US Patent No. 8577755 - Prepared by Attorney David Tran for eBay and filed by Schwegman (SLWK)
Brief description: The marketplace applications 200 may provide a number of listing and price-setting mechanisms whereby a seller may list goods or services for sale, a buyer can express interest in or indicate a desire to purchase such goods or services, and a price can be set for a transaction pertaining to the goods or service. The marketplace applications 200 may include one or more auction applications 205 which support auction-format listing and price setting mechanisms (e.g., English, Dutch, Vickrey, Chinese, Double, Reverse auctions, etc.). The various auction applications 205 may also provide a number of features in support of such auction-format listings, such as a reserve price feature whereby a seller may specify a reserve price in connection with a listing and a proxy-bidding feature whereby a bidder may invoke automated proxy bidding. The marketplace applications 200 may include one or more fixed-price applications 210. The fixed-price applications 210 may support fixed-price listing formats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing or a catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. Specifically, buyout-type listings (e.g., including the Buy-It-Now (BIN) technology developed by eBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) may be offered in conjunction with an auction-format listing, and allow a buyer to purchase goods or services, which are also being offered for sale via an auction, for a fixed-price that may be higher than the starting price of the auction. The marketplace applications 200 may include one or more store applications 215. The store applications 215 may allow sellers to group their listings within a “virtual” store, which may be branded and otherwise personalized by and for the sellers. Such a virtual store may also offer promotions, incentives and features that are specific and personalized to a relevant seller. The marketplace applications 200 may include one or more clearance applications 220 which may support clearance-format listing in a clearance section of the publication/sales system and price setting mechanisms. The various clearance applications 220 may also provide a number of features in support of such clearance-format listings. The clearance applications 220 may support fixed-price formats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing or a catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. For example, the clearance item may be bought for a fixed price via instant online payment in the payment application(s) 175.