WO2015170996A1

WO2015170996A1 - Method and system for volume selling

Info

Publication number: WO2015170996A1
Application number: PCT/NZ2015/050050
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ben POWLES; Daniel Robertson; Maurice BRYHAM
Original assignee: Fishpond Limited
Priority date: 2014-05-09
Filing date: 2015-05-06
Publication date: 2015-11-12

Abstract

An apparatus and method for selling an item using a network are described. The method comprising the steps of: receiving information on the item from at least one supplier, the information including volume pricing information for the item, the volume pricing information comprising at least one volume purchase price and information on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply; establishing an offer acceptance criteria, the offer acceptance criteria including an offer acceptance quantity; setting the offer acceptance quantity based on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply; setting an initial remaining quantity that needs to be purchased to the offer acceptance quantity; offering the item for sale, the offer information including at least one volume sale price, the offer information further including the remaining quantity that needs to be purchased to meet the offer acceptance quantity; receiving an offer to purchase the item at the volume sale price from a customer, the offer to purchase including a quantity to be purchased; adjusting the remaining quantity by the quantity in the purchase offer, the offer information updated to reflect the adjustment to the remaining quantity; and when the remaining quantity is zero or less and the offer acceptance criteria is meet accepting the offers, supplying the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase and resetting the remaining quantity to start from the required quantity.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VOLUME SELLING

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the internet and e-commerce and more particularly to a method and system for selling items at a volume sales price.

BACKGROUND

With present online sales internet systems, consumer cannot access bulk purchase prices that may be available. While consumers can sometimes for may group together organise a bulk purchase it is difficult for consumers form such groups. Typically such groups are formed via email and organising payment and delivery can be difficult.

It would be desirable to provide a system and method that would allow consumers to bulk purchase items without the need to form groups. Further it would be desirable to allow the consumer to choose between purchasing an item singly now or to allow the consumer to offer to purchase the item if a bulk buy can be organised with other consumers. Typically such a bulk purchase would be at a lower price.

The present invention aims to overcome, or at least alleviate, some or all of the afore-mentioned problems.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the preferred embodiment of the invention without placing limitations thereon. The background discussion (including any potential prior art) is not to be taken as an admission of the common general knowledge. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is acknowledged that the terms "comprise", "comprises" and "comprising" may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, these terms are intended to have an inclusive meaning - i.e. they will be taken to mean an inclusion of the listed components that the use directly references, but optionally also the inclusion of other non-specified components or elements.

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a method of selling an item using a network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving information on the item from at least one supplier, the information including volume pricing information for the item, the volume pricing information comprising at least one volume purchase price and information on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply;

establishing an offer acceptance criteria, the offer acceptance criteria including an offer acceptance quantity;

setting the offer acceptance quantity based on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply;

setting an initial remaining quantity that needs to be purchased to the offer acceptance quantity;

offering the item for sale, the offer information including at least one volume sale price, the offer information further including the remaining quantity that needs to be purchased to meet the offer acceptance quantity ;

receiving an offer to purchase the item at the volume sale price from a customer, the offer to purchase including a quantity to be purchased;

adjusting the remaining quantity by the quantity in the purchase offer, the offer information updated to reflect the adjustment to the remaining quantity; and when the remaining quantity is zero or less and the offer acceptance criteria is meet accepting the offers, supplying the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase and resetting the remaining quantity to start from the required quantity. Preferably the offer information further includes a standard sale price. Preferably a plurality of items are sold using the network.

Preferably the method further includes the step of promoting the offer to parties selected by the customers who have made an offer to purchase. Preferably the promotion is made via Facebook or other social networks.

Alternatively the promotion is made via email.

Preferably a deadline is set to meet the offer acceptance criteria when a first offer to purchase is made.

Preferably the deadline is included with the offer information. Preferably the deadline is set depending on the item sales history.

Preferably in the event the offer acceptance criteria is not met by the deadline, rejecting the offers and resetting the remaining quantity to the initial remaining quantity.

Preferably if a new offer to purchase is received after the offers have been rejected, providing an option to the previous customers who made an offer to reinstate their rejected offer.

Preferably once the offer acceptance criteria has been met a deadline for further offers to be made before the offers are accepted is set.

Preferably the offers are accepted even if the offer acceptance criteria has not been meet depending on the product sales history.

Preferably the offer acceptance quantity is set based on the product sales history.

Preferably including the step of instructing a supplier to supply the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Alternatively including the steps of instructing a supplier to supply the items to a third party and instructing the third party to supply the customers who have made an offer to purchase. Alternatively including the step of instructing a supplier to send the items to at least one address for the customers who have made an offer to purchase to pick the items up.

Alternatively including the step of instructing a supplier to produce the items before the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Preferably the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase using at least one supplier and the method includes the step of optimising the number of suppliers to be instructed and the quantity to be supplied from each supplier.

Preferably the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Preferably the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation minimising the cost of the items including shipping.

Preferably the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation based on the geographical regions the supplier is licenced to supply to. Preferably the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the number of the items available from the supplier.

Preferably the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum quantity of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum quantity of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.

Preferably the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum value of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum value of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.

In a further embodiment the invention consists a system for selling an item using a network, the system comprising:

a processor;

a network interface;

memory, the memory storing a program, the program when executed by the processor, carrying out the steps of:

setting an offer acceptance quantity based on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply;

offering the item for sale, the offer information including at least one volume sale price, the offer information including the remaining quantity that needs to be purchased to meet the required quantity for the volume price to apply;

adjusting the remaining quantity by the quantity in the purchase offer, the offer information updated to reflect the adjustment to the remaining quantity; and when the remaining quantity is zero or less and the offer acceptance criteria is meet, accepting the offers, , supplying the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase and resetting the remaining quantity to start from the required quantity.

The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 26 wherein the offer information includes a standard sale price. Preferably a plurality of items are sold using the network.

Preferably further including the step of promoting the offer to parties selected by the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Preferably wherein the promotion is made via Facebook or other social networks.

Alternatively the promotion is made via email. Preferably a deadline is set to meet the offer acceptance criteria when a first offer to purchase is made.

Preferably the deadline is included with the offer information.

Preferably the deadline is set depending on the item sales history.

Preferably if a new offer to purchase is received after the offers are rejected, providing an option to the previous customers who made an offer to reinstate their rejected offer. Preferably once the offer acceptance criteria has been met a deadline for further offers to be made before the offers are accepted is set.

Preferably the offers are accepted even if the offer conditions are not meet depending on the product sales history.

Preferably the offer acceptance quantity is set based on the product sales history. Preferably including the step of instructing a supplier to supply the items to customers who have made an offer to purchase. Preferably including the steps of instructing a supplier to supply the items to a third party and instructing the third party to supply the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Preferably including the step of instructing a supplier to send the items to at least one address for the customers who have made an offer to purchase to pick the items up.

Preferably including the step of instructing a supplier to produce the items before the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Preferably the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase using at least one supplier and includes the step of optimising the number of suppliers to be instructed and the quantity to be supplied from each supplier.

Preferably the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase. Preferably the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation minimising the cost of the items including shipping.

Preferably the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation based on the geographical regions the supplier is licenced to supply to.

Preferably the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the number of the items available from the supplier.

Preferably the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum quantity of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum quantity of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order. Preferably the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum value of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum value of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.

In a further embodiment the invention consists in a system for selling an item using a network the system comprising:

an information receiving module, the information receiving module receiving information on the item from at least one supplier, the information including volume pricing information for the item, the volume pricing information comprising at least one volume purchase price and information on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply;

an offer setting module, the offer setting module establishing an offer acceptance criteria, the offer acceptance criteria including and offer acceptance quantity, the offer setting module further setting the offer acceptance quantity based on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply, the offer setting module further setting an initial remaining quantity that needs to be purchased based to the offer acceptance quantity;

an offer module, the offer module offering the item for sale, the offer information including at least one volume sale price, the offer information further including the remaining quantity that needs to be purchased to meet the offer acceptance quantity;

an offer receiving module, the offer receiving module receiving an offer to purchase at the volume sale price from a customer, the offer to purchase including a quantity to be purchased;

an adjustment module, the adjustment module adjusting the remaining quantity by the quantity in the purchase offer, the offer information updated to reflect the adjustment to the remaining quantity; an offer acceptance module, the offer acceptance module when the remaining quantity is zero or less and the offer acceptance criteria is meet accepting the offers, and

an offer supply module, the offer supply module once the offer are accepted by the offer acceptance module, arranging to supplying the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase and resetting the remaining quantity to start from the required quantity.

Preferably the offer information includes a standard sale price.

Preferably a plurality of items are sold using the network. Preferably the offer module promotes the offer to parties selected by the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Preferably the promotion is made via Facebook or other social networks.

Alternatively the promotion is made via email.

Preferably the adjustment module sets a deadline to meet the offer acceptance criteria when a first offer to purchase is made.

The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 57 wherein the offer module includes the deadline with the offer information.

Preferably the adjustment module sets the deadline depending on the item sales history. Preferably the system includes an offer reject module and in the event the offer acceptance criteria is not meet by the deadline, the offer reject module rejects the offers and resets the remaining quantity to the initial remaining quantity.

Preferably if the offer module receives a new offer to purchase after the remaining quantity is reset, the offer module provides an option to the previous customers who made an offer to reinstate their rejected offer.

Preferably the offer activation module once sufficient offers to purchase have been received sets a deadline for further offers to be made before the volume purchase is activated is set. Preferably the offer acceptance module accepts the offers even when the offer acceptance criteria is not meet depending on the product sales history.

Preferably the offer setting module sets the offer acceptance quantity based on the product sales history. Preferably the offer supply module instructs a supplier to supply the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Alternatively the offer supply module instructs a supplier to supply the items to a third party and instructs the third party to supply the customers who have made an offer to purchase. Alternatively the offer supply module instructs a supplier to send the items to at least one address for the customers who have made an offer to purchase to pick the items up.

Alternatively the offer supply module instructs a supplier to produce the items before the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Preferably the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase using at least one supplier and the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed and the quantity to be supplied from each supplier.

Preferably the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

Preferably the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation minimising the cost of the items including shipping. Preferably the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation based on the geographical regions the supplier is licenced to supply to. Preferably the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed based on the number of the items available from the supplier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the present invention; Figure 2 is a screenshot of the offer of the present invention; and

Figure 3 is flow diagram of the process of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to an internet shopping system.

In summary, the system includes at least a processor, one or more memory devices or an interface for connection to one or more memory devices, input and output interfaces for connection to external devices in order to enable the system to receive and operate upon instructions from one or more users or external systems, a data bus for internal and external communications between the various components, and a suitable power supply. Further, the system may include one or more communication devices (wired or wireless) for communicating with external and internal devices, and one or more input/output devices, such as a display, pointing device, keyboard, operating buttons or printing device.

The processor is arranged to perform the steps of a program stored as program instructions within the memory device. The program instructions enable the various methods of performing the invention as described herein to be performed. The program instructions may be developed or implemented using any suitable software programming language and toolkit, such as, for example, a C-based language. Further, the program instructions may be stored in any suitable manner such that they can be transferred to the memory device or read by the processor, such as, for example, being stored on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may be any suitable medium, such as, for example, solid state memory, magnetic tape, a compact disc (CD-ROM or CD- R/W), memory card, flash memory, optical disc, magnetic disc or any other suitable computer readable medium. It will be understood that the system herein described includes one or more elements that are arranged to perform the various functions and methods. The following portion of the description is aimed at providing the reader with an example of a conceptual view of how various modules and/or engines that make up the elements of the system may be interconnected to enable the functions to be implemented. Further, the following portion of the description explains in system related detail how the steps of the herein described method may be performed.

It will be understood that the arrangement and construction of the modules, systems, devices or engines may be adapted accordingly depending on system and user requirements so that various functions may be performed by different modules, systems, devices or engines to those described herein, and that certain modules, systems, devices or engines may be combined into single modules, systems, devices or engines.

It will be understood that the modules, systems, devices or engines described may be implemented and provided with instructions using any suitable form of technology. For example, the modules, systems, devices or engines may be implemented or created using any suitable software code written in any suitable language, where the code is then compiled to produce an executable program that may be run on any suitable computing system. Alternatively, or in conjunction with the executable program, the modules, systems, devices or engines may be implemented using any suitable mixture of hardware, firmware and software. For example, portions of the modules may be implemented using an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system-on-a-chip (SoC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or any other suitable adaptable or programmable processing device. The methods described herein may be implemented using a general purpose computing system specifically programmed to perform the described steps. Alternatively, the methods described herein may be implemented using a specific network device.

Referring to Figure 1 the present invention will be described. A network computer server or device 101 is connected to a network 110. The network computer server 101 includes at least one processor 102, memory 103, storage 104 and devices for connecting to the network 105.

While a single network server 101 is illustrated in Figure 1 , it is to be understood that multiple network servers that are in communication with each other could be used to implement the present invention.

The network server 101 is in communication with the computing systems of suppliers 120 and consumers 130. The computing systems of the suppliers 120 and consumers 130 could be any suitable computing devices including servers, desktop or portable computers and mobile computing devices such as a cellular phone. The server of the present invention will additionally run shopping cart software and offer a plurality of items to consumers using the shopping cart software, typically via a website. Shopping cart software is well understood and allows consumers to purchase items via a website. Shopping cart software includes all the necessary systems to enable payment to be made and the items to be dispatched to the purchaser.

It is to be understood that consumers can include businesses purchasing items from the website.

Referring to Figure 2 a typical page offering an item from sale is illustrated. The page would include an item title 201 , usually at least one image 204 of the item and a description of the item 205. Additionally the page would allow the consumer to purchase the item by adding the item to a shopping cart 203 or by purchasing the item without going through a shopping cart.

A plurality of consumers using computing devices 130 will access the shop cart. Referring to Figure 3 the selling method and system of the present invention is illustrated as a flow diagram.

The server of the present invention 101 receives 301 via the network 110 information on at least one but more usually a plurality of the items from a supplier system 120. The server of the present invention 101 will receive information on items from multiple supplier system 120. The information received 301 including volume pricing information for the item. The volume pricing information comprises at least one volume purchase price and information on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply. The server of the present invention will then establish 303 an offer acceptance criteria for each item that the server has received information on 301 from the supplier systems 120.

In establishing the offer acceptance criteria the server 101 will set an offer acceptance quantity based on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply. The server 101 will also set for each item the initial remaining quantity that needs to be purchased to meet the offer acceptance criteria.

The server 101 will then offer the item for sale typically using a web page such as illustrated in Figure 2. The offer information including at least one volume sale price 202, the offer information further including the remaining quantity 206 that needs to be purchased to meet the offer acceptance quantity. The offer page would also include a means 207 to add the bulk offer to a shopping cart.

When a consumer 120 viewing the offer decides to purchase using the bulk offer they add 207 the item to their cart. The system server 101 then receives receiving an offer to purchase the item at the volume sale price from a customer, the offer to purchase including a quantity to be purchased;

When the system server 101 has received the offer it adjusts the remaining quantity by the quantity in the purchase offer and updates the offer information to reflect the adjustment to the remaining quantity. Periodically the system server 101 will review the item and when the remaining quantity is zero or less and the offer acceptance criteria is meet, the system server 101 will accept the offers.

The system server 101 will then process the orders 311 including arranging to supply the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase. The system server 101 will as part of the order processing 311 resetting the remaining quantity to start from the required quantity and offer the item again for bulk purchase.

As part of the offer process 305 the system server will allow the consumer to promote the offer to others that the consumer believes may be interested in purchasing at the bulk price. The consumer may promote the offer by various means including email, Facebook or other social networks. The web page that the system server 101 provides would typically include a button 210 to allow the consumer to promote the bulk purchase of the item.

In a further embodiment the system server 101 will once a first offer to purchase is received set a deadline for the offer acceptance criteria to be meet. The deadline may or may not be include the offer information provided to consumers. In setting the deadline the system server 101 may use the item sales history.

In the event that the offer acceptance criteria is not met by the deadline, the system server 101 may reject the offers 321 and resetting the remaining quantity to the initial remaining quantity. The rejection would be communicated to the consumers by the system serverl 01 .

If after the offer are rejected a new offer to purchase is received by the system server 101 the server 101 may in one embodiment provide an option to the previous customers who made an offer to reinstate their rejected offer. Alternatively as part of the rejection of offers the system server may ask the consumer if they want their offer reinstated if a further offer is received. In the case of consumers who have opted to have their offer reinstated the system server will reinstate their offer when a new offer is received.

Optionally once the system server has on review identified that the item has met the acceptance criteria the system server may set a deadline for further offers by consumers to be made before the offers are accepted. The deadline may be displayed on the item offer page. Further if some consumers have added the item to their shopping cart or watchlist those consumers may be notified that the offer is about to close. A watchlist is a well-known shopping cart system that allows consumers to add products that they are interested in to a list that they can easily access.

Optionally on review of the item the system server 101 may accept the offers even if the offer acceptance criteria has not been meet. Such an acceptance would typically involve the system checking the item sales history. As part of the order processing 311 the system server 101 may instruct a supplier to supply the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase. The instructions would typically be sent over the network 110 to the supplier system 120. Alternatively the system server 101 may instruct a supplier to supply the items to a third party and instructing the third party to supply the customers who have made an offer to purchase. In a further alternative the system server 101 may instruct a supplier to send the items to at least one address for the customers who have made an offer to purchase to pick the items up.

If a just in time production system is in operation the system server 101 may instruct a supplier to produce the items before the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

In addition to having the items supplied by one supplier the system server 101 as part of order processing 311 may optimise the number of suppliers to be instructed and optimise the quantity to be supplied from each supplier. The multiple suppliers would then be instructed to supply the items. The optimisation in one embodiment is based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase. In a further embodiment the optimisation aims at minimising the cost of the items including shipping. In some cases the supplier may only be able to supply to certain geographic regions tot the optimisation would take the regions the supplier is able to supply to into account.

Unfortunately some suppliers may not have sufficient quantity of the item available so the optimisation will additionally take into account the number of the items available from the supplier.

Some suppliers in addition to requiring a minimum quantity to obtain a bulk purchase price may have other criteria they require to be meet before they will accept an order. Such criteria may include the minimum quantity of all items in the order or a minimum order value. The system server 101 will take the other criteria into account when reviewing orders for acceptance and when processing the orders for delivery. The fact that other criteria have to be meet before the offers to purchase at the bulk price may be communicated via the item web page to consumers.

It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention described herein are by way of example only, and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of invention. While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of the embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in detail, it is not the intention of the Applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Further, the above embodiments may be implemented individually, or may be combined where compatible. Additional advantages and modifications, including combinations of the above embodiments, will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or scope of the Applicant's general inventive concept.

Claims

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1 . A method of selling an item using a network, the method comprising the steps of:

offering the item for sale, the offer information including at least one volume sale price, the offer information further including the remaining quantity that needs to be purchased to meet the offer acceptance quantity;

adjusting the remaining quantity by the quantity in the purchase offer, the offer information updated to reflect the adjustment to the remaining quantity; and when the remaining quantity is zero or less and the offer acceptance criteria is meet accepting the offers, supplying the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase and resetting the remaining quantity to start from the required quantity.

2. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 1 wherein the offer information further includes a standard sale price.

3. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein a plurality of items are sold using the network.

4. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the method further includes the step of promoting the offer to parties selected by the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

5. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 4 5 wherein the promotion is made via Facebook or other social networks.

6. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 5 wherein the promotion is made via email.

7. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein a deadline is set to meet the offer acceptance criteria o when a first offer to purchase is made.

8. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 7 wherein the deadline is included with the offer information.

9. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the deadline is set depending on the item sales history. 5

10. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9 wherein in the event the offer acceptance criteria is not met by the deadline, rejecting the offers and resetting the remaining quantity to the initial remaining quantity.

1 1 . The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 100 wherein if a new offer to purchase is received after the offers have been rejected, providing an option to the previous customers who made an offer to reinstate their rejected offer.

12. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein once the offer acceptance criteria has been met a5 deadline for further offers to be made before the offers are accepted is set.

13. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the offers are accepted even if the offer acceptance criteria has not been meet depending on the product sales history.

14. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the offer acceptance quantity is set based on the product sales history.

15. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 including the step of instructing a supplier to supply the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

16. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 including the steps of instructing a supplier to supply the items to a third party and instructing the third party to supply the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

17. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 including the step of instructing a supplier to send the items to at least one address for the customers who have made an offer to purchase to pick the items up.

18. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17 including the step of instructing a supplier to produce the items before the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

19. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18 wherein the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase using at least one supplier and the method includes the step of optimising the number of suppliers to be instructed and the quantity to be supplied from each supplier.

20. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 19 wherein the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

21 . The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 19 wherein the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation minimising the cost of the items including shipping.

22. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 21 wherein the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation based on the geographical regions the supplier is licenced to supply to.

23. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 22 wherein the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the number of the items available from the supplier.

24. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 23 wherein the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum quantity of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum quantity of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.

25. The method of selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 24 wherein the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum value of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum value of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.

26. A system for selling an item using a network, the system comprising: a processor;

a network interface;

27. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 26 wherein the offer information includes a standard sale price.

28. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 16 or claim 25 wherein a plurality of items are sold using the network.

29. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 38 wherein the further including the step of promoting the offer to parties selected by the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

30. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 29 wherein the promotion is made via Facebook or other social networks.

31 . The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 29 wherein the promotion is made via email.

32. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 31 wherein a deadline is set to meet the offer acceptance criteria when a first offer to purchase is made.

33. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 32 wherein the deadline is included with the offer information.

34. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 32 or claim 33 wherein the deadline is set depending on the item sales history.

35. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 32 to 34 wherein in the event the offer acceptance criteria is not met by the deadline, rejecting the offers and resetting the remaining quantity to the initial remaining quantity.

36. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 35 wherein if a new offer to purchase is received after the offers are rejected, providing an option to the previous customers who made an offer to reinstate their rejected offer.

37. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 36 wherein once the offer acceptance criteria has been met a deadline for further offers to be made before the offers are accepted is set.

38. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 37 wherein the offers are accepted even if the offer conditions are not meet depending on the product sales history.

39. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 38 wherein the offer acceptance quantity is set based on the product sales history.

40. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 39 including the step of instructing a supplier to supply the items to customers who have made an offer to purchase.

41 . The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 39 including the steps of instructing a supplier to supply the items to a third party and instructing the third party to supply the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

42. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 39 including the step of instructing a supplier to send the items to at least one address for the customers who have made an offer to purchase to pick the items up.

43. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 40 including the step of instructing a supplier to produce the items before the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

44. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 43 wherein the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase using at least one supplier and includes the step of optimising the number of suppliers to be instructed and the quantity to be supplied from each supplier.

45. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 44 wherein the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

46. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 44 wherein the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation minimising the cost of the items including shipping.

47. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 44 wherein the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation based on the geographical regions the supplier is licenced to supply to.

48. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 44 to 47 wherein the suppliers instructed are optimised based on the number of the items available from the supplier.

49. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 48 wherein the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum quantity of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum quantity of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.

50. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 49 wherein the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum value of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum value of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.

51 . A system for selling an item using a network the system comprising: an information receiving module, the information receiving module receiving information on the item from at least one supplier, the information including volume pricing information for the item, the volume pricing information comprising at least one volume purchase price and information on the required quantity of the item to be purchased for the volume purchase price to apply;

an adjustment module, the adjustment module adjusting the remaining quantity by the quantity in the purchase offer, the offer information updated to reflect the adjustment to the remaining quantity;

an offer acceptance module, the offer acceptance module when the remaining quantity is zero or less and the offer acceptance criteria is meet accepting the offers, and

52. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 51 wherein the offer information includes a standard sale price.

53. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 51 or claim 52 wherein a plurality of items are sold using the network.

54. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 51 to 53 wherein the offer module promotes the offer to parties selected by the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

55. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 54 wherein the promotion is made via Facebook or other social networks.

56. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 54 wherein the promotion is made via email.

57. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed any one of claims 51 to 56 wherein the adjustment module sets a deadline to meet the offer acceptance criteria when a first offer to purchase is made.

58. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 57 wherein the offer module includes the deadline with the offer information.

59. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 57 or claim 58 wherein the adjustment module sets the deadline depending on the

5 item sales history.

60. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 57 to 59 wherein the system includes an offer reject module and in the event the offer acceptance criteria is not meet by the deadline, the offer reject module rejects the offers and resets the remaining quantity to the initial remaining

1 0 quantity.

61 . The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 53 wherein if the offer module receives a new offer to purchase after the remaining quantity is reset, the offer module provides an option to the previous customers who made an offer to reinstate their rejected offer.

1 5 62. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 47 to 54 wherein the offer activation module once sufficient offers to purchase have been received sets a deadline for further offers to be made before the volume purchase is activated is set.

63. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one 20 of claims 51 to 58 where the offer acceptance module accepts the offers even when the offer acceptance criteria is not meet depending on the product sales history.

64. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 51 to 59 wherein the offer setting module sets the offer acceptance

25 quantity based on the product sales history.

65. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 51 to 60 wherein the offer supply module instructs a supplier to supply the items to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

66. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one 30 of claims 51 to 60 wherein the offer supply module instructs a supplier to supply the items to a third party and instructs the third party to supply the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

67. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 51 to 60 wherein the offer supply module instructs a supplier to send the items to at least one address for the customers who have made an offer to purchase to pick the items up.

68. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 51 to 63 wherein the offer supply module instructs a supplier to produce the items before the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

69. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 51 to 64 wherein the items are supplied to the customers who have made an offer to purchase using at least one supplier and the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed and the quantity to be supplied from each supplier.

70. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 69 wherein the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase.

71 . The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 69 wherein the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation minimising the cost of the items including shipping.

72. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in claim 69 wherein the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed based on the supplier locations and the locations of the customers who have made an offer to purchase, the optimisation based on the geographical regions the supplier is licenced to supply to.

73. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 69 to 72 wherein the offer supply module optimises the suppliers instructed based on the number of the items available from the supplier.

74. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 51 to 73 wherein the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum quantity of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum quantity of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.

75. The system for selling an item using a network as claimed in any one of claims 51 to 74 wherein the offer acceptance criteria further includes an minimum value of all items from a supplier that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order and wherein checking the offer acceptance criteria is met includes checking that the instruction to the supplier if the offers where accepted together with offers for other items would meet the minimum value of all items that must be ordered for the supplier to accept the order.