초록 ▼

A conditional purchase offer (CPO) management system is disclosed for receiving CPOs from one or more customers, such as airline passengers, and for evaluating the received CPOs against a number of CPO rules defined by a plurality of sellers, such as airlines, to determine whether any seller is will

A conditional purchase offer (CPO) management system is disclosed for receiving CPOs from one or more customers, such as airline passengers, and for evaluating the received CPOs against a number of CPO rules defined by a plurality of sellers, such as airlines, to determine whether any seller is willing to accept a given CPO. A CPO is a binding offer containing one or more conditions submitted by a customer for purchase of an item, such as airline travel, at a customer-definied price. A CPO rule is a set of restrictions defined by a given seller, such as an airline, to define a combination of restrictions for which the seller is willing to accept a predefined price. The CPO rules may be securely stored by one or more servers. The CPO management system permits a seller to correct for forecasting errors, if necessary, or other competitive forces which have produced excess capacity, by providing inventory for sale to CPO customers.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] A method for using a computer to process the sale of goods or services, comprising:receiving by said computer a first conditional purchase offer from a customer for the purchase of said goods or services, wherein said first conditional purchase offer is a binding offer including a

[ We claim:] [1.] A method for using a computer to process the sale of goods or services, comprising:receiving by said computer a first conditional purchase offer from a customer for the purchase of said goods or services, wherein said first conditional purchase offer is a binding offer including a customer-defined price;receiving a payment identifier specifying a credit card account for use in providing payment for said goods or services;after receiving said first conditional purchase offer and said payment identifier, querying a database of seller-defined rules provided by a plurality of sellers to determine if said goods or services are to be sold to said customer for said customer-defined price, said seller-defined rules including prices which are concealed from said customer;if no goods or services are to be sold to said customer after said querying, transmitting a rejection of said first conditional purchase offer to said customer; andtaking an action to deter said customer from submitting a second conditional purchase offer for said goods or services.