Method and apparatus for identifying potential buyers

Abstract

A method by which potential buyers are identified includes receiving a description of an item a potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time, determining a reward for the potential buyer based on intent data, providing the reward to the potential buyer and applying a penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer if the potential buyer does not purchase the item within the particular time period. The system includes a controller coupled to at least one input device with the controller operable to compute a reward offer. The controller includes circuitry, or software, configured to compute and apply a penalty if the potential buyer does not purchase the item within the particular time period.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for identifying potential buyers, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving intent data from a potential buyer, wherein the intent data identifies an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period; and    determining a reward for the potential buyer based on the intent data.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 receiving a payment identifier of a financial account of the potential buyer.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 receiving a payment identifier that identifies an electronic currency.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising the steps of: 
 issuing the reward to the potential buyer; and    applying a penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer if the potential buyer does not purchase the item within the particular time period.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising the step of: 
 calculating the penalty, wherein the calculation takes into account a value of the reward.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the step of applying the penalty comprises the steps of: 
 receiving a confirmation that the potential buyer has purchased within the particular time period a similar item to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase; and    applying a partial penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer, wherein the partial penalty is less than a total penalty charged when the potential buyer fails to purchase the item within the particular time period.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the step of applying the penalty to the potential buyer comprises the steps of: 
 receiving a confirmation that the potential buyer has purchased within the particular time period a similar item to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase; and    applying a partial penalty to the financial account.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the intent data received from the potential buyer includes a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 receiving a confirmation when the potential buyer has purchased the item within the particular time period.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the particular time period is specified by at least one of the potential buyer and a central server.  
     
     
         11 . A method for identifying potential buyers, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a description of an item a potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period, the description having a degree of specificity;    receiving a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period;    receiving a payment identifier of a financial account of the potential buyer;    determining a reward offer associated with a reward based on at least one of the degree of specificity, the degree of certainty, and a length of the particular time period; and    outputting the reward offer to the potential buyer.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the step of: 
 receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer purchased the item within the particular time period.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising the steps of: 
 determining whether the confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer has purchased the item within the particular time period has been received; and    applying a penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer when the potential buyer has not purchased the item within the particular time period.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising the step of: 
 calculating the penalty, wherein the calculation takes into account a price of a reward associated with the reward offer.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the degree of certainty is monotonically related to a value of the reward offer, such that a greater degree of certainty corresponds to a greater valued reward offer and a lower degree of certainty corresponds to a lower valued reward offer.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the degree of specificity is monotonically related to a value of the reward offer, such that a greater degree of specificity corresponds to a greater valued reward offer and a lower degree of specificity corresponds to a lower valued reward offer.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the particular time period is monotonically related to a value of the reward offer, such that a smaller time period corresponds to a greater valued reward offer and a greater time period corresponds to a lower valued reward offer.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the steps of: 
 determining whether the potential buyer accepts the reward offer; and    issuing the reward to the potential buyer if the potential buyer accepts the reward offer.    
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer purchased the item after the particular time period; and    applying a partial penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer purchased within the particular time period a similar item to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase; and    applying a partial penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer.    
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a confirmation signal after the particular time period indicating that the potential buyer purchased the item within the particular time period; and    applying a partial penalty to the financial account of the potential buyer.    
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer purchased within the particular time period a similar item to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase; and    updating a database to indicate that no penalty has been applied to the financial account of the potential buyer.    
     
     
         23 . A method for applying a penalty, comprising the steps of: 
 determining whether a potential buyer has fulfilled an obligation to purchase an item within a particular time period;    retrieving an applicable penalty from a penalty database; and    applying the applicable penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer.    
     
     
         24 . A method for applying a penalty, comprising the steps of: 
 determining whether a potential buyer has fulfilled an obligation to purchase an item within a particular time period;    calculating a penalty, wherein the calculation takes into account a price of a reward offered to the potential buyer in exchange for the obligation to purchase the item within the particular time period; and    applying the penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer.    
     
     
         25 . A method for applying a penalty, comprising the steps of: 
 (a) determining whether a particular time period in which a potential buyer intends to purchase an item has expired;    (b) repeating step (a) until the particular time period has expired;    (c) calculating a penalty; and    (d) applying the penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer.    
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising the steps of: 
 (e) receiving a confirmation signal indicating the potential buyer has purchased the item after the particular time period has expired; and    (f) refunding a portion of the penalty to the financial account.    
     
     
         27 . A method for identifying potential buyers, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving intent data from a potential buyer;    generating a reward offer associated with a reward for the potential buyer based upon the intent data; and    issuing the reward to the potential buyer.    
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the intent data includes at least a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the reward is issued to the potential buyer within a particular time period but before the potential buyer purchases the item.  
     
     
         30 . A method for identifying potential buyers, comprising the steps of: 
 (a) receiving intent data from a potential buyer intending to purchase an item within a particular time period;    (b) associating a financial account with the potential buyer;    (c) determining a reward offer associated with a reward based on a value of the intent data;    (d) outputting the reward offer to the potential buyer;    (e) determining whether the potential buyer accepts the offer;    (f) modifying the offer if the potential buyer rejects the offer;    (g) repeating steps (d) through (f) until the potential buyer accepts the offer;    (h) issuing the reward to the potential buyer; and    (i) receiving a confirmation signal indicating that the potential buyer has purchased the item corresponding to the intent data.    
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the intent data includes one or more of a potential buyer identifier, a description of the item and a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the value of the intent data is based in part on one or more of a degree of specificity of a description of the item, a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period, a length of the particular time period, and a reputation rating of the potential buyer.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein value of the intent data is based in part on the reputation of the potential buyer, determined by at least one of: 
 a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously provided intent data;    a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously purchased items within particular time periods;    a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously confirmed purchases within particular time periods;    a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously incurred penalties, types of items previously purchased by the potential buyer;    cost of items previously purchased by the potential buyer;    a status of the financial account of the potential buyer; and    a value of demographic information associated with the potential buyer.    
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein demographic information includes at least one of address, income and age.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising the step of: 
 determining whether the confirmation signal is valid; and    applying a penalty to the financial account if the confirmation signal is invalid.    
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the step of determining whether the confirmation signal is valid includes one or more of the steps of: 
 verifying a potential buyer identifier;    determining whether the confirmation signal was received within the particular time period; and    determining whether the new item purchased by the potential buyer is related to the item the potential buyer intended to purchase within the particular time period.    
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the penalty is calculated based on a value of the reward.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising the step of updating a database to reflect that the confirmation signal has been received.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the reward is issued to the potential buyer by shipping the reward to an address specified by the potential buyer.  
     
     
         40 . A method of storing information reflecting that a confirmation signal has been received from a potential buyer, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving an identifier of the potential buyer intending to purchase an item within a particular time period;    receiving the confirmation signal from the potential buyer indicating the potential buyer has purchased the item;    validating the confirmation signal; and    updating a database to reflect that the confirmation signal has been received.    
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the step of validating the confirmation signal includes at least one of: 
 verifying the potential buyer identifier;    determining whether the confirmation signal was received within the particular time period; and    determining whether the item purchased by the potential buyer is the same as the item the potential buyer intended to purchase within the particular time period.    
     
     
         42 . A method for rewarding a potential buyer, comprising the steps of: 
 offering a reward to a potential buyer for inputting a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period; and    issuing the reward after the description is input.    
     
     
         43 . An apparatus for identifying potential buyers, comprising: 
 a central server coupled to one or more input devices for receiving intent data from a potential buyer, wherein the intent data includes a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period,    the central server operable to determine a reward for the potential buyer based on the intent data.    
     
     
         44 . The apparatus of  claim 43 , further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing the description of the item the potential buyer intends to purchase and related information.  
     
     
         45 . The apparatus of  claim 44 , wherein the related information includes at least one of: 
 a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period;    a degree of specificity with which the item is described;    a length of the particular time period;    a payment identifier;    a reputation of the potential buyer; and    demographic information associated with the potential buyer.    
     
     
         46 . The apparatus of  claim 44 , wherein the related information is based in part on the reputation of the potential buyer, determined by at least one of: 
 a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously provided intent data;    a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously purchased items within particular time periods;    a frequency with which the central server has received confirmation signals associated with a potential buyer;    a frequency with which the potential buyer has previously incurred penalties;    types of items previously purchased by the potential buyer;    costs of items previously purchased by the potential buyer;    a status of the financial account of the potential buyer; and    a value of demographic information of the potential buyer    
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the related information includes at least one of address, income and age.  
     
     
         48 . The apparatus of  claim 43 , further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing intent data used to calculate the reward to issue to the potential buyer.  
     
     
         49 . The apparatus of  claim 48 , wherein the reward is determined based in part on a rating assigned to each of a plurality of intent data, the intent data including at least one of: 
 a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period;    a degree of specificity with which the item is described;    a length of the particular time period;    a payment identifier; and    demographic information.    
     
     
         50 . The apparatus of  claim 49 , wherein a sum of the ratings corresponds to the reward for which the potential buyer qualifies.  
     
     
         51 . The apparatus of  claim 43  further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing a plurality of rewards.  
     
     
         52 . The apparatus of  claim 43 , further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing a potential buyer identifier and related information.  
     
     
         53 . The apparatus of  claim 52 , wherein the related information comprises one or more of a payment identifier and a potential buyer name.  
     
     
         54 . The apparatus of  claim 43 , further comprising a database coupled to the central server for storing a potential buyer identifier and penalty information.  
     
     
         55 . The apparatus of  claim 54 , wherein the penalty information includes one or more of a reward identifier, an expiration of the particular time period, whether a confirmation signal has been received indicating that the potential buyer has purchased the item, and a penalty assessment corresponding to a value of the reward.  
     
     
         56 . The apparatus of  claim 54 , wherein the penalty information includes an expiration of the particular time period and a penalty assessment corresponding to a value of the reward.  
     
     
         57 . A central server system, comprising: 
 a processor;    a storage device coupled to the processor; and    software operative to run on the processor to issue a reward to a potential buyer in exchange for demand information, the demand information including at least a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period.    
     
     
         58 . The system of  claim 57 , wherein the demand information includes at least one of: 
 a potential buyer name;    a degree of certainty with which the potential buyer intends to purchase the item within the particular time period;    a degree of specificity with which the item is described;    a length of the particular time period;    a payment identifier, a reputation of the potential buyer; and    demographic information associated with the buyer.    
     
     
         59 . The system of  claim 57 , wherein the storage device includes a database for storing the demand information and related information.  
     
     
         60 . The system of  claim 59 , wherein the related information includes a corresponding rating for each type of demand information.  
     
     
         61 . The system of  claim 57 , further comprising a database coupled to the processor for storing a reward identifier and related information.  
     
     
         62 . The system of  claim 61 , wherein the related information includes a total rating corresponding to the demand information and the reward identifier, and a reward description corresponding to the reward identifier.  
     
     
         63 . The system of  claim 57 , further comprising a database coupled to the processor for storing penalty information and related information.  
     
     
         64 . The system of  claim 63 , wherein the related information includes at least one of: 
 a payment identifier of the potential buyer;    an expiration time of the particular time period; and    a corresponding penalty.    
     
     
         65 . The system of  claim 64 , wherein the software is operable to direct the processor to charge the corresponding penalty to a financial account associated with the payment identifier of the potential buyer if the potential buyer does not purchase the item by the expiration time.  
     
     
         66 . The system of  claim 64 , wherein the software is operable to direct the processor to charge the corresponding penalty to a financial account associated with the payment identifier of the potential buyer if a confirmation signal is not received by the expiration time.  
     
     
         67 . The system of  claim 57 , further comprising one or more potential buyer devices coupled to the processor and operable to allow potential buyers to input demand information.  
     
     
         68 . The system of  claim 67 , wherein the potential buyer devices are operable to display information about the reward.  
     
     
         69 . The system of  claim 57 , further comprising an output device for displaying information about the reward.  
     
     
         70 . The system of  claim 57 , wherein the processor is coupled to a clock, a communications port, an input device and an output device, and wherein the storage device contains a demand information database, a reward database, and a penalty database.  
     
     
         71 . The system of  claim 57 , wherein the software is operable to direct the processor to charge a penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer if a confirmation signal is not received within the particular time period.  
     
     
         72 . The system of  claim 57 , wherein the software is operable to direct the processor to charge a penalty to a financial account of the potential buyer if the potential buyer does not purchase the item within the particular time period.  
     
     
         73 . The system of  claim 57 , further comprising one or more seller devices coupled to the controller and operable to allow sellers to retrieve demand information.  
     
     
         74 . A computer readable medium for directing a processor to perform the method of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         75 . An information transmission medium for use in a potential buyer identification system, the information transmission medium transmitting a computer program comprising the processing steps of: 
 receiving intent data from a potential buyer, wherein the intent data includes at least a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period; and    determining a reward for the potential buyer based upon the intent data.    
     
     
         76 . A computer data signal representative of controller instructions comprising the processing steps of: 
 receiving intent data from a potential buyer, wherein the intent data includes at least a description of an item the potential buyer intends to purchase within a particular time period; and    determining a reward for the potential buyer based upon the intent data.