Abstract:
An on-line system for creating an open market for matching buyers and sellers of commodity and/or brand name products. The system enables buyers to achieve the maximum value in the purchased product by engaging in open ended on-line reverse auction and negotiation process with multiple sellers of the specified product. The system enables sellers to generate sales leads and engage in open ended on-line reverse auction bidding and negotiation process with buyers.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 11/238,867 filed Sep. 29, 2005. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present inventions relate generally to computer based electronic commerce on distributed networks such as the Internet, and more specifically to on-line matching and negotiation between buyers and sellers of brand name products as well as commodity products. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    A brand name product is an easily comparable identical or almost identical product manufactured by the same manufacturer that is freely available from numerous sellers. Brand name products (for example, cars, TVs, and refrigerators) are bought and sold on-line in many different ways. Similarly commodity products, although supplied by different manufactures, typically rated to meet recognized industry standards are generally readily comparable among the various suppliers. 
         [0004]    Under the fixed price approach, brand name products are sold at the manufacture&#39;s or retailer&#39;s websites at a fixed price. Reference websites apply a variation of the fixed price approach by posting lists of prices of the same product available from multiple sellers. Very often the price list information is not accurate and up-to-date. To achieve maximum value when purchasing a product by the fixed price approach, a potential buyer has to engage in both on-line and off-line negotiations with each particular seller, which is a time consuming and ineffective process for both parties. The buyer in most cases is not able to receive the best deal because each particular seller is not aware of quotes provided by other sellers. Similarly, because sellers are not aware of quotes provided by other sellers, a particular seller is not able to provide a competitive quote. 
         [0005]    A referral service is another way of buying and selling brand name products online. A buyer specifies the product and provides contact information and the referral service informs a limited number of sellers (usually local) of the potential buyer. Sellers then begin to contact the potential buyer. To achieve maximum value, the buyer has to engage in both an on-line and off-line negotiation process with each particular seller. The referral method is widely used in buying and selling vehicles. Examples include www.autobyte1.com, www.edmunds.com, autos.msn.com, autos.yahoo.com, and www.kbb.com. A referral service has the same limitations and disadvantages as the fixed price approaches. 
         [0006]    A reverse auction where invited sellers bid to win a deal is another way for a potential buyer to achieve a better price for a product. Designed to achieve the best price, a reverse auction has many limitations that prevent a buyer from gaining the best value. While price is one of the most important parameters that a buyer considers when making a purchase decision, parameters such as availability of the product, cost of delivery, warranty, customer service, financing and other seller value added products and services are also very important to a buyer. 
         [0007]    Thus, existing systems require time consuming and inefficient negotiations between the buyer and seller, do not allow the buyer to achieve the best price, do not allow the seller to provide value in addition to price, and do not allow the buyer to consider the additional value in the buyer&#39;s decision making process. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention satisfies the above-mentioned needs and provides additional advantages and improvements that will be recognized by those skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure by eliminating time consuming and inefficient negotiations between buyer and seller, allowing the buyer to achieve the best price, allowing the seller to provide value in addition to price, and allowing the buyer to consider the additional value in the buyer&#39;s decision making process. 
         [0009]    The present inventions combine an on-line reverse auction environment with an on-line open ended negotiation process to produce greater product value for the buyer as well as higher sales for the sellers by generating more high quality sales leads. The present inventions create a flexible open ended on-line reverse auction environment through an on-line negotiation module, where buyers will be able to clarify and/or modify their requests and provide relevant information requested by the sellers. Sellers will be able to provide buyers with competitive bids and also with available value added products and services that define overall value of the specified product through the negotiation module. The buyer may consider information that the seller chooses to provide and the buyer may request additional information from the seller. Similarly, the seller may request information from the buyer and the seller may provide information. The buyer may weigh the information provided by the seller subjectively and then choose to complete or not complete a transaction. 
         [0010]    The present invention provides buyers and sellers with the ability to determine the rating or quality of the opposite party in order to increase effectiveness of the negotiation process. 
         [0011]    The present invention creates an open market for matching buyers and sellers of products implemented through a computer program residing on one or more computers, which may include a web server being accessible to parties with access to the World Wide Web. The access may be provided by input devices such as computers, terminals, cell phones, smart phones, tablet computers and other input devices. The invention is also implementable through intranets and other business system information exchanges. 
         [0012]    The present invention allows both buyers and sellers to engage in on-line reverse auctions and on-line negotiation processes in order to complete the transaction. 
         [0013]    The present inventions allow buyers to achieve maximum value in purchased product by comparing not only the price quotes provided by multiple sellers, but also by evaluating a value added products and services available from sellers, such as warranty, delivery, seller location, financing, and customer service. 
         [0014]    The present inventions allow sellers to compete more efficiently in the environment where they can provide not only the price quote, but also available value added products and services, such as warranty, delivery, included accessories, financing, and customer service that define the overall value of the purchased product. 
         [0015]    The present invention also allows sellers to compete with high confidence, since seller may choose to remain anonymous or to reveal his identity to other sellers. A quote may include verifiable seller information such as business name, address, sales representative name, phone, and email. 
         [0016]    The present inventions also allow sellers to evaluate the buyer rating and lead quality based on buyer provided information prior to providing a quote. A seller may request additional information from the buyer in order to increase the buyer rating and lead quality. If the buyer rating or lead quality is not sufficient, a seller may choose not to participate in an on-line reverse auction and negotiation process. 
         [0017]    The present inventions also allow for generating sales leads by embedding sales leads generation software module into the affiliated websites. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  illustrates the System Functional Diagram which is a high level block diagram of the system; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  illustrates the flow chart of the New Buyer Registration module; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  illustrates the flow chart of the Existing Buyer Logon module; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  illustrates the flow chart of the Buyer Personal Information Update module; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  illustrates the flow chart of the Buyer Request for the Quote (R4Q) 
           [0023]    Generation module; 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  illustrates the flow chart of the Buyer Request for the Quote (R4Q) Post module; 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  illustrates the flow chart of the Buyer/Seller Negotiation module; 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  illustrates the flow chart of the New Requests for the Quote (R4Q) module; 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  illustrates the flow chart of the Seller Business Information Update module; 
           [0028]      FIG. 10  illustrates the flow chart of the Existing Seller Logon module; 
           [0029]      FIG. 11  illustrates the flow chart of the New Seller Registration module; and, 
           [0030]      FIG. 12  illustrates the flow chart of the Sales Leads Generation module. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0031]    The System Functional Diagram, shown in  FIG. 1 , is a high level block diagram of a system according to the present invention that implements an open ended on-line reverse auction and negotiation process between a buyer of a particular brand name or commodity product and multiple sellers of the product. Detailed block diagrams of the components of the system according to the present invention are presented in  FIGS. 2-12  for each of the blocks in the System Functional Diagram  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0032]    Since systems according to the present invention are implemented as one or more computer programs residing on one or more computers accessible to buyers via, for example, the World Wide Web, an unlimited number of instances of the open ended on-line reverse auction and negotiation processes can coexist at the same time. For example, a particular buyer can be involved simultaneously in negotiation with multiple sets of sellers while buying different kinds of products, and a particular seller can be involved simultaneously in the negotiation with multiple buyers while selling the same product. All required input data is collected from and the computed results are presented to buyers and sellers in the form of web pages displayed within web browser applications as well as by specialized applications that could run on computers, terminals, smart phones, tablet computers and other devices. 
         [0033]    A system according to the present inventions may function in the following way. First, the open ended on-line reverse auction and negotiation process is initiated by the buyer  54  who creates a request for a quote (R4Q) for a particular product, as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0034]    A new unregistered with the system buyer  54  may start by selecting the product from the products database, providing contact information and submitting the product request. The new unregistered with the system buyer uses Sales Leads Generation module  20 , also shown in  FIG. 12 , embedded into system&#39;s main or affiliated web sites to create a new request for the quote  110 . Then, the New Buyer Registration module  40 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , searches buyers database  50  to determine if the provided buyer contact information  26  matches an existing buyer record  51 . If the provided contact information  26  doesn&#39;t match an existing buyer record, the system creates a new buyer record in the buyer database  50 , allows the buyer  54  to provide his own login credentials such or the system generates the login credentials  28 . In order to verify the contact information provided by the buyer  54 , sends the new buyer registration and logon information, such as the login credentials  28  to the buyer. If the contact information  26  provided by the buyer is valid, buyer receives the new buyer registration and logon information and using logon credentials  28  that was sent, signs in with the system via “Existing Buyer Logon” module  60  shown in  FIG. 3 . Successful logon of the new buyer validates a new, buyer record in the buyer database  50 . Activation of the account validates Buyer  54  provided contact information  26 . 
         [0035]    An existing registered with the system buyer starts by logging in to the system with an existing login credentials  28 . Alternatively, an existing registered with the system buyer can submit the new request for the quote using Sales Leads Generation module  20 , also shown in  FIG. 12 , embedded into the system main or affiliated web sites. Once the system detects that the provided buyer contact information  26  matches the existing buyer&#39;s record  51 , the buyer is prompted to sign in to the system via the Existing Buyer Logon module  60 ,  FIG. 3 , to finalize the request for the quote  110 . 
         [0036]    Once logged on, the buyer can modify and update personal information such as name, address, and phone number as well as configuration settings  84  such as preferred sellers and notification using Buyer Personal Information Update module  80 , which is shown in detail in  FIG. 4 . The system verifies the personal information  88  entered by the buyer  54  and then the system updates the personal information  88  in the buyer database  50 . During the update, the system calculates and assigns buyer&#39;s rating  124  based on the provided information that allow sellers to determine the quality of this particular sales lead  22  using information from the buyer database  50  and system information such as sales/purchase or payment history. 
         [0037]    In the next step, using the Buyer Request for the Quote Generation module  100 , which is shown in detail in  FIG. 5 , buyer creates or finalizes the request for the quote. If partial product information came from the Sales Leads Generation module  20 ,  FIG. 12 , buyer continues with specifying product details such as specifications and options. Otherwise, the buyer first selects the product  92  from the product database  90 . Then the buyer specifies the preferred terms of acquisition such is buying or leasing, cash or financing, and confirms or modifies the settings such as preferred sellers and notification, adds additional information such as comments and questions, and passes over the control to the system to actually post the request for the quote  110 . The system checks buyer  54  eligibility to post a request for a quote  110 . Optionally, based on the system configuration, buyer may have to pay a fee in order to be able to post a request for the quote  110 . In this case system prompts buyer to accept the charge and then posts the request for the quote  110 . If the buyer refuses to pay or the payment transaction fails, the transaction is terminated  114 . Alternatively, the buyer is allowed to use the free service to post a request for a quote  110 . 
         [0038]    The Buyer Request for the Quote Post module  120  shown in  FIG. 6  implements actual posting of the buyer request. The system searches the seller&#39;s database  210  to select sellers of the product specified in buyer&#39;s request for the quote. The system retrieves the assigned buyer&#39;s rating  124 , posts buyer&#39;s request with the buyer rating  124  into the negotiation database  140 , and notifies the preferred sellers  162  selected based on the buyer&#39;s preferences about the new request for the quote  110  on a product  92 . 
         [0039]    Sellers enter the system, as shown in  FIG. 1 , either through the Existing Seller Logon Module  200 , details of which are shown in  FIG. 10 , or through the New Seller Registration Module  220 , details of which are shown in  FIG. 11 . In order for a seller to enter into the on-line reverse auction and negotiation process with a buyer, the seller must be registered with the system. A new unregistered with the system seller uses the New Seller Registration module  220 ,  FIG. 11 , to provide business information such as business name, address, and products, as well as main contact information. The system searches the seller database  210  to determine if provided information matches any existing seller record. If the provided information does not match any existing seller record/account  222 , the system creates a new seller record in the sellers database  206  allows the seller  162  to provide his own login credential  28  or the system generates a secure login credential  28 . The system verifies seller&#39;s provided business information. Once business information is verified, the system sends new seller registration and logon information, to the seller. If the login credentials  28  provided by the seller is valid, the seller receives logon information, signs in with the system via Existing Seller Logon module  200  shown in  FIG. 10 . Successful logon of the new seller validates a new seller record/account  222  in the sellers database  210 . 
         [0040]    An existing registered with the system seller starts by logging in to the system with an existing login credentials  28  according to the Existing Seller Logon module  200  of  FIG. 10 . The seller provides login credentials  28  to logon and the system then checks the login credentials  28  against the sellers database  210 . If the login credentials  28  are valid, the seller is allowed to logon. If the login credentials  28  are not valid, then logon is not allowed. 
         [0041]    Once logged on, seller can review business information and modify business information and product description  94  through the Seller Business Information Update module  180  of  FIG. 9 . The system contacts seller  162  to confirm and verify business information and the system updates business information. The system contacts seller  162  to confirm and verify product information and the system updates business information. Using the Seller Business Information Update module  180 , seller can add, modify, and update main contact information, sales representative information, and seller configuration settings  186 . 
         [0042]    In the next step, the seller can review new requests for the quote posted by the buyer through the Seller New Requests for the Quote module  160  shown in  FIG. 8 . New requests for quotes are automatically presented to the seller  162  if the particular seller matches the criteria of the preferred sellers defined in the buyer&#39;s configuration settings. If the seller doesn&#39;t match buyer&#39;s preferred seller criteria, the seller  162  can obtain the list of the new requests for quotes for products this particular seller is authorized to sell by specifying the location such as zip codes or state(s). Using the specified location information, the system searches the negotiation database  150  for the newly posted requests for quotes for the specified product and presents the list of the new requests to the seller. 
         [0043]    After reviewing the list of the new requests for the quote, the seller may decide to engage into one or more on-line reverse auction(s) and negotiation process(es) with the buyer(s) in order to provide a quote  149 . System checks Seller eligibility to post quote and any other information. Based on system and Seller settings, Seller may or may not need to pay fee to become eligible to post quote and any other information. If Seller has to pay fee, but refuses, transaction fails. 
         [0044]    The “Buyer/Sellers Negotiation” module  140 ,  FIG. 7 , implements the on-line reverse auction and negotiation process functionality of the present invention. Designed in the form of a forum, this module allows buyers and sellers to communicate with each other. 
         [0045]    The buyer reviews quotes, comments, requests, questions, and other information posted by seller  162  and, if necessary, communicates back to the seller with the relevant information. At some point in the negotiation, the buyer  54  can accept or reject the sellers&#39; offer, effectively ending the negotiation. 
         [0046]    The seller  162  reviews new or existing requests for quotes  149 , additional information provided by the buyer  54 , buyer rating  124  information, quotes  149  and information provided by other sellers  162  and can provide the quote  149  as well. The seller may opt to leave the negotiation database  150 . The seller  162  may choose to provide the quote  149  and any additional information interactively, or in a fully automated mode. To use the fully automated mode, the seller specifies in a configuration setting the product&#39;s highest and the lowest price. The system checks quotes available from other sellers and, if possible, provides the lowest quote that is higher than the seller&#39;s predetermined lowest price for the product. The system stops bidding if the provided quote is the lowest, or if it reaches the seller&#39;s predetermined lowest price for the product. 
         [0047]    Although specific embodiments and methods of use have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments and methods shown. The same or different computer languages and tools for performing these operations could be used, as understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Certain tools and interfaces such as cookies, applets, and web browser windows are considered part of the invention and are not explicitly delineated in this disclosure as such would be readily created by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments as well as combinations of the above methods of use and other methods of use will be apparent to those having skill in the art upon review of the present disclosure. The scope of the present invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.