Patent ID: 7756875

Claim:
A computer system for enabling the purchase of a package comprising: a catalog database comprising: a catalog entry table including package data correlated to at least one unresolved package, wherein a package is a group of pieces of merchandise to be sold together, wherein an unresolved package is a package having one or more products with at least one unresolved attribute, wherein a product is a piece of merchandise that has at least one unresolved attribute, and wherein an unresolved attribute is an attribute value that has not been specified by a customer, wherein the catalog entry table stores a catalog entry identifier (ID) for each product; a product attribute table that stores attributes, wherein each attribute is associated with a catalog entry ID in the catalog entry table; a product attribute value table that stores attribute values, wherein each attribute value is associated with an attribute in the product attribute table; a package attribute table that stores attribute IDs, wherein each attribute ID is associated with an attribute value in the product attribute value table; and a package relationship table that stores package IDs, wherein each package ID is associated with an attribute value in the in the package attribute table; a selection module coupled to the catalog database for allowing the customer to select at least one unresolved package for purchase; and a resolution module coupled to the catalog database for resolving the at least one unresolved attribute of the one or more products in the selected unresolved package by matching a selected catalog entry ID from the catalog entry table with a corresponding package ID in the package relationship table, wherein the corresponding package ID indicates a resolved package, and wherein the selected catalog entry ID matches the package ID after the customer has selected an attribute value for the at least one unresolved attribute, wherein the selected attribute value corresponds to an attribute value in the product attribute value table, and wherein the elements above are implemented by a computer.