Seller-controlled publication of question and answer sets

Abstract

An auction mechanism that would allow a buyer to submit a question to a seller, and optionally have the seller post the relevant question as well as a response for inclusion within a listing.

1 . A method comprising:
 accessing a question pertinent to an item available for viewing in a web page, the item being displayed in the web page, the question being authored by a viewer of the web page;   accessing an answer to the question, the answer being pertinent to the item and authored by a presenter of the item in response to the question from the viewer of the web page; and   presenting the answer as included in the web page, the presenting of the answer being performed by a module implemented by a processor of a machine.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 accessing an authorization to include the answer in the web page; and wherein 
 the presenting of the answer is responsive to the authorization. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the accessing of the authorization includes receiving the authorization from a device of the presenter.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the authorization further is to include the question in the web page; and the method further comprises   presenting the question as included in the web page.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein:
 the presenting of the question includes modifying the web page to include the question and presenting the modified web page.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the presenting of the answer includes modifying the web page to include the answer and presenting the modified web page.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the viewer of the web page is a potential buyer of the item; and   the presenter of the item is a seller of the item.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the viewer of the web page is a bidder using an auction price-setting process for the item.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the presenting of the answer includes presenting the web page, the web page including the answer.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the presenting of the web page includes displaying the web page as a listing of the item,
 the listing indicating that the item is available for purchase. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the accessing of the question includes receiving the question from a device of the viewer.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the accessing of the question includes receiving the question from a device of a seller.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the accessing of the answer includes receiving the answer from a device of the presenter.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 providing the question to a device of the presenter in response to the accessing of the question and prior to the accessing of the answer. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 providing the question and the answer to a device of the viewer. 
 
     
     
         16 . A system comprising:
 a processor coupled to a memory; and   instructions executable by the processor from the memory that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
 accessing a question pertinent to an item available for viewing in a web page, the item being displayed in the web page, the question being authored by a viewer of the web page; 
 accessing an answer to the question, the answer being pertinent to the item and authored by a presenter of the item in response to the question from the viewer of the web page; and 
 presenting the answer as included in the web page. 
   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the system to perform operations comprising:
 accessing an authorization to include the answer in the web page; and wherein   the presenting of the answer is responsive to the authorization.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the presenting of the answer includes presenting the web page, the web page including the answer.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the system to perform operations comprising:
 providing the question to a device of the presenter in response to the accessing of the question and prior to the accessing of the answer.   
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
 accessing a question pertinent to an item available for viewing in a web page, the item being displayed in the web page, the question being authored by a viewer of the web page;   accessing an answer to the question, the answer being pertinent to the item and authored by a presenter of the item in response to the question from the viewer of the web page; and   presenting the answer as included in the web page.