US 20030055743A1
(19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2003/0055743 A1 (43) Pub. Date:
Murcko, JR. (54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POST-TRANSACTION PRICING SYSTEM
(76) Inventor: Thomas Murcko J R., Arlington, VA
(Us)
Mar. 20, 2003
information, goods and services to offer those items globally to potential buyers, for buyers to make item requests of sellers, for sellers and buyers conveniently to search for relevant buyer and seller information, for sellers to provide items to buyers Without any guarantee of a speci?c payment amount, and for buyers to decide hoW much to pay for those items after having received them. The method and apparatus
Correspondence Address: THOMAS MURCKO 643 NORTH ABINGDON ST.
of the present invention have applications on the internet as Well as conventional communications systems such as voice
ARLINGTON, VA 22203 (US)
telephony. In a preferred embodiment, the method and apparatus of the present invention include mechanisms
(21) Appl. No.:
10/274,474
(22) Filed:
Oct. 21, 2002
transactions is revealed in such a Way as to encourage buyers to pay a fair amount for the items provided, and to encourage
Related US. Application Data
sellers to provide items that are of high value to the buyers
(63)
through Which information about participants and previous
Continuation of application No. 09/548,151, ?led on
Apr. 13, 2000.
makes this information available to participants, so that they are able to intelligently decide Which participants are Worth
Publication Classi?cation (51)
Int. Cl? ................................................... .. G06F 17/60
(52)
Us. 01. .............................................................. .. 705/26
(57)
ABSTRACT
The present invention is a method and apparatus for effec
tuating post-transaction-priced transactions of information, goods, and services in exchange for money or its equivalent
(such as credits). The invention alloWs prospective sellers of
SELLER'S
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transacting With. For example, a buyer Who routinely pays nothing for items Will soon have dif?culty ?nding sellers interested in selling him/her items, While a buyer Who consistently pays a fair price for items Will be able to expect a steady stream of items. Similarly, a seller Who consistently
provides items Which buyers are Willing to pay large amounts for Will have greater ability to provide items to buyers in the future, While a seller Who provides items Which
buyers generally ?nd Worthless Will have great dif?culty ?nding any buyers to provide items to.
BUYER'S
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to Whom they provide those items. Speci?cally, the system stores information regarding previous transactions and
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OPERATING SYSTEM
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TO BUYERS AND
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 3 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
DISPLAY DEVICE
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 4 0f 25
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TO SYSTEM
OPERATOR
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 5 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
ITEM ID
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PAYMENT AMOUNT
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PAYMENT DATE
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DATE ITEM DESCRIPTION PROVIDED C @ DATE ITEM PROVIDED
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STATUS
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 6 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 7 0f 25
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 8 0f 25
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 9 0f 25
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 10 0f 25
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 11 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
ITEM REQUEST ID Q
DESCRIPTION
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DATE/TIME
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BUYER ITEM REQUESTS DATABASE 800 FIG. 8
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 12 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
BUYER PAYMENT ID 1002
DATEFTIME
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BUYER ID
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‘ 1004
W / BUYER PAYMENTS TO SYSTEM DATABASE 1000
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 13 0f 25
BUYER JOINS
US 2003/0055743 A1
SELLER JOINS 1204
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I "SELLER ENTERS PROFILE
BUYER ENTERS PROFILE INFORMATION 1206
INFORMATION
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TRANSACTION STARTS BUYER REQUESTS ITEM FROM SELLER
SELLER CHOOSES NOT To SELL To THAT BUYER 1215
SELLER PROVIDES k
1212
ITEM OR DESCRIPTION
OF ITEM
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+
SELLER PROVIDES MORE INFORMATION 1224
NOT A TRANSACTION V
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NOT A TRANSACTION. SELLER IS NOTIFIED
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BUYER MAKES PAYMENT
TO SYSTEM OPERATOR, PAYMENT AMOUNT Is SPECIFIED
/ TRANSACTION PROCESS 1210
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FIG. 12
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sET TO AMOUNT BUYER 1230
Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 14 0f 25
BUYER LOGIN
MORE
I500 BUYER
US 2003/0055743 A1
SELLER LOGIN
INFORMATION 2600
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TERMS OF USE
REGISTRATION
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INITIAL SCREEN 1300
FIG. 13
BUYER REGISTRATION
COMPANY NAME: SITE NAME:
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URL:
POSTAL ADDRESS:
CATEGORY:
INITIAL PAYMENT:
4
DATE/TIME: [automatically set]
NAME:
1410
PREFERRED PAYMENT METHOD: 1413
PASSWORD:
1412
ADDITIONAL PAYMENT INFORMATION: 1415
ITEM REQUEST 1417 ‘ SELLER MINIMUM PAYMENT OR CUTOFF PERCENTILE:
1414
SELLER MINIMUM TRANSACTIONS:
1416
OTHER SELLER CRITERIA:
1418
EXCEPTIONS -
SUB-COMMUNITIES
INCLUDE: EXCLUDE:
1420
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1
22
\SELLER REQUIREMENTS 1430 BUYER REGISTRATION FORM 1400 / FIG. 14
Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 15 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
BUYER LOGIN
USERNAME;
PASSWORD:
1 02
IF LOGIN IS SUCCESSFUL: BUYER SEARCHES FOR SELLERS
’
BUYER ACCOUNT
1504
BUYER ITEM REQUEST
BUYER vIEwS ITEMS
INFORMATION
1506
BUYER SPECIFIES ACCEPTABLE
1508
SELLERS
1512
TOP LISTINGS
1514
UPDATE REGISTRATION INFORMATION
BUYER LOGIN FORM 1500;
1510
1516
FIG‘ 15
BUYER SEARCHES FOR SELLERS -
-
SEARCH ALL SELLERS
1602
SEARCH ALL ITEMS SELLERS HAvE AVAILABLE -
INFORMATION GOODS
-
SERVICES
-
ALL TYPES
1604
SEARCH BY AREA OF EXPERTISE:
SEARCH BY OCCUPATION:
[LIST]
1606
[LIST]
SEARCH TEXT:
1608 1
0
SEARCH/SCREEN BY AVERAGE PAYMENT:
1612
SEARCH/SCREEN BY NUMBER OF COMPLETED TRANSACTIONS:
1
SEARCH BY PARTICIPANT COMMENTS:
1615
RESULTS:
A BUYER SEARCHES FOR SELLERS FORM 1600
FIG. 16
4
1616
Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 16 of 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
BUYER ITEM REQUEST ITEM DESIRED‘:
v
1702
ITEM TYPE DESIRED:
1704
FROM: SPECIFIC SELLER(S) 1
1706
TYPES OF SELLER(S) :
1708
OTHER REQUIRED SELLER CRITERIA:_1
0
CUTOFF PERCENTILE: 1720
m2
- —~
‘PRICING GUIDANCE (optional) :
1
BUYER ITEM REQUEST
4
.
FORM 1700
FIG. 17
BUYER VIEWS ITEMS Previous Item
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_
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ITEM DESCRIPTION: SELLER:
1802
BUYER'S REQUEST FOR
i
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:
OR COMMENTS (where
7 1804
applicable):
1806 _
>
7
SELLER'S REPLY TO BUYER'S REQUEST (where
applicable): DATE/TIME:
1808
PAYMENT AMOUNT:
1810 _
1816
I] CLOSE ITEM REQUEST
PAYMENT DATE: (set automatlcally)
/ BUYER VIEWS ITEMS PAGE 1800
‘
~1814
FIG. 18
1812
1818
Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 17 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
BUYER ACCOUNT INFORMATION
NAME: I: DATE: :1 BALANCH II: METRICS'. AVERAGE PAYMENT: NUMBER OF ITEMS BOUGHT: AVERAGE TIME TO PAY: % OF PAYMENTS MADE ON TIME: MAKE PAYMENT 1910
/ BUYER ACCOUNT INFORMATION PAGE 1900
FIG. 19
SELLER REGISTRATION COMPANY NAME: SITE NAME: URL:
PHONE: EMAIL: POSTAL ADDRESS:
DATE/TIME: (set automatically)
OCCUPATION: EDUCATION LEVEL: AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
NAME:
2010
PASSWORD:
N
M
’
PREFERRED PAYMENT METHOD:
ADDITIONAL PAYMENT INFORMATION'.___ 2015
PROVIDE ITEMS 2023
SELLER REGISTRATION FORM 2000
2013
FIG. 20
Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 18 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
SELLER LOGIN
‘USER NAME: PASSWORD:
21 2
IF LOGIN IS SUCCESSFUL: SELLER SEARCHES FOR BUYERS
SELLER ACCOUNT
~
2104
INFORMATION
2110
SELLER PROVIDES ITEM
2106
Top |_|ST|NGS
2112
SELLER VIEWS ITEMS
2108
UPDATE REGISTRATION INFORMATION
SELLER LOGIN FORM 2100/
114
FIG. 21
SELLER SEARCHES FOR BUYERS I
.
.
SEARCH ALL BUYERS
g1;
SEARCH BY CATEGORY OF
BUYER: 0
SEARCH BY BUYER ITEM REQUESTS ' INFORMATION 0
[LIST]
2206
SEARCH TEXT:
2208
GOODS
I
SERVICES
0
ALL TYPES
2204
SEARCH/SCREEN BY AVERAGE PAYMENT:
2210
SEARCH/SCREEN BY NUMBER OF COMPLETED TRANSACTIONS:
2212
SEARCH BY ON-TIME PAYMENTS:
2214
'
SEARCH BY PARTICIPANT COMMENTS:
2215
RESULTS:
2
SELLER SEARCHES FOR BUYERS FORM 2200
FIG- 22
6
i
Patent Application Publication Mar. 20, 2003 Sheet 19 0f 25
US 2003/0055743 A1
SELLER PROVIDES ITEM ITEM:
'
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DESCRIPTION:
POTENTIAL BUYERISI: TYPES: NAMESI :
“2304
SUGGESTED AMOUNT:
N 0) O O)
7 SELLER PROVIDES ITEM FORM 2300 FIG. 23
‘
PrevIous Item
ITEM: (link if applicable)
2402
BUYER'S REQUEST FOR
ITEM DESCRIPTION:
2404
OR COMMENTS (where applicable); 2414
BUYER:
2406
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
SELLER'S REPLY TO
BUYER'S REQUEST (where DATE/TIME:
2408
PAYMENT AMOUNT: ’
‘2416
PAYMENT DATE: (if paid)
2412
7 SELLER VIEWS ITEMS PAGE 2400 7
FIG. 24
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