e-COMMERCE VOLUME PRICING
A system and method that facilitates e-commerce volume pricing is provided. According to one aspect of the present invention, the system includes an offers and orders component that receives and aggregates orders for a product from a plurality of buyers. The system also includes a logistics component that determines a shipping price for the product for a subset of the plurality of buyers. The shipping price is determined at least in part upon the subset of buyers sharing a shipping method. According to another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided in which buyers within an aggregated purchasing group may be subject to different pricing structures for the same product.
1 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon instructions executable by a processor to:
generate a deal from a supplier for an item for sale at a discounted price, wherein an online account allows the supplier to modify the deal;
provide details about the supplier and contact information for the supplier, wherein the details about the supplier and the contact information for the supplier are saved to the online account;
allow the details about the supplier, the contact information for the supplier, and the deal to be presented to at least one potential customer for a finite period of time;
enable the at least one potential customer to receive the deal from the supplier and agree to terms and conditions corresponding to the deal; and
store information corresponding to past orders of the at least one potential customer.
2 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the online account allows the supplier to offer the deal on a regularly scheduled basis.
3 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the online account allows the supplier to view historical data for the deal.
4 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the online account allows the supplier to view an offer period for the deal.
5 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the deal is based on an order volume associated with the item as determined over a predetermined period of time.
6 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the information corresponding to the past orders includes the supplier.
7 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the information corresponding to the past orders includes a date of purchase.
8 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the information corresponding to the past orders includes a location associated with the at least one potential customer.
9 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , having further embodied thereon instructions executable by a processor to modify the deal in real time.
10 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the supplier is a different entity than an entity presenting the deal.
11 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , having further embodied thereon instructions executable by a processor to offer an additional discount based, at least in part, on the information corresponding to the past orders.
12 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the additional discount is a fixed discount.
13 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the additional discount is a fixed amount.
14 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the deal for the item is based on a determination of a potential interest of the at least one potential customer for the item.
15 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the deal for the item is based on a determination of a confirmed interest of the at least one potential customer for the item.
16 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein an agreement between the supplier and a system administrator allows the system administrator to present the deal for the item, wherein the deal is presented in response to a request for an offer for the item from the at least one potential customer.
17 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , having further embodied thereon instructions executable by a processor to present the supplier with real time updates concerning the deal.
18 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein a purchasing history of the at least one buyer is used to present the deal.
19 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , having further embodied thereon instructions executable by a processor to receive a confirmation of interest to acquire the deal for the item.
20 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , having further embodied thereon instructions executable by a processor to award an additional discount when the at least one potential customer influences an order volume for the item.
21 . A method for managing online deals, comprising:
generating a discounted deal from a supplier over one or more network servers, wherein an online account allows the supplier to modify the discounted deal;
providing details about the supplier and contact information for the supplier, wherein the details about the supplier and the contact information for the supplier are saved to the online account on the one or more network servers;
allowing the details about the supplier, the contact information for the supplier, and the discounted deal to be presented to at least one potential customer over the one or more network servers for a finite period of time;
enabling the at least one potential customer to receive the discounted deal from the supplier and agree to terms and conditions corresponding to the deal; and
storing information concerning past orders of the at least one potential customer.
22 . The method of claim 21 , the information concerning the past orders including a shipping or delivery location.
23 . The method of claim 21 , the information concerning the past orders including a supplier.
24 . The method of claim 21 , the information concerning the past orders including a date of purchase.
25 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising presenting an additional discount based, at least in part, on the past orders of the at least one potential customer.
26 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising presenting the discounted deal based on a determination of an interest of the at least one potential customer for an item.
27 . An apparatus, comprising:
a processor configured to execute instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium to perform the following acts:
generate a deal on behalf of a supplier for an item for sale at a discounted price;
receive instructions for modifying the deal;
provide details about the supplier and contact information for the supplier, wherein the details about the supplier and the contact information for the supplier are saved to an online account;
present to at least one potential customer for a finite period of time details about the supplier, the contact information for the supplier, and the deal;
transmit the deal to the at least one potential customer;
receive from the at least one potential customer an acceptance to terms and conditions corresponding to the deal; and
store information corresponding to past orders of the at least one potential customer.
28 . The apparatus of claim 27 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium to present the deal based on a determination of an interest of the at least one potential customer for the item.
29 . The apparatus of claim 27 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium to allow a system administrator to present the deal for the item based on an agreement between the supplier and the system administrator, wherein the deal is presented in response to a request for an offer for the item from the at least one potential customer.
30 . A commerce system, comprising:
a non-transitory computer memory that stores computer executable instructions; and
a processor that executes the computer executable instructions to:
offer a deal from a supplier for an item for sale, wherein an online account allows the supplier to change a deal;
present details about the supplier and contact information for the supplier, wherein the details about the supplier and the contact information for the supplier is saved to the online account on one or more servers;
permit the details about the supplier, the contact information for the supplier, and the deal to be presented to at least one potential customer over the one or more servers for a limited period of time;
allow the at least one potential customer to receive the deal from the supplier and agree to terms and conditions corresponding to the deal; and
store information corresponding to orders of the at least one potential customer.