Online marketplace management system with automated pricing tool

Abstract

An online marketplace management system includes software for managing sales by a user on one or more online marketplaces that are operated by entities other than the user. Online marketplaces are online e-commerce sales (e.g., retail) outlets that act as aggregators where third-party sellers (e.g., retailers) can sell items through branded web portals of the online marketplaces for a fee or a percentage of the sales prices. The software of the online marketplace management system includes an inventory management tool for managing inventory that is offered for sale on the one or more online marketplaces, and a pricing tool that provides automatic pricing of inventory that is offered for sale on the one or more online marketplaces, the automatic pricing being based upon real-time pricing of like inventory available on at least one online marketplace from one or more third parties other than the user.

1 . A system for providing an inventory management suite for an online marketplace comprising:
 an inventory receiving tool for receiving inventory records of a plurality of items made available on the online marketplace;   a database for storing inventory records of the plurality of items, wherein each item has a plurality of attributes, wherein one attribute of the plurality of attributes is an inventory quantity; and   a notes and shipping tool for managing notes and shipping options for the plurality of items;   wherein the inventory receiving tool retrieves the plurality of attributes, from the inventory records.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of attributes includes real-time pricing information. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a user uses the inventory receiving tool to scan product barcodes of the plurality of items to be stored in the database. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the inventory receiving tool retrieves the plurality of attributes from the inventory records based on the scanned product barcodes. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an inventory decrement tool for automatically decrementing the inventory quantity attribute from the database when an inventory item is sold. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the inventory decrement tool synchronizes the inventory quantity attribute of the inventory item sold across a plurality of marketplaces where the inventory item is listed. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein items with inventory quantity attribute at zero are removed from the database at pre-determined scheduled intervals. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an import external inventory data tool for importing data and attributes from external sources. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one attribute of the plurality of attributes is set to a pre-defined default value. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a seller of the plurality of items defines at least one attribute of the plurality of attributes. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one attribute of the plurality of attributes indicates a source of an item. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of attributes includes a subset of at least one of the following attributes: category, class, UPC, ISBN, list price, notes, item title, release date, format, vendor, condition, price, quantity, shipping options, manufacturer, and location code of an item. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one attribute of the plurality of attributes is a price. 
     
     
         14 . A method for providing an inventory management suite for an online marketplace system comprising:
 receiving identifying information for an inventory item to be made available for sale on the online marketplace system;   searching a database for the identifying information to determine whether the inventory item is already listed in the online marketplace system;   retrieving attributes of the inventory item from the database if available; and   setting a price for the inventory item for purchase by a user from the online marketplace system.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the identifying information comprises a product barcode. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising receiving additional attributes for the inventory item and storing said additional attributes in the database. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising specifying shipping options for the inventory item. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the shipping options relate to the attributes of the inventory item. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising importing attributes from an external inventory data source. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising importing identifying information and attributes from an external inventory data source. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising updating the price for the inventory item based on other inventory items available from competitors for purchase. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the attributes of the inventory item includes a storage location attribute for indicating where the inventory item is stored. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising storing item notes for each inventory item in the database and updating the item notes of all inventory items having a pre-determined attribute. 
     
     
         24 . A system for providing an inventory management suite for an online marketplace comprising:
 an inventory receiving tool for receiving inventory records of product barcodes of a plurality of items made available on the online marketplace and a retail sales floor;   a database for storing inventory records of the plurality of items, wherein each item has a plurality of attributes, wherein one attribute of the plurality of attributes is an inventory quantity; and   a plurality of point of sale terminals, wherein data from the plurality of point of sale terminals is imported at pre-determined scheduled intervals;   wherein the inventory receiving tool retrieves the plurality of attributes from the database;   wherein the inventory quantity attribute of the plurality of items is updated based on the data imported from the plurality of point of sale terminals.   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the inventory quantity attribute of an item is automatically decremented when an order is imported into the system. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 24 , further comprising a notes and shipping tool for managing notes and shipping options for the plurality of items.