Patent ID: 7890379

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of facilitating electronic purchases, comprising: receiving at a merchant's server an electronic shopping cart comprising a selection of items of a customer from different merchants, with some items associated with a different merchant and selected for purchase from a different merchant's website; inspecting the electronic shopping cart for other items associated with the different merchant; sending a recommendation to the customer via a communications network to remove a different merchant's item and to instead add a substitute item associated with the merchant; seek authorization from the customer to replace the different merchant's item with the substitute item; receive a response from the customer via the communications network that authorizes removal of the different merchant's item from the electronic shopping cart; replacing the different merchant's item in the electronic shopping cart with the substitute item associated with the merchant; sending a notification from the merchant to the different merchant, the notification describing the recommendation to remove the different merchant's item; receiving a counteroffer from the different merchant, the counteroffer comprising an updated offer to purchase the different merchant's item; and permitting the customer to compare the counteroffer with the substitute item and to select a desired item to be added to the electronic shopping cart.