Patent ID: 7698169

Claim:
A method for providing buyer request listings using an e-commerce system including a commerce server and a client coupled to a network, the method including: creating via the commerce server a buyer request listing for an item wanted to be purchased by a buyer; automatically determining by the commerce server a listing category for the buyer request listing using a title and an item description thereof, by: generating by the commerce server a frequency distribution for categories of existing buyer request listings containing description information matching item description information and determining by the commerce server the best listing category having the highest frequency distribution; posting by the buyer via the commerce server the buyer request listing into the listing category; receiving via an interface of the client responses to the buyer request listings from a seller, where each of the responses references an item that is already offered for sale on the e-commerce system; purchasing by the buyer via the commerce server an item that was provided in one of the responses to the buyer request listings; and automatically deleting by the commerce server the buyer request listing from a database within the commerce server after a predetermined period time.