Apparatus and method for on-line price comparison of competitor's goods and/or services over a computer network
US6076070A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 13, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q30/06
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for a computer-implemented on-line price comparison method for performing price comparison and price reduction of goods and/or services sold by a vendor over a computer network, such as the Internet. The price comparison method can be selected by a customer, whereupon the computer program requests a competitor's price by transmitting a price request over the computer network. When the competitor's price is received, it is displayed to the customer. The computer program compares the competitor's price to the item price for the specified item. If the competitor's price is higher, nothing is done. If the competitor's price is lower, however, the computer program presents to the customer the option of requesting a reduced price. If the customer requests a reduced price, the computer program checks to see if the competitor's price is below a predetermined threshold. If it is, the computer program advises the customer to buy the specified item from the competitor. If the competitor's price is not below the threshold, the vendor's item price is reduced and displayed to the customer, who may now purchase the product at a price lower than that of the comp…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.