Transaction system and methodology with inter-party communications capability

Abstract

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, although not necessarily limited thereto, the system of the present invention may function in the context of an internet based commercial real estate brokering system. In such a system, potential buyers, sellers, lessors and lessees list and respond to offerings having characteristics as described in connection with the listings. For example, a potential landlord may, through interaction with the system of the present invention, list one or more buildings for lease. Communication and interaction may occur on an anonymous basis such that the potential landlord is unaware of the actual identity of the prospective tenant and vice versa until such time as one or the other or both decide to reveal their identity. It is also possible to avoid the need to reveal any contact information associated with either party (including, for example, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, etc.) until such time as a party wishes to disclose such information. Another aspect of the system of the present invention provides users of the transaction system as well as the operator thereof with the ability to conveniently and accurately track orders and renewals of listings. All that is necessary from the advertiser's point of view is to select and activate the “reply” button on, for example, the advertiser's email application screen. Once this is done, a reply email is sent to and received by the system of the present invention and, based upon the specific “reply to address”, the system processes the reply and carries out the automated billing process.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to processing transactions on the Internet and more particularly to systems and methods for efficiently and optimally processing and administering transactions between parties including interactions with brokers, agents, and those parties that offer advertising services. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The amount of commerce being conducted on the Internet is exploding. Both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) transactions are more popular than ever in large part due to the conveniences and benefits available through the use of the Internet to process transactions. Advertising is one service that is particularly well suited for the Internet. There are a multitude of companies that offer advertising through websites, bulletin boards, email and other technologies associated with the Internet. [0003] There are various business processes associated with the operation and maintenance of an adve...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018] This communication and interaction may occur on an anonymous basis such that the potential landlord is unaware of the actual identity of the prospective tenant and vice versa until such time as one or the other or both decide to reveal their identity. According to the teachings of the present invention, in addition to maintaining the confidentiality of the identity of the potential parties, it is also possible to avoid the need to reveal any contact information associated with either party (including, for example, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, etc.) until such time as a party wishes to disclose such information.

[0019] Another aspect of the system of the present invention provides users of the transaction system as well as the operator thereof with the ability to conveniently and accurately track orders and renewals of listings. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when an advertiser wishes to initiate or renew an advertisement, the system of present invention provides various payment options. One possible option the advertiser may select is for billing to occur via an automated email process involving, for example, a credit card charge. In such a case, when payment becomes due either at the initiation or renewal of an advertisement, the advertiser may be notified by an automatically generated email with a specifically generated “reply-to address”. All that is necessary from the advertiser's point of view at this point to is select and activate the “reply” button on, for example, the advertiser's email application screen. Once this is done, a reply email is sent to and received by the system of the present invention and, based upon the specific “reply to address”, the system processes the reply and carries out the automated billing process.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, this procedure suffers from some drawbacks.

First, since the subject line is accessible to and may be manipulated by the user, there is the potential for the user to either accidentally or intentionally manipulate the response so as to create an error.

For example, if the user were to change a digit in a string of characters, it could cause a processing error when received by the service provider and this, in turn could result in a lost sale, customer dissatisfaction and / or a dispute.

A second consequence resulting from the accessibility of the subject line is the possibility for a security breach.

If a user can figure out the “code”, it is possible that the user could intentionally cause processing errors in order to defraud the system and / or cause it to crash.

As mentioned above, such a modification can present problems in connection with prior art systems that rely on the string contained in the subject line.

Another drawback of the prior art systems and methodologies is that there exist significant problems in the case where a user may maintain more than one email account.

In such a case, when an email is automatically generated and sent to a user, the user's origination “from address” may not be recognized (and thus the transaction will not be properly processed) if the user replies from an email account which is not the same as the one initially specified in the registration process.

This is often not possible or is very difficult once email addresses are disclosed.

Thus, while internet based advertising and other web sites have come a long way towards user convenience and usability, some aspects of the related transactions still suffer from various problems including those related to security, confidentiality and convenience.

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