Network-based commerce facility offer management methods and systems

Abstract

Various embodiments include systems, methods, and software to manage offers in a network-based commerce system. One embodiment includes providing sellers an option when listing an item for sale to receive best offers for the item from buyers. This embodiment further includes receiving best offers submitted by offerees via the network-based commerce system and notifying sellers of received best offers. Some embodiments further include providing sellers an option to accept, reject, or ignore the individual best offers received. In some such embodiments, ignored best offers expire after a period, such as 48 hours. Yet further embodiments include notifying offerees of acceptance or rejection of their submitted best offers.

1 . A network-based commerce system including:
 a presentation module to present a listing of an item for sale to a buying-user via the network-based commerce system, the listing being to solicit an offer from the user for the item for sale;   an offer module to receive an offer submitted by the buying-user as a pending offer; and   the presentation module being to communicate the pending offer via a user interface of the network-based commerce system to a selling-user, and to present, via the user interface, a plurality of pending offers received by the offer module from a plurality of buying-users to the selling-user, the user interface adapted to receive input from the selling-user with regard to each of the plurality of pending offers including an option to accept or reject the received individual offers.   
     
     
         2 . The network-based commerce system of  claim 1 , wherein the presentation module includes any one or more of a web server, an e-mail server, an instant message server, an RSS server, a voice server and a fax server. 
     
     
         3 . The network-based commerce system of  claim 2 , wherein the interface provided by the presentation module to the selling-user is to enable the selling user to simultaneously reject two or more of the plurality of pending offers. 
     
     
         4 . The network-based commerce system of  claim 2 , wherein the interface provided by the presentation module to the selling-user includes a text field to receive text from the selling user to be included with a notice to the buying-user that the pending offer is rejected or accepted. 
     
     
         5 . The network-based commerce system of  claim 2 , wherein the presentation module communicates a notice to the buying-user that the pending offer is rejected or accepted. 
     
     
         6 . The network-based commerce system of  claim 5 , wherein the notice to the buying-user of the pending offer rejection or acceptance is based either on input received by the presentation module from the selling-user or an expiration of the offer. 
     
     
         7 . The network-based commerce system of  claim 1 , wherein the pending offer expires 48 hours after receipt by the presentation module when the offer is not accepted or rejected by the selling-user. 
     
     
         8 . The network-based commerce system of  claim 1 , further including a payment module that processes payments for an accepted offer upon the presentation module receiving a offer acceptance from a selling-user. 
     
     
         9 . A non-transitory computer readable medium, with instructions thereon for operation of a network-based commerce system, the instructions causing the network-based commerce system to:
 provide sellers an option when listing an item for sale to receive offers for the item from buyers;   receive offers submitted by offerees over the network-based commerce system;   notify sellers of received offers over the network-based commerce system;   provide sellers options to accept, reject, and ignore the individual offers received, wherein ignored offers expire after a period; and   notify offerees of acceptance or rejection of their submitted offers.   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the period after which offers expire is 48 hours. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the system to:
 generate an electronic communication to a seller upon posting a listing on the network-based commerce system, the electronic communication confirming the posting was successful;   generate an electronic communication to an offeree upon receipt of an offer, the communication confirming the offeree's offer was successfully received;   generate an electronic communication to the seller upon receipt of the offeree's offer for the seller's listing, the electronic communication notifying the seller of the offer; and   generate an electronic communications to the offeree upon acceptance or rejection of the offer, the electronic communication notifying the offeree of the acceptance or rejection.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the system to:
 prevent an offeree from making another offer for item the offeree has an offer pending on.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the system to:
 prevent an offeree from making another offer for item the offeree has made an offer for.   
     
     
         14 . A method of operating a network-based electronic commerce system comprising:
 providing sellers an option when listing an item for sale to receive offers for the item from buyers;   receiving offers submitted by offerees over the network-based commerce system;   notifying sellers of received offers over the network-based commerce system;   providing sellers options to accept, reject, and ignore the individual offers received, wherein ignored offers expire after a period; and   notifying offerees of acceptance or rejection of their submitted offers.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the period after which offers expire is 48 hours. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 generating and sending an electronic communication to a seller upon posting a listing on the network-based commerce system, the electronic communication confirming the posting was successful;   generating and sending an electronic communication to an offeree upon receipt of an offer, the communication confirming the offeree's offer was successfully received;   generating and sending an electronic communication to the seller upon receipt of the offeree's offer for the seller's listing, the electronic communication notifying the seller of the offer; and   generating and sending an electronic communications to the offeree upon acceptance or rejection of the offer, the electronic communication notifying the offeree of the acceptance or rejection.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 preventing an offeree from making another offer for item the offeree has an offer pending on.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 prevent an offeree from making another offer for item the offeree has made an offer for.