Claims:We Claim:
1. A system and method for online marketplaces for providing goods and services; comprising of
a. Online database for information relevant to industry;
b. A user interface;
c. Computer network;
wherein the online database provides the information relevant to the industry and is accessible to the user via the computer network and database communicates with user interface at any given time and generates relevant offers based on one or more of key words, categories, preferences, time, price and location for a plurality of consumers on the plurality of user interface sites at any given time.
2. The system as claimed in claim1 wherein the said online database is internet.
3. The system as claimed in claim1, wherein the said user interface provides access to the information and allows the user to narrow the offers viewed.
4. The system as claimed in claim1, wherein the said online database is a business-to-business web site or a business-to-consumer web site.
5. A method for providing online marketplaces for selling goods and services comprising the steps of:
a. Identifying a participant;
b. Obtaining product or service data, seller data, and web site choices for each seller of a proposed marketplace;
c. Generating relevant offers for marketplace including selected products or services of each seller based on the seller's product or service data; and
d. Generating for each seller of a number of sellers, a business-to-business web site or a business-to-consumer web site or both;
e. Displaying the information.
, Description:Technical Field of the invention:
The present invention relates to online marketplaces for selling. The present invention more particularly relates to a system and method for online marketplaces for providing goods and services.
Background of the invention:
There are various online marketplaces available for purchasing various products online. An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce site where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties, whereas transactions are processed by the marketplace operator. In an online marketplace, consumer transactions are processed by the marketplace operator and then delivered and fulfilled by the participating retailers or wholesalers. Online marketplaces can be accessed via one or more websites through which people and organizations can buy and sell goods and services. Items such as books, jewellery, appliances, computers, tickets, sporting goods, furniture, equipment, vehicles and vacation packages are bought and sold on online marketplace websites.
Participants in online marketplaces include individuals, small companies, large corporations, or other types of organizations. An online sales channel, such as an online market place, can provide several different avenues for selling goods or items online. Such avenues include fixed-price selling and/or an online auction, such as provided at www.ebay.com, which occurs via one or more web sites in which people and organizations from around the world can buy and sell goods and/or services. Among other goods and services, collectibles, books, jewelry, appliances, computers, tickets, sporting goods, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and vacation packages are listed on online marketplace web sites, and bought and sold daily through the online marketplace sales channels.
In online selling process, a seller may desire information about how well its goods are selling with respect to expectations, forecasts and targets. The seller may want to know top line sales information such as the gross revenue of the sales. Other top-line sales information may include an average sales price (ASP), the number of units sold, and the net merchandise sales (NMS) (e.g., actual sales revenue collected from buyers). The seller may also want to know bottom-line (e.g., final results) sales information, such as net income or profits (e.g., gross revenue minus costs or net sales minus fees). Sellers may need some guidance or recommendations on selling, merchandising, pricing, or promoting their goods, as well as some insight on their volume and margin expectations. In online selling, a seller may desire information on how well its goods are selling with respect to expectations, forecasts and targets. The seller may want to know high level business metrics for what was sold, when it was sold and the selling price. The seller may also want to know top line sales information and bottom line sales information such as net income or profits. Sellers may need some guidance or recommendations on selling, merchandising, pricing or promoting their goods as well as their volume and margin expectations.
Some participants in online marketplaces may have business-to-business (B2B) relationships with other participants that may tend to focus on a vertical market, such as healthcare or automotive. Participants in a B2B marketplace can liquidate unwanted capital assets, dispose of excess inventory, and buy or sell equipment, goods, and services. Other participants in online marketplaces may have business-to-consumer (B2C) relationships. A business may sell goods and services to the consumer market in a B2C online marketplace. Some other participants may have consumer-to-consumer (C2C) relationships, in which individuals can buy and sell goods and services with other individuals.
In one example of an online marketplace, eBay Inc. of San Jose, Calif. provides online services in which buyers and sellers can browse (e.g., navigate), list goods (e.g., post for sale), and buy and sell various goods and services in a web-based marketplace. EBay provides online auction and listing services, in which eBay typically does not directly handle or own the goods. Instead, eBay can facilitate the listing of the goods and services on its website, like want-ads in a newspaper, and facilitate transactions of trading activities between buyers and sellers. Among other operations, eBay can provide listing features beyond what can be offered in a newspaper, such as a dynamic pricing structure, a presentation of items with digital photographs, a formatting of listing information, and customer feedback.
Online marketplaces represent a sales channel—that is, an avenue for selling goods or services—that has become popular only recently. More traditional sales channels include “brick-and-mortar” storefronts, for example, a department store in which a good (e.g., a shirt) can be sold to buyers of the good. Other sales channels include catalog sales, door-to-door sales, and telemarketing sales. A seller may use multiple sales channels to sell its goods or services—e.g., retail stores and an online sale channel such as a web site with similar product offerings. In the case of an online sales channel, a seller may either set-up and maintain its own dedicated web-site that sells only its own merchandise or the seller may use an online marketplace web-site (e.g. eBay, Amazom.com or Buy.com) that sells merchandise owned by several different sellers. As used herein, “online sales channel” encompasses both dedicated, single-seller online sales channels as well as multiple-seller online sales channels.
So there is a need for a system and method which enables sellers and buyers to buy and sell through any number and kind of ecommerce platforms which are having single seller online sales channels and multiple seller online sales channels. The present invention is a system and method for online marketplaces for providing goods and services in which the seller's products are available in multiple marketplaces and which enables any number of sellers to automatically create new product categories and search criteria unique to each seller.
Objects of the invention:
An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for online marketplaces for providing goods and services.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system in which the seller's products are available in multiple marketplaces and which enables any number of sellers to automatically create new product categories and search criteria unique to each seller.
Other objects and benefits of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to bind the scope of the present invention.
Summary of the invention:
Accordingly, a system and method for online marketplaces for providing goods and services is disclosed. A system for providing online marketplaces for selling goods and services comprising; a computer network; a user; the market segment within the industry of interest to the user; a database for information relevant to the industry or to the market segment accessible to the user via the computer network. The online database provides the information relevant to the industry and is accessible to the user via the computer network and database communicates with user interface at any given time and generates relevant offers based on one or more of key words, categories, preferences, time, price and location for a plurality of consumers on the plurality of user interface sites at any given time. The user interface provides access to the information and allows the user to narrow the offers viewed. The online database is a business-to-business web site or a business-to-consumer web site.
Brief Description of the invention:
Fig 1 describes the flowchart showing system and method for selling goods and services.
Detailed description of the invention:
The present invention provides a system and method for online marketplaces for providing goods and services. In present invention, the method for selling goods and services involves receiving information describing one or more items for sale by a seller, and facilitating a sale of the items through one or more online sales channels.
In one embodiment, a method for providing online marketplaces for selling goods and services comprising the steps of:
Identifying a participant;
Obtaining product or service data, seller data, and web site choices for each seller of a proposed marketplace;
Generating relevant offers for marketplace including selected products or services of each seller based on the seller's product or service data; and
Generating for each seller of a number of sellers, a business-to-business web site or a business-to-consumer web site or both;
Displaying the information.
In another embodiment, a system for providing online marketplaces for selling goods and services comprising;
A computer network;
A user;
The market segment within the industry of interest to the user;
a database for information relevant to the industry or to the market segment accessible to the user via the computer network, wherein the online database provides the information relevant to the industry and is accessible to the user via the computer network and database communicates with user interface at any given time and generates relevant offers based on one or more of key words, categories, preferences, time, price and location for a plurality of consumers on the plurality of user interface sites at any given time. The online database is internet. The user interface provides access to the information and allows the user to narrow the offers viewed. The online database is a business-to-business web site or a business-to-consumer web site.
The method for selling goods and services involves receiving information describing one or more items for sale by a seller, and facilitating a sale of the items through one or more online sales channels. The method also involves reporting metrics to the seller regarding one or more items for sale on one or more online sales channels, in which the metrics include top-line highlights, bottom-line highlights, and an executive summary.
The method also may involve keeping track of information related to one or more items for sale, in which the information includes financial information (e.g., fees and costs) and a quantity of goods sold. The method may involve receiving one or more of the following: business-specific information; data within objects, spreadsheets, and text files; and business-related applications and logic. A product data file (PDF) may be received and validated, in which the PDF includes data entries for the one or more items for sale.
The present invention provides single seller online sales channels and multiple seller online sales channels. In present invention, the seller's products are available in multiple marketplaces which enable any number of sellers to automatically create new product categories and search criteria unique to each seller.
In another aspect, a system includes one or more reports providing information from user interface to a seller of one or more items for sale on one or more sales channels. The one or more reports are generated by the connection provider. The system has one or more targets relating to goals and forecasts for the items for sale, and the targets are determined by the seller. The reporting tool may allow the seller to assess the performance of one or more sales, inventory, pricing, and marketing parameters relative to one or more specified targets, in which the reporting tool includes self-servicing functionality to allow the seller to access information at the seller's convenience. One or more reports may include a presentation of issues, alerts, news, customer feedback, and/or recommendations to provide value to the seller. The information presented in the reports may be customized by the seller.
The systems and techniques described here provides the following advantages. For example, the present invention provides a seller with insight and recommendations on merchandise to enhance the strategic position of the seller. The seller can adapt sales strategies and positioning in a dynamic sales environment. It also provides top-line sales information to help the seller to realize how well sales are tracking against forecasts. The bottom-line information provided by the connection provider to sellers can help sellers to reduce their costs and expenses while maximizing sales potential.
One or more reports to the seller can be automatically generated to reduce the amount of costs associated with employing human labor. The reports can show interrelationships in sales activities, as well as and cause-and-effect patterns in the seller's selling strategy over time (e.g., the seller can lower the target price to see if they can sell more units). The seller can also have a greater level of control over how their goods are sold than what is typically provided in an online marketplace environment. The seller may provide with one or more standard files of information to provide enhanced value of selling items over one or more online sales channels (e.g., enhanced product listings and descriptions). The seller may be able to obtain information and guidance regarding selling their items on the online sales channels where such information and guidance may not normally be easily obtained.