The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 28, 2011
Filed:
May. 10, 2000
Vladimir Gorelik, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Andrew Ian Atherton, San Francisco, CA (US);
Nina Barrameda Zumel, San Francisco, CA (US);
Vladimir Gorelik, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Andrew Ian Atherton, San Francisco, CA (US);
Nina Barrameda Zumel, San Francisco, CA (US);
OIP Technologies, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US);
Abstract
An automatic pricing method and apparatus for use in electronic commerce environments is described. Automatic pricing uses live price testing to estimate and measure demand for specific products—taking into account where appropriate, a vendor selected segmentation scheme. The results of live price testing are compared using a vendor selected goal function, e.g. profit maximization, to select a new price. A goal function that balances short term gains versus long term gains based on customer lifetime value is described. The live price testing approach used is designed to minimize losses due to price testing through statistical methods. Additionally, methods for distributing price testing across time so as to avoid problems caused by too many ongoing tests as well as side effects from testing are described. The selected price is a win for both purchasers and vendors as the automatic price will approximate the efficiency of a reverse auction without the inconvenience of the auction format while being goal maximizing for the vendor. For example, a vendor that normally sets prices of items for sale to customers can use embodiments of the invention to great effect.