Custom stores

Abstract

A custom store web page uses an external administrator to provide configuration data for a custom store web page. The configuration data can include virtual bundles of products for sale.

1 . A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations for presenting customized information at an electronic commerce site, the operations comprising:
 storing information in a database relating to products offered by a vendor at an electronic commerce site;   displaying the information relating to the products via a computer interface, wherein the computer interface is secured for administration, and wherein the computer interface is precluded from customer access;   storing via the interface, configuration data in the database that defines a custom store having at least one of a restricted set of the products and non-standard pricing for the products;   in response to receiving a request for customer access to the electronic commerce site, determining whether the request designates a custom store; and   generating and causing to be displayed a custom store page from the vendor's electronic commerce site that contains the restricted set of the products and/or the non-standard pricing for the products defined by the configuration data.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 determining whether the configuration data includes information relating to products that are no longer offered by the vendor.   
     
     
         3 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 2 , the operations further comprising:
 in response to determining that the configuration data includes information relating to products that are no longer offered by the vendor, providing notification via the interface that such information is included in the configuration data.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the database is configured to store standard prices for the products, and wherein the configuration data includes discount pricing information, and wherein the operations further comprise:
 automatically calculating discounted prices from the stored standard prices for display on the custom store page.   
     
     
         5 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 1  wherein the database is configured to store configuration data for a plurality of different custom stores, and wherein the operations further comprise:
 selecting configuration data that is associated with a predetermined host to generate and return the custom store page. 
 
     
     
         6 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 5  wherein the request includes an identification of the custom store to be selected. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 6 , wherein the request is an HTTP request that includes the identification in a referrer header field. 
     
     
         8 . A computer-readable medium containing a program comprising instructions that in response to execution by a computer, cause the computer to present customized information at an electronic commerce site, the instructions comprising:
 instructions to store information in a database relating to products offered by a vendor at an electronic commerce site;   instructions to display the information relating to the products on a computer interface that is secured for administration but precluded from customer access;   instructions to store via the interface, configuration data in the database that defines a custom store having at least one of a set of the products having defined configurations and/or special pricing for the products;   instructions to, in response to a request for customer access to the electronic commerce site, determine whether the request designates a custom store, and generate and cause to be displayed a custom store page from the vendor's electronic commerce site that contains the set of the products and/or the special pricing for the products defined by the configuration data.   
     
     
         9 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , the instructions further comprising:
 instructions to determine whether the configuration data includes information relating to products that are no longer offered by the vendor; and   instructions to provide notification via the interface if such information is included in the configuration data.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the database is configured to store standard prices for the products, and wherein the configuration data includes discount pricing information, and wherein the instructions further comprise:
 instructions for automatically calculating discounted prices from the stored standard prices for display on the custom store page.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the database is configured to store configuration data for a plurality of different custom stores, and wherein the instructions further comprise:
 instructions for selecting configuration data that is associated with a predetermined host to generate and return the custom store page.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the request is an HTTP request that includes an identification of the custom store to be selected in a referrer header field. 
     
     
         13 . A method for presenting customized information at an electronic commerce site, the method comprising:
 storing information in a computer database relating to products offered by a vendor at an electronic commerce site;   displaying the information relating to the products via a computer interface, wherein the computer interface is secured for administration, and wherein the computer interface is precluded from customer access;   storing via the interface, configuration data in the database that defines a custom store having at least one of a restricted set of the products and/or non-standard pricing for the products;   in response to receiving a request for customer access to the electronic commerce site, determining whether the request designates a custom store; and   generating and causing to be displayed a custom store page from the vendor's electronic commerce site that contains the restricted set of the products and/or the non-standard pricing for the products defined by the configuration data.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 determining whether the configuration data includes information relating to products that are no longer offered by the vendor.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 in response to determining that the configuration data includes information relating to products that are no longer offered by the vendor, providing notification via the interface that such information is included in the configuration data.   
     
     
         16 . A system for presenting customized information at an electronic commerce site, comprising:
 a server computer having at least one processor; and   a memory operably linked to the processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions directing the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:   storing information in a database relating to products offered by a vendor at an electronic commerce site;   displaying the information relating to the products via a computer interface, wherein the computer interface is secured for administration, and wherein the computer interface is precluded from customer access;   storing via the interface, configuration data in the database that defines a custom store having at least one of a restricted set of the products and special pricing for the products;   in response to receiving a request for customer access to the electronic commerce site, determining whether the request designates a custom store; and   generating and causing to be displayed a custom store page from the vendor's electronic commerce site that contains the restricted set of the products and/or the special pricing for the products defined by the configuration data.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the database is configured to store standard prices for the products, and wherein the configuration data includes discount pricing information, and wherein the operations further comprise:
 automatically calculating discounted prices from the stored standard prices for display on the custom store page.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the database is configured to store configuration data for a plurality of different custom stores, and wherein the operations further comprise:
 selecting configuration data that is associated with a predetermined host to generate and return the custom store page.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the request includes an identification of the custom store to be selected. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the request is an HTTP request that includes an identification of the custom store to be selected in a referrer header field.