Method and apparatus for determining pricing options in a consultation system

Abstract

In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus and method for providing pricing options in a consultation system is provided. In one embodiment, user input from a user is received. The user input is directed to a question the user intends to post to the consultation system. Pricing factors are determined in part from the user input. A pricing option is then determined by analyzing the pricing factors with pricing attribute data whereby the pricing attribute data may be based on current consultation system dynamics, user history, and completed transactions on the consultation system. The determined pricing option is presented.

1 . A method to provide pricing options in a consultation system, the method comprising:
 receiving user input from a user device, the user input directed to a question a user of the user device intends to post to the consultation system;   automatically determining, using one or more processors, pricing factors from the user input;   determining a pricing option by automatically analyzing the pricing factors with pricing attribute data, the pricing attribute data being obtained from interactions on the consultation system; and   communicating the determined pricing option to the user device via a communication network.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pricing factors comprise one or more of question length, time of day the question is posted, day of week the question is posted, location of user, level of urgency, level of detail required, price point, category of the question, types of experts allowed to answer, currency, source of the question, keywords on a page source, keywords in the question, types of experts allowed to answer, number, quality and applicability of experts currently available, number and type of other users currently waiting for responses, past history and preferences of the user and other similar users. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the pricing factor comprises receiving pricing factors directly from the user device via the communication network. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising generating the pricing attribute data by analyzing a random sample of the completed transaction for a particular time period. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the random sample comprises all completed transaction for the particular time period. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the generating of the price attribute comprises determining pricing patterns from the random sample and identifying the price attributes from the pricing patterns. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pricing attributes comprise one or more of average pricing, median pricing, answer satisfaction level versus price, question length, time of day the question is posted, day of week the question is posted, location of user device, level of urgency, level of detail required, price point, category of the question, and types of experts allowed to answer, currency, source of the question, keywords on a page source, keywords in the question, number, quality, and applicability of experts currently available, number and type of other users currently waiting for responses, past history and preferences of the user and other similar users. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the pricing option comprises incorporating discounts into the pricing option. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 accessing a data store of subscription plans using an identifier of the user;
 determining if the user has an applicable subscription plan, the applicable subscription plan being a subscription plan where limits are not exceeded; and 
   based on the user having the applicable subscription plan, communicating the determined pricing option to experts via the communication network without charging the user for a response.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a selection of a pricing option from the user; and   offering a subscription plan based on the previously selected pricing option to the user.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a selection of a pricing option from the user, the selection triggering posting of the question to the consultation system. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a pricing analysis module
 to receive user input from a user device of a user, the user input directed to a question the user intends to post to the consultation system, 
 to determine pricing factors from the user input, 
 to determine, using one or more processors, a pricing option by analyzing the pricing factors with pricing attribute data, the pricing attribute data being obtained from interactions on the consultation system, and 
 to communicate the determined pricing option via a communication network to the user device. 
   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising a sample processing module to generate the pricing attribute data by analyzing a random sample of the completed transaction for a particular time period. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the sample processing module is to generate the price attribute by determining pricing patterns from the random sample and identifying the price attributes from the pricing patterns. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , further comprising a sampling module to determine the random sample. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the random sample comprises all completed transactions for a particular time period. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising a subscription module to determine if the user has an applicable subscription plan, the applicable subscription plan being a subscription plan where limits are not exceeded, wherein based on the user having the applicable subscription plan, the pricing analysis module is to present the determined pricing option to experts without charging the user for a response. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having embodied thereon instructions which when executed by at least one processor, causes a machine to perform operations comprising:
 receiving user input from a user device of a user, the user input directed to a question the user intends to post to the consultation system;   determining pricing factors from the user input;   determining a pricing option by analyzing the pricing factors with pricing attribute data, the pricing attribute data being obtained from interactions on the consultation system; and   communicating the determined pricing option to the user device via a communication network.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise generating the pricing attribute data by analyzing a random sample of the completed transactions for a particular time period. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein the generating of the price attribute comprises determining pricing patterns from the random sample and identifying the price attributes from the pricing patterns. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining if the user has an applicable subscription plan, the applicable subscription plan being a subscription plan where limits are not exceeded; and   based on the user having the applicable subscription plan, presenting the determined pricing option to experts without charging the user for a response.   
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the interactions comprise one or more of completed transactions, current consultation system dynamics, and user history.