Initial product offering system and method

Abstract

A system and method for making an initial product offering of tangible products and services. A price for a product may be determined by calculating an aggregate customer history factor by aggregating customer history factors of potential purchasers in a buying group, calculating a cumulative demand for a product as a function of (i) expected purchase quantities of the product indicated by the potential purchasers in the buying group and (ii) the aggregate customer history factor, and setting a price of the product as a function of the cumulative demand for the buying group. The tangible products and services may be offered at the determined price.

1 - 21 . (canceled)  
     
     
         22 . A system for providing group buying comprising: 
 means for storing a plurality of product parameters, each product parameter comprising product features;    means for searching through a plurality of products;    means for aggregating, at a network server, a plurality of indications of interest to purchase a product;    means for suspending aggregation of the plurality of indications of interest;    means for preparing a demand packet, each demand packet comprising aggregated purchasing information from the plurality of indications of interest;    means for routing the demand packet, each recipient pre-determined in a product network database as fulfillment destinations;    means of receiving offers from pre-determined fulfillment destinations, the offer consisting of a price;    means for negotiating a price for the item with the plurality of fulfillment destinations for the item, based on the demand-packet database;    means for selecting one or more of fulfillment destinations based on the offer, the offer including the price;    means for generating a confirmed purchaser list, the confirmed purchaser list including an amount of the item equal to a number of items for which an indication of interest was confirmed; and    means for executing a purchase transaction from the supplier to the user at the price of the offer.    
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22  wherein the group buying means comprises a means for interactively performing group buying over a network, such as the Internet.  
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 22  wherein the group buying means further comprises a means for interactively performing group buying through a plurality of network devices, such as personal computer, mobile computer, wearable computer, laptop computer, mobile phone, wireless computer, personal digital assistant, and handheld device.  
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 22  further comprising means of routing the demand packet to pre-determined fulfillment destinations.  
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 22  further comprising a means for periodically updating the routing details for the pre-determined fulfillment destinations.  
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 22  further comprising a means for securely communicating with a credit processor to provide credit solutions for the purchase transaction.  
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 22  further comprising a means for securely communicating with a credit authorization system to consummate the purchase transaction.  
     
     
         29 . A group buying method comprising: 
 aggregating, at a network server, a plurality of indications of interest to purchase an item, storing and creating a demand packet from the plurality of indications of interest;    suspending aggregation of the plurality of indications of interest;    preparing a demand-packet database including each one of the plurality of indications of interest received prior to suspending aggregation;    routing the demand packet from the demand-packet database to a plurality of pre-determined fulfillment destinations;    negotiating a price for the item with the plurality of fulfillment destinations for the item;    receiving an offer from the plurality of fulfillment destinations for the item, the offer including a price;    selecting one or more fulfillment destinations based on the offer, the offer including the price;    confirming each one of the indications of interest with the user that supplied the indications of interest at the price of the offer from the fulfillment destinations;    selecting one or more fulfillment destinations to fulfill the demand packet transaction based on the re-confirmation of the indications of interest;    generating a confirmed purchaser list, the confirmed purchaser list including an amount of the item equal to a number of items for which an indication of interest was re-confirmed; and    executing a purchase transaction from one or more of the selected fulfillment destinations to the user at the price of the offer.    
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the step of conducting group buying further comprises the option for credit processing through a credit processor.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the step of executing a purchase transaction comprises credit authorization, shipping processing, and transaction confirmation.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 29  further comprising the option to create a group buying offering for a product by storing product parameters in the product database.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 29  further comprising the option to search through stored parameters of products and associated offerings in the product database.