System and method for dynamic product pricing

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for dynamic product pricing. According to one embodiment, sale characteristics for a plurality of products are stored in a database. A user places a sale order including information associated with a product to be listed on a website, and a market price for the product is calculated based on the stored sale characteristics of the product. The sales characteristics include a queue of current list prices of the product as well as recent sale prices, with the queue having the number of the product available for sale at each different price. A suggested list price is displayed to the seller based on the market price. The seller is provided with a means for adjusting the suggested list price or listing the product at the suggested list price.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 963,382, filed Dec. 21, 2007, Entitled “System and Method for Dynamic Product Pricing” [Attorney Docket No. 91430-733983 (000200US)], the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety for all purposes. Related applications are U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 963,675, Entitled “Virtual Shelf with Single Product Choice and Automatic Multiple Vendor Selection” [Attorney Docket No. 91430-734064 (000100US)]; U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 963,711, Entitled “Software System for Decentralizing eCommerce with Single Page Buy” [Attorney Docket No.: 91430-734065 (000300US)]; U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 963,718, Entitled “3D Product Display on Internet with Content or Transaction Data on Back of Image” [Attorney Docket No.: 91430-734066 (000400US)]; U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 963,470, Entitled “Product Distribution System and Method Thereof” [Attorney Docket...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a better way to price products in the market. It automatically determines the price and suggests a suggested list price based on current market conditions. This makes it easy for the seller to quickly list the product. The seller can also see the sale statistics of the suggested list price and adjust it to a more reasonable price. This allows the market price to reach equilibrium and gives both the buyer and seller more confidence in the pricing. Overall, this technique makes it faster and more effective to price products based on the current market conditions.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, this type of background research consumes copious amounts of time for the buyer, and in the end, confusion may still exist as to whether a product has been properly priced.

Shipping and handling costs are often embedded in the sales price, often to the surprise of the buyer.

Sellers are also inconvenienced as inefficient price management makes it hard for the seller to know how to effectively price their goods.

Though these systems account for price changes relative to the market, the seller is still inconvenienced by having to reprice the item after its initial listing.

Since the market constantly changes, the seller still remains unsure as to whether a product has been listed at an optimum price, thereby causing the market to remain unstable and the true market price for a particular product to remain unknown.

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