Claims:1. A method of introducing at least one Buyer to at least one Seller, comprising
a. the steps performed by an automated system of via a website viewable by the Buyer and the Seller,
b. generating an entry for the target item of the Buyer, and posting the entry on the website; and
c. introducing the Buyer to the Seller; wherein the in-taking, generating, posting and introducing.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein, for a claimed identity of a party who is the Buyer or the Seller in-taken by the website as input from the party, cross-referencing the claimed identity.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the automated system, of computing an Identity Rating for at least one of the Buyer and the Seller.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein computing an Identity Rating for the Buyer, computing an Identity Rating for the Seller, displaying to the Buyer the Identity Rating for the Seller and displaying to the Seller the Identity Rating for the Buyer.
, Description:Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the Internet, more particularly to web sites that sellers visit, especially web sites that sellers visit to find buyers.
Background of the Invention
From a buyer's perspective, shopping via the Internet has certain complications and. disadvantages. The buyer may have to invest too much time before he gets to a point where he purchases his target item or may not find the target item at. the desired price even after investing a large amount of time searching and negotiating. For example, in one approach a buyer enters a query for the target item into a search engine and reviews the returned responses. That approach tends to only work for a relatively limited group of items, such as current book tiftas. while being unworkable or overly time-consuming for most target purchases. Another approach that buyers use is to browse Ebay but browsing on Ebay for a target purchase uses the buyer's time, and the target item may or may not. be located at the desired price as an immediately purchasable item, and if located in the form of an auction and bid upon, the buyer may or may not be the winning bidder. A buyer using Ebay therefore often invests a substantial amount of his time without securing the target item. Moreover, many people are leery of purchasing from a stranger over the Internet such as via Ebay. no matter how good the seller's ratings are, especially for purchases that are time-sensitive or are high-cost for that buyer.
Object of the Invention
The present object of the invention is to introduce a buyer to a seller, with the introduction being accomplished through steps performed by a computer, computer network or machine.
The further object of the invention is to derive revenue from making a computer- implemented introduction between a buyer and a seller.

Summary of The Invention
The present inventor has considered the above shortcomings of the prior an and provides an automated. Internet- based introduction service in which a seller is introduced to a universe of buyers of what the seller is selling, through the performance of automated, computer-based steps. A stream of revenue is generated by monetizing the buyer-seller introduction, such as by conditioning the seller's being put in contact with the buyer upon the seller's making a payment.
The invention, by providing for use of a website, provides for a buyer or a seller to have access to a global array of opposite parties. The invention is a preferred embodiment provides a website which operates to introduce buyers and sellers to permit them to form a globalized marketplace. The invention exploits the freedom of a buyer to set the price dial he is willing to pay for a target item for the world to see. In one preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of introducing at least one Buyer to at Jea.st one Seller, comprising the steps of: via a website, in-taking from the Buyer, in computer,- readable form, at least a description of a target item and a price that the Buyer is willing to pay for the target item; generating an entry for the target item of the Buyer; posting the entry for the target item of the Buyer on the website, the website being viewable by the x Seller; introducing the Buyer to the Seller; wherein each step is performed by one or more of: a computer, a computer processor, a computer network, a machine or another non-human instrumentality, or a combination thereof; such as, e.g., inventive methods including steps performed by the automated system and before the introducing step of: via the website, in-taking a search query that was input by the Seller at an input time, and returning to the Seller, within seconds of the input time, a list comprising the entry for the target item of the Buyer or a link thereto and. optionally, comprising one or more further entries or further links to entries respectively generated from a plurality of Buyers; inventive methods further comprising, for a claimed identity in-taken by the website as input from the party, cross-referencing the claimed identity; inventive methods wherein each step is performed by an automated system which further performs a step of computing
The invention in another preferred embodiment provides an automated seller-side research method, comprising: via a website, in computer-readable form, in-taking a search query for a target item being researched by a Seller, the Seller's search query having been input by the Seller at an input time, and within seconds of the input time, returning to the Seller a search result, wherein the search result includes: an entry generated from a description of a target item that was in-taken by the website from a Buyer along with a price that the Buyer is willing to pay that was in-taken by the website from the Buyer, or a link to said entry such as, e.g., inventive methods including, via the website, in-taking from the Buyer, in computer-readable form, at least the description of a target item and the price that the Buyer is willing to pay for the target Hem; inventive methods including a step, performed by a processor, of processing the Seller \s search query against a database containing a plurality of entries generated from machine-readable data in-taken via the website when input by a plurality of Buyers, each entry being associated with a respective Buyer and having a respective target item of a Buyer and a price that the Buyer is willing to pay for the target item associated with the entry; and other inventive methods.
Another preferred embodiment, the invention provides for a method of computing an Identity Rating in-taken by the website as input from the party; computing an Identity Rating by processing input data from at least two input sources; computing an Identity Rating by at least processing input that is data from at least one social networking website: computing an Identity Rating by at least processing input that is at least one referral reference stored in a database; computing an Identity Rating by at least processing input that is a set of feedback stored in a database; etc. for at least one of a Buyer and a Seller in an Internet-based introduction system; inventive methods which include a step of displaying a computed Identity Rating for a party to an opposite party; inventive methods including a step of displaying a computed Identity Rating for at least one of the Buyer and the Seller to an opposite party who is being introduced or has been introduced to the party for whom the Identity Rating was computed; and other inventive methods.
Brief Description of Drawings
Fig. 1 is an activity diagram which is an Application Navigation Map which may be used in constructing a system
Detailed Description of Invention
Herein, "Buyer" includes a user who may intend to buy whether the user ultimately actually buys. Likewise, herein "Seller" includes a user who may intend to sell whether the user ultimately actually sells. A most preferred example of a Buyer or Seller is a human individual acting for himself or on behalf of an organization or business. A user of an inventive website may be a Buyer on one occasion regarding one target item that he waits to buy and a Seller on another occasion about another item that he wants to sell. A business or entity may be a Buyer or Seller; for example, a business that needs an automotive part may be a Buyer and a business that has a surplus inventory may be a Seller. A system in this inventive example includes a home page which is an Internet web page.
In this Example in which Figs.1 are mentioned, simpler and more focused reports are possible by, e.g. using the templates of Figs 1 and turning off sections. For constructing a system. Fig. 1 shows an example of an activity diagram which is an application navigation map which may be used for constructing a system. For example, from home page a user can navigate to Login link or page and Register pages and perform a Search of Buy Requests.
The Login link or page is a user authentication page. The Register Page is constructed to receive registration of a new user, to establish a username, password, and email. In the application navigation map of Fig.1 there are also links to landing pages with buyer and seller functionality, namely Buyer Landing Page and Seller Landing Page. The Seller Landing Page has links to main seller functionality. A user can navigate to a Display Search Results page and to a View Buy Request Details page. On the View Buy Request Details page, details of a single buy request are viewable. On a Display Search Results page, search results can be browsed by a user.