Digital online exchange with client supplied demand information
A system for pricing items for sale by a seller of items comprises a pricing server and a client. The pricing server is configured to dynamically price items based on demand for the item. The client is coupled to the pricing server for receiving pricing information from the pricing server for utilization by the seller in pricing items and for providing demand information from the seller to the pricing server. The demand information is data reflective of one of the number of sales of the item, the revenue from sales of the items, the profitability of the sales of the item, or a parameter affecting a demand curve utilized to dynamically price the item.
1 . A system for pricing items for sale by a seller of items, the system comprising:
a pricing server configured to dynamically price items based on demand for the item;
a client coupled to the pricing server for receiving pricing information from the pricing server for utilization by the seller in pricing items and for providing demand information from the seller to the pricing server;
wherein the demand information is data reflective of one of the number of sales of the item, the revenue from sales of the items, the profitability of the sales of the item, or a parameter affecting a demand curve utilized to dynamically price the item.
2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the client is configured to convey demand information to the pricing server after each sale of an item such demand information being reflective of the demand for the item.
3 . The system of claim 1 wherein the client is configured to convey demand information to the pricing server on a periodic basis.
4 . The system of claim 1 wherein the server and the client are configured to send and receive encrypted demand information.
5 . The system of claim 1 wherein the demand information is communicated from the client to the pricing server utilizing XML format.
6 . The system of claim 1 wherein the demand information is communicated from the client to the server using comma separated values.
7 . The system of claim 1 wherein the demand information is communicated from the client to the server using a web service.
8 . The system of claim 1 further comprising memory accessible by the pricing server for storing or retrieving demand information and wherein the pricing server is configured to receive demand information
9 . The system of claim 8 wherein the memory is configured to include a database having fields for storing a data format recognizable by Microsoft Excel.
10 . The system of claim 8 wherein data stored in a database includes a time stamp indicative of the freshness of the data is and wherein the pricing server is configured to disregard stale demand data based at least in part on the value of the time stamp.
11 . The system of claim 1 wherein the client includes client memory accessible by a client processor and configured to store demand data for the items and wherein the client processor accesses the client memory to retrieve the demand data for transferring to the pricing server.
12 . The system of claim 1 wherein the pricing server and client communicate via a network.