Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Electronic shopping
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-14
2001-08-28
Millin, V. (Department: 2164)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Electronic shopping
C705S027200, C705S028000, C705S03600T
Reexamination Certificate
active
06282517
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is related to the co-pending and commonly owned U.S. Patent applications having the following titles and attorney docket numbers, each of which was filed on even date herewith:
1. COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED PURCHASING SYSTEM WITH AVAILABLE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS, attorney docket number AUTOB.052A
2. SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTIVELY RETRIEVING INFORMATION ITEMS, attorney docket number AUTOB.050A
3. COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED PURCHASING SYSTEM WITH AFTERMARKET PRODUCT INVENTORY DISPLAY, attorney docket number AUTOB.047A
4. COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED PURCHASING SYSTEM WITH USER ACCESSIBLE PURCHASE REQUEST STATUS, attorney docket number AUTOB.046A
5. REAL TIME VEHICLE PURCHASE REQUEST MANAGEMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM, attorney docket number AUTOB.043A
Each of the above referenced patent applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
The present invention is related to systems and methods for conducting transactions using networked computers. Furthermore, this invention relates to communicating a potential customer's purchase request to a seller.
2. Description of the Related Art
The global economy has made the business of selling more competitive than ever. Businesses that do not maximize customer satisfaction and profitability may not survive in today's markets. Businesses are therefore demanding tools and methods to provide a competitive edge.
In a conventional vehicle sales scenario, a potential automobile purchaser initiates a purchasing process by visiting a dealership. The customer may make several preliminary visits before making his or her purchasing intent known to the dealer. Until the purchasing intent is revealed, the dealer acts inefficiently in attempting to consummate a customer purchase.
For example, the dealer maintains potentially unnecessary resources to handle the preliminary visits. Not knowing whether the potential customer intends to make a purchase, a large number of salespersons stand ready to confront all visitors to the dealership. However, many visits are preliminary and do not require the assistance of a salesperson. Accordingly, inefficiency is often experienced in such a conventional vehicle dealership setting.
Moreover, in the conventional vehicle dealership, the salesperson works on a commission basis. Because the salesperson's income is directly related to a vehicle's sales price, the salesperson will attempt to sell a vehicle for the highest price possible while still gulling a customer into thinking the customer is getting a great deal. Haggling over the vehicle's price enables the salesperson to achieve this goal.
Haggling over the vehicle's price is an unpleasant process for the customer. Both the customer and dealer invest significant resources in time and energy in this type of negotiation process. Additionally, the dread and intimidation associated with the haggling process often makes it stressful and frustrating for the customer. The customer may decide not to make a purchase as a result of the unpleasant haggling process. Thus, the haggling process introduces additional inefficiency in the vehicle sales process in the form of excess negotiation effort and potential lost sales.
SUMMARY
The present invention is related to systems and methods for conducting transactions utilizing networked computers. More particularly, this invention relates to communicating a potential customer's vehicle purchase request to a seller.
In conducting a commercial transaction such as the sale of a vehicle, a Data Center system facilitates the creation and submission of a purchase request. The Dalta Center system provides at least a first user web page accessible by a potential buyer. The potential buyer accesses this web page and provides the necessary information needed to create a purchase request.
The buyer provided information is then used to create a new vehicle purchase request record or a used vehicle purchase request record. Both purchase request records contain multiple fields. Each field may additionally contain multiple sub-fields or may even point to other fields or records. The purchase request record contains buyer and product information such as buyer contact information, product description, and payment information.
The purchase request record is stored in a Data Center system database. In one embodiment, the Data Center system database may be partitioned into exclusive database regions. Each participating seller may be assigned an exclusive database region. In another embodiment, a seller record may advantageously exist for each, seller, and the seller record contains information associated with the particular seller. For example, the seller record can contain or point to the seller's purchase request: records. Here, the collection of all records associated with the seller advantageously comprises a virtual exclusive database region in the Data Center system database. The Data Center system database further contains information regarding, for example, sellers, exclusive seller regions, and available products.
When a potential buyer submits either a new vehicle purchase request or a used vehicle purchase request, the Data Center system invokes program modules such as, by way of example, a buyer access module, to create an appropriate purchase request record. Moreover, the Data Center system identifies and notifies an appropriate seller of the purchase request. In one embodiment, the purchase request record is stored in the appropriate seller's exclusive database region. In another embodiment, the seller record may advantageously point to the purchase request record. Thus, the seller immediately becomes aware of the purchase request upon the creation of the purchase request record. In an alternative embodiment, the Data Center system may identify and notify one or a plurality of sellers of the purchase request. Here, the purchase request record may be stored in each identified seller's exclusive database region.
For a new vehicle purchase request, the appropriate seller is advantageously determined by exclusive seller regions based on vehicle make and zip code. For a used vehicle purchase request, the vehicle description generally determines the appropriate seller or sellers.
In one embodiment of the invention, the potential buyer accesses the Data Center system user web pages to submit the purchase request. The Data Center system may assist the buyer in formulating the purchase request. For example, the Data Center system may prompt the buyer to provide the information necessary to create the purchase request.
The Data Center receives the purchase request information from the buyer and determines an appropriate seller to receive the purchase request. The Data Center then proceeds to create and store the appropriate purchase request record in the database; region exclusively assigned to the seller. In one embodiment, the newly created purchase request record may be virtually stored in the seller's exclusive database region by associating or linking the purchase request record to the appropriate seller record.
The present invention facilitates a real time communication of a purchase request to a seller. The real time communication is accomplished by creating the purchase request record in the seller's exclusive database region. As aforementioned, the exclusive database region may either be physically created or virtually created. The real time communication of the purchase request to the seller occurs upon the creation of the purchase request record in its exclusive database region. The seller becomes aware of the newly created purchase request immediately upon the creation of the purchase request record.
In one example, a seller A may be accessing its exclusive database region via a network. Concurrently, a potential buyer may submit a purchase request to the Dalia Center. The Data Center system may determine seller A as the seller to receive the purchase request and accordingly, create a purchase request recor
Nelson Tim E.
Nottage Douglas S.
Waggoner Kevin J.
Wolfe Don P.
autobytel.com, Inc.
Kanof Pedro R.
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Millin V.
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