional discount  4007  can be so-called a rebate, a refund, a reimbursement, a factor, a credit, an accumulation of points or another term.  
         [0128]     Some host retailers are required by their suppliers to follow a minimum advertised price policy (MAP pricing guideline) in which the supplier sets a minimum offering price  1002  that the host retailer can display on its website for a given item. In order to comply with the MAP pricing guideline, the host webserver  14004  can show the offering price  1002  accompanied by the additional discount  4007 . Alternatively, the host webserver  14004  can sum the additional discount  4007  for each item purchased by the buyer and show a summary discount  4009  on the shopping cart page  13001  and the checkout pages, such as the pages of  FIGS. 10-13  for example.  
         [0129]     The host retailer can attribute the summary discount  4009  to the buyer in any of various formats, such as (but not limited to), cash; cash equivalents including a credit card refund, a bank draft, a bank account deposit; or non-cash equivalents including redeemable points, credits, coupons, gift certificates, or other instruments that can be redeemed by the buyer for goods or services. The host retailer can give the buyer the option of selecting a discount format, and provide different amounts for the different discount formats. For example, the host retailer may offer the discount to the buyer as a larger amount for a gift certificate than for cash because the gift certificate will encourage the buyer to purchase further items from the host retailer&#39;s website.  
         [0130]     While the present system is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, exemplary embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the system to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to address all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the system as defined by the appended claims.