Collecting and displaying price information

Abstract

A service for pricing items of inventory contained in a searchable database is available for access via the Internet. Where multiple items can satisfy a consumer's request, it is typical for a service to perform an inventory search for items that match a consumer's request. When the inventory is stored in an inventory database, the inventory database is queried for the purpose of retrieving a result set which matches the consumer's request. A separate fare server database containing inventory recently known to be available, located local to the Internet server for fast and efficient access, can also be provided for performing searches related to the consumer's request. Some inventory, even though recently known to have been available, is filtered out before being stored in the fare server database and inventory is removed when outdated, no longer available or purchased. Searches that are less specific than the search performed in the inventory database based on the consumer request can be performed in the fare server database to retrieve information about similar inventory. In addition to displaying the result set from the inventory database to the consumer, a market summary can be presented to the consumer that reflects information concerning similar inventory. Information from the searches in the fare server database forms the basis for providing the market summary. A consumer is also given the option to purchase the similar inventory returned from the fare server database. As a result, a consumer is not only more informed about the market for which a purchase is being considered, but also has the additional option to purchase similar inventory. A consumer can also directly query the fare server database for flexible searching and for fast and efficient access to market information. The fare server database can be used for multiple client services.

1 . A system for pricing dynamic inventory, comprising:
 a server computer operatively coupled to a first database of information concerning the dynamic inventory and a second database of information having recently known information concerning the dynamic inventory; and   a computer readable storage medium, operatively coupled to the server computer, comprising executable code for instructing the server computer to perform the following acts:   accepting search parameters specifying characteristics of an item to be priced;   retrieving from the first database a first pricing result set having the specified characteristics;   retrieving from the second database a second pricing result set having some of the specified characteristics;   determining market summary information from said second pricing result set; and   displaying the first pricing result set and said market summary information.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second database is populated with and updated from items of inventory retrieved from said first database as a result of user-initiated queries. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second database is populated with and updated from items of inventory retrieved from said first database as a result of automated search processes. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said service is implemented on an Internet-based service. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said service is implemented on an Internet-based travel service. 
     
     
         6 . A network-based method for pricing dynamic inventory according to  claim 4 , wherein said Internet-based service has a Web site capable of displaying information to a consumer and receiving offers from the consumer. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said first pricing result set is retrieved from at least one searchable database, each different from said second database. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein at least one of the searchable databases is a global distribution system. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said first database comprises a plurality of databases, each different from said second database. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said market summary information comprises at least one of a lowest price, a highest price and an average price. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said market summary information is displayed without said first pricing result set. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein information relating to a plurality of market summaries determined from said second pricing result set is displayed. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the network is the Internet. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the network is a telephony-based system. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the network is an intranet. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the network is a local area network. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the network is a wide area network. 
     
     
         18 . A method for pricing dynamic inventory, the method comprising:
 accepting search parameters specifying characteristics of an item to be priced;   retrieving from a first database, using one or more processors, a first pricing result set having the specified characteristics, wherein the first database comprises information concerning the dynamic inventory;   retrieving from a second database, using the one or more processors, a second pricing result set having some of the specified characteristics, wherein the second database comprises recently known information concerning the dynamic inventory;   determining market summary information from said second pricing result set; and   displaying the first pricing result set and said market summary information.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the second database is populated with and updated from items of inventory retrieved from said first database as a result of user-initiated queries. 
     
     
         20 . A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium having one or more computer-executable modules, the one or more computer-executable modules configured to:
 accept search parameters specifying characteristics of an item to be priced;   retrieve from a first database, using one or more processors, a first pricing result set having the specified characteristics, wherein the first database comprises information concerning the dynamic inventory;   retrieve from a second database, using the one or more processors, a second pricing result set having some of the specified characteristics, wherein the second database comprises recently known information concerning the dynamic inventory;   determine market summary information from said second pricing result set; and   
       display the first pricing result set and said market summary information.