METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING A SALE OFFER OVER AN ELECTRONIC NETWORK SYSTEM

1 - 61 . (canceled)

62 . A system the comprising:

at least one network-communications interface that receives (i) at least one offer for a good or service from a third party and (ii) an acceptance of the at least one offer from at least one of a plurality of user devices over a communications network;

at least one processor that executes a set of instructions; and

at least one computer-readable medium that stores the set of instructions, the set of instructions being executable by the at least one processor to:

electronically present, over the communications network, the at least one offer to the plurality of user devices, wherein the at least one offer is presented at a time unpredictable to each user of each of the plurality of user devices and can only be accepted before the expiration of a limited duration that is set according to a length of time or a quantity of goods or services;

determine whether the acceptance was received from the at least one user device before the expiration of the limited duration; and

if the acceptance was received before the expiration of the limited duration, sending, over the communications network using the at least one network-communications interface, a unique identifier to the at least one user device to enable delivery of the good or service by the third party.

63 . The system of claim 62 , wherein the unique identifier is sent after payment information is accepted or processed.

64 . The system of claim 62 , wherein the set of instructions further cause the at least one processor to:

electronically present the at least one offer to the plurality of user devices based upon targeting information.

65 . The system of claim 64 , wherein the targeting information comprises profile information.

66 . The system of claim 62 , further comprising a database that stores tracking data for each of the users.

67 . The system of claim 66 , wherein the tracking data comprises the unique identifier and a timestamp.

68 . The system of claim 62 , wherein the plurality of user devices comprise one or more of a computer, an interactive TV device, a wireless phone, and a personal digital assistant (PDA).

69 . A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a server including at least one processor, at least one offer for a good or service from a third party;

electronically presenting, by the server and over a communications network, the at least one offer to a plurality of user devices, wherein the at least one offer is presented at a time unpredictable to each user of each of the plurality of user devices and can only be accepted before the expiration of a limited duration that is preset according to a length of time or a quantity of goods or services;

receiving, by the server and over the communications network, an acceptance of the at least one offer from at least one of the plurality of user devices;

determining, by the server, whether the acceptance was received from the at least one user device before the expiration of the limited duration; and

if the acceptance was received before the expiration of the limited duration, sending, over the communications network, a unique identifier for the at least one user device to enable delivery of the good or service by the third party.

70 . The method of claim 69 , wherein the unique identifier is sent after payment information is accepted or processed.

71 . The method of claim 69 , wherein electronically presenting the at least one offer to the plurality of user devices is based upon targeting information.

72 . The method of claim 71 , wherein the targeting information comprises profile information.

73 . The method of claim 69 , further comprising:

storing, in a database, tracking data for each of the users.

74 . The method of claim 73 , wherein the tracking data comprises the unique identifier and a timestamp.

75 . The method of claim 69 , wherein the plurality of user devices comprise one or more of a computer, an interactive TV device, a wireless phone, and a personal digital assistant (PDA).

76 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform a method comprising:

receiving at least one offer for a good or service from a third party;

electronically presenting, over a communications network, the at least one offer to a plurality of user devices, wherein the at least one offer is presented at a time unpredictable to each user of each of the plurality of user devices and can only be accepted before the expiration of a limited duration that is preset according to a length of time or a quantity of goods or services;

receiving, over the communications network, an acceptance of the at least one offer from at least one of the plurality of user devices;

determining whether the acceptance was received from the at least one user device before the expiration of the limited duration; and

if the acceptance was received before the expiration of the limited duration, sending, over the communications network, a unique identifier for the at least one user device to enable delivery of the good or service by the third party.

77 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 76 , wherein the unique identifier is sent after payment information is accepted or processed.

78 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 76 , wherein the method performed by the one or more processors further comprises:

electronically presenting the at least one offer to the plurality of user devices based upon targeting information.

79 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 78 , wherein the targeting information comprises profile information.

80 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 76 , wherein the method performed by the one or more processors further comprises:

storing, in a database, tracking data for each of the users.

81 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 80 , wherein the tracking data comprises the unique identifier and a timestamp.

82 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 76 , wherein the plurality of user devices comprise one or more of a computer, an interactive TV device, a wireless phone, and a personal digital assistant (PDA).

83 . A mobile device comprising:

a display;

a communications interface;

at least one processor; and

a computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions that are executed by the at least one processor to:

receive, by the communications interface, at least one offer for a good or service from a third party;

electronically present the at least one offer on the display at a time unpredictable to the user of the mobile device, wherein the at least one offer can only be accepted before the expiration of a limited duration that is preset according to a length of time or a quantity of goods or services;

accept the at least one offer before the expiration of the limited duration; and

receiving a unique identifier to enable delivery of the good or service by the third party.

84 . The mobile device of claim 83 , wherein the set of instructions are further executed by the at least one processor to:

electronically present, on the display, a pop-up notification including information concerning the offer.

85 . The mobile device of claim 83 , wherein the set of instructions are further executed by the at least one processor to:

electronically present, on the display, a banner notification including information concerning the offer.