Method and system for dynamic pricing

Abstract

A computer system and method for dynamic pricing is described. The system includes at least one dynamic calculator, which performs calculations based upon conditional rules.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A computer system for dynamic pricing comprising: 
 at least one static calculator for making price calculations that are not conditional; and    at least one dynamic calculator for making price calculations based upon conditional rules.    
     
     
         2 . The computer system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one static calculator comprises a pre-calculator that determines an initial price.  
     
     
         3 . The computer system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one static calculator comprises a post-processing calculator that adjusts a determined price according to a price generation algorithm.  
     
     
         4 . The computer system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one dynamic calculator further comprises a qualifier and a discount calculator.  
     
     
         5 . The computer system of  claim 4  wherein the qualifier applies rules to determine if an item is qualified to receive a discount.  
     
     
         6 . The computer system of  claim 5  wherein the rules comprise a condition that must be satisfied for an item to qualify for the discount.  
     
     
         7 . The computer system of  claim 5  wherein the rules comprise a condition that must be satisfied for an item to qualify for the discount and a target upon which to apply the discount.  
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 5  wherein the discount calculator applies a discount to an item that is determined to be qualified to receive a discount.  
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 1  wherein the static calculators further comprise a pre-calculator that determines an initial price and a post-processing calculator that adjusts a determined price according to a price generation algorithm; and 
 the at least one dynamic calculator further comprises a qualifier and a discount calculator.  
 
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one static calculator and the at least one dynamic calculator make up a pricing engine.  
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 10  further comprising a plurality of pricing engines.  
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 11  wherein one of the plurality of pricing engines calculates a price for a particular item  
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 11  wherein one of the plurality of pricing engines calculates a shipping price of a particular item.  
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 11  wherein one of the plurality of pricing engines calculates an applicable tax amount for a particular item.  
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 11  wherein one of the plurality of pricing engines calculates an amount comprising a price for all items in an order, shipping costs and applicable taxes for the order.  
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 10  wherein the pricing engine is connected to a network for determining prices of items for sale over the network.  
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 16  wherein the network is the Internet.  
     
     
         18 . The computer system of  claim 16  wherein the network is a wireless network.  
     
     
         19 . The computer system of  claim 16  wherein the network is telephone-based.  
     
     
         20 . A system for dynamic pricing comprising: 
 at least one static calculator for making price calculations that are not conditional;    at least one dynamic calculator for making price calculations based upon conditional rules,    wherein the dynamic calculator further comprises a qualifier and a discount calculator.    
     
     
         21 . A system for dynamic pricing comprising: 
 at least one static calculator for making price calculations that are not conditional; and    at least one dynamic calculator for making price calculations based upon conditional rules,    wherein the at least one static calculator comprises at least one pre-calculator that determines an initial price.    
     
     
         22 . A system for dynamic pricing comprising: 
 at least one static calculator for making price calculations that are not conditional; and    at least one dynamic calculator for making price calculations based upon conditional rules,    wherein the at least one static calculator comprises at least one post-processing calculator that performs final adjustments to a price based upon a price generation algorithm.    
     
     
         23 . A system for dynamic pricing comprising: 
 at least one static calculator for making price calculations that are not conditional; and    at least one dynamic calculator for making price calculations based upon conditional rules,    wherein the static calculators further comprise a pre-calculator that determines an initial price and a post-processing calculator that adjusts a determined price according to a price generation algorithm; and    the at least one dynamic calculator further comprises a qualifier and a discount calculator.    
     
     
         24 . A computer system for dynamic pricing comprising: 
 a module for setting an initial price on at least one item; and    at least one dynamic calculator for modifying the initial price on the at least one item based upon conditional rules.    
     
     
         25 . A method of performing dynamic pricing on at least one item comprising the steps of: 
 setting an initial price on the at least one item;    performing one of more dynamic price calculations on the at least one item based upon one or more conditional rules,    wherein these two pricing steps yield price information for the at least one item.    
     
     
         26 . A method of performing dynamic pricing on at least one item comprising the steps of: 
 performing one or more static price calculations on the at least one item that are not conditional; and    performing one or more dynamic price calculations on the at least one item based upon one or more conditional rules,    wherein these two price calculation steps yield price information for the at least one item.    
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26  further comprising the step of utilizing elements of a price environment to perform the calculations.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26  further comprising outputting price information after the calculations are complete.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28  wherein the price information comprises a price calculation history which further comprises one or more of the rules used to calculate the price.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the price calculation history may be used to recalculate a price in the future.  
     
     
         31 . A method of allowing a user to create rules for dynamic pricing comprising the steps of: 
 providing at least one static calculator for making price calculations that are not conditional;    providing at least one dynamic calculator for making price calculations based upon conditional rules; and    providing a user interface that allows a user to input at least one conditional rule.    
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the rule is input in text format.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32  further comprising a step of transforming the rule to an executable format.  
     
     
         34 . A computer program product, residing on a computer-readable medium, for dynamic pricing, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to: 
 set an initial price on at least one item; and    perform dynamic price calculations on the at least one item,    wherein these instructions yield price information for the at least one item.    
     
     
         35 . The computer program product of  claim 34  wherein the computer-readable medium includes a magnetic disk.  
     
     
         36 . The computer program product of  claim 34  wherein the computer-readable medium includes an optical disk.  
     
     
         37 . A computer program product, residing on a computer-readable medium, for dynamic pricing, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to: 
 perform static price calculations on at least one item that are not conditional; and    perform dynamic price calculations on the at least one item based upon conditional rules,    wherein these instructions yield price information for the at least one item.