Methods and systems for merchandising products in bundles in an online marketplace

Abstract

A method and a system for providing product bundles are described. In some instances, the method begins by receiving a request for a view product interface. The view product interface includes a description of a primary product. Next, a product bundle definition for the primary product by the seller is accessed. The bundle includes a plurality of secondary products selectable by a buyer. The view product interface is provided and includes the description of the primary product and a description of the bundle that includes a description of the second item.

1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, from a client device, a request for a view product interface of a particular product offered for sale by a first seller;   accessing a product bundle definition corresponding to the particular product, the product bundle definition specifying a plurality of secondary products selectable for purchase with the particular product, at least one of the plurality of secondary products being offered for sale by a second seller;   providing instructions to the client device to present the view product interface, the view product interface including a description of the particular product and identifying the at least one of the plurality of secondary products; and   in response to receiving a selection of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller for purchase with the particular product as the bundle, determining a total price of the bundle by applying a discount specified in the product definition bundle to a sum of a price of the particular product and the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 causing presentation of a bundling interface on an additional client device corresponding to the first seller; and   receiving, from the additional client device, the product bundle definition defined by the first seller using the bundling interface.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the receiving of the product bundle definition comprises:
 receiving the identifier of the primary product;   receiving respective identifiers of the plurality of secondary products; and   receiving one or more incentives associated with the bundle.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 accessing inventory information of the second seller, the inventory information specifying an availability of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller; and   determining the availability of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller based on the inventory information of the second seller.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a relative rank of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller, wherein the view product interface includes an indicator of the relative rank of the at least one secondary product. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the relative rank is based on a price, a condition, a shipping cost, or an acquisition date. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the discount is applied based on the selection of an additional secondary product for purchase with the primary product and the available secondary product. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising identifying a first portion of the plurality of secondary products as a first group and identifying a second portion of the plurality of secondary products as a second group. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising defining one or more groups of the plurality of secondary products, wherein the discount is associated with a defined group of the one or more groups. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising waiving a shipping fee for the second item. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the product bundle definition is accessed using an identifier of the primary product. 
     
     
         12 . A system comprising:
 a product identification module to receive, from a user, a request for a view product interface of the primary product, the view product interface including a description of the primary product offered for sale by the seller;   a definition module to access a product bundle definition defining a bundle including the particular product and one of a plurality of secondary products selectable for purchase with the particular product, at least one of the plurality of secondary products being offered for sale by a second seller;   a display module to provide instructions to the client device to present the view product interface, the view product interface including a description of the bundle; and   a pricing module, comprising one or more processors, to determine a total price of the bundle in response to receiving a selection of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller for purchase with the particular product as the bundle, the pricing module to determine the total price by applying a discount specified in the product definition bundle to a sum of a price of the particular product and the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising an inventory module to access inventory information of the second seller, the inventory information specifying an availability of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller, the inventory module further to determine the availability of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller based on the inventory information of the second seller. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the definition module is further to provide a bundling interface to an additional device corresponding to the first seller, the definition module further to receive, from the additional client device, the product bundle definition defined by the first seller using the bundling interface. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the product bundle definition further includes a ranking for each of the plurality of secondary products, wherein the view product interface includes an indicator of the ranking of a portion of the plurality of secondary products. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the description of the bundle includes a description of the discount and an availability of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the definition module is further to identify a first portion of the plurality of secondary products as a first group and to identify a second portion of the plurality of secondary products as a second group, wherein the discount is associated with a the first group. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the pricing module is further to waive a shipping fee for the second item. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the definition module is to access the product bundle definition using an identifier of the first seller. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions embodied thereon, the instructions executable by one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, from a client device, a request for a view product interface of a particular product offered for sale by a first seller;   accessing a product bundle definition defining a bundle comprising the particular product offered and one of a plurality of secondary products selectable for purchase with the particular product, at least one of the plurality of secondary products being offered for sale by a second seller;   providing instructions to the client device to present the view product interface, the view product interface including a description of the bundle; and   
       in response to receiving a selection of the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller for purchase with the particular product as the bundle, determining a total price of the bundle by applying a discount specified in the product definition bundle to a sum of a price of the particular product and the at least one secondary product offered for sale by the second seller.