Methods & Systems for Generating Sales VIA Social Networking Background

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR GENERATING SALES VIA SOCIAL NETWORKING BACKGROUND

[0001] The present invention relates to computer-implemented methods and systems for facilitating sales of goods and services using social networking.

[0002] In a typical buyer/seller exchange, the seller generally holds the power with regard to pricing. In a brick and mortar store, the buyer simply buys what he or she needs or wants if he or she believes the price is fair. There is generally little to no bargaining between the seller and buyer and thus a buyer often does not get the best price for his or her purchases. This invention seeks to provide a method and system for a web-based group buying platform that benefits both buyers and sellers.

[0003] In the typical exchange between a buyer and seller, goods usually have a fixed purchase price because there is an unknown demand for that particular good. The buyer, as a single party, has little bargaining power and the seller has uncertain sales volume that limits her ability to sell at low margins. In a typical situation, the buyer will almost always buy the same product at a lower price at one store than at another store with a higher price. Therefore, to generate consistent sales, the ability to generate consistent low margin sales benefits buyers and sellers alike. This invention provides individual sellers with multiple buyers, such that each buyer receives a reduced price, but each seller receives increased net sales, thereby producing a benefit for all parties alike.

[0004] Most purchasing platforms currently found on the World Wide Web are seller driven. In the traditional brick and mortar sales model, a buyer enters a store and completes a purchase. Often the merchant, a seller of goods or services, advertises what is for sale in his or her store to attract buyers. However, such advertisements are not targeted and have a low rate of success. Thus, the typical strategy employs high numbers of widely circulated advertisements to attract buyers. This non-targeted approach wastes resources and provides a relative low rate of return.

[0005] Now, compare the experience of the merchant to that of the buyer in the traditional brick and mortar model. A buyer either finds an advertisement for a particular good or service or knows of a particular merchant known to provide such goods or services. A single consumer has little power to demand a better price on a good. Similarly, where a merchant is unable to know the total sales on that good or service, the merchant may need to increase margins to ensure that she turns a profit. Reducing the cost to the buyer and eliminating some of the uncertainty with regards to margins would benefit both sellers and buyers. However, in the current system, the potential is high for both buyers and sellers to fail to maximize the sale of goods, either as a result of lower prices or higher gross sales.

[0006] Currently, online search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, attempt to target ads based on searches performed by persons on a particular IP address. This allows the featured ads to identify the user’s interests and push ads towards that person which may have a higher rate of return. And while a person may perform a search for a particular product via the product’s name and while an advertiser selling that product may buy ads for that same keyword, both the consumer and the merchant arrive back at the classic sales scenario and the consumer shops around for the product at the best price. Nothing has occurred to aggregate demand.

[0007] Similarly, social network sites use ads that are mapped to the interests of the user. Sites comb a user’s social page for their likes and interests and display related ads. This again seeks to target the user and to increase the chance that the ads are seen by consumers who are interested in a product, but again, they are general targeting mechanisms. Nothing is occurring in pay-per- click advertising in search engines or social media sites to drive down prices for consumers or drive up purchase quantity for merchants. These forms of advertising facilitate one-off purchasing.

[0008] Thus, this type of advertising cannot compare to the direct actions of a consumer, who is looking for a particular product. Consumers can focus their search immediately on their needs, because they know what they are looking for. Allowing consumers to target products on their own will certainly improve a merchant’s chance of making a sale.

[0009] Other Web sites require a certain number of users to agree to a price set by a particular seller. While this provides the benefit of group pricing, it does not allow users (buyers) to target the goods or services they want. This type of solution is merely an extension of mass advertising.

[0010] The auction format, like eBay, is a common format now found on the World Wide Web. This format brings a seller together with a number of buyers, for the sale of a single good. Here, the model pins buyers against one another to determine the sale price for a particular good at a particular moment. A key issue for a buyer in this model is that the buyer is actually bidding against himself, or other similarly situated persons for the same good or service. This is especially true when the item is not a one-of-a-kind item. In the end, this model may cease to be productive for ordinary goods, since buyers usually do not receive the best price for ordinary goods when bidding against one another.

[0011] Another format is the “limited time” sale price format. Steepandcheep.com utilizes this method. It discounts goods at high discount rates, for a finite amount of time. This model drives buyers to make immediate decisions and plays on the psyche of a buyer to get something now, “because it’s a great deal,” or, “because it’s only on sale for a few more minutes.” The model is driven by the desire to get the best deal, but knowing that it is only available for a finite amount of time. Such deals are not targeted to the needs of buyers and the products are usually being liquidated for a reason, unlike more current products.

[0012] One buyer driven format is the “name your price” format found at priceline.com and other similar Web sites. This format allows a buyer to make an offer to a seller for a price for a good, often below the otherwise understood market value for such goods or services. Here, the buyer is a single party, negotiating with a single entity for a one time good or service. Unfortunately, the buyer is still unaware of the lowest reasonable price for the good or service. For example, for airfares, the prices may be low because the demand for such a flight is also low. Thus, any sale has immediate benefit to an airline, which would otherwise have a non-full flight. If, instead, buyers could get together as a group and fill the flight, the price for each unit could continue to drop, since each additional ticket would still represent a benefit to the airline. In this manner, a group could agree to numerous purchases and should be able to demand a lower price per unit, than if single purchasers were buying the tickets.

[0013] Additional formats exist for ranking or giving value to merchants based on consumer input. Websites such as Yelp provide a mechanism to view rankings of merchants in a localized area. If a user is logged into Yelp via Facebook, he or she can sort an individual business’s reviews by author and float reviews written by his or her acquaintances to the top of the stack of reviews. However, the user can’t use Yelp to generate a list of recommended businesses based on the reviews and transaction history of his or her friends.

[0014] With the increasing popularity of social networks such as Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace, which are merely a few of the most popular networks at the present time, there is an ability to create purchasing groups to increase leverage over merchants while at the same time increasing sales prospects for participating merchants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer-assisted method and related system for enabling group formation to make proposals for sales of products or services and to enable merchants to respond to such proposals while at the same time communicating the formation of the groups, the user-initiated proposals, and the merchants responses to such proposals to first and subsequent generation social network contacts and followers.

[0016]

In one aspect the invention comprises a computer-assisted method comprising:

A. receiving a request for proposal (RFP) including a set of criteria from a first consumer at a web site;

B. automatically establishing a group at the web site corresponding to the RFP;

C. providing an option to publish the RFP at the first consumer’s social network accounts;

D. if the option to publish is selected, automatically publishing the RFP on the first consumer’s social network accounts a link to the group corresponding to the RFP on the web site which, when selected or clicked on by a first social network contact of the first consumer, automatically enrolls the first social network contact in the group;

E. receiving a set of criteria from at least one member of the group;

F. receiving at the web site a proposal from a first merchant in response to the RFP;

G. if the proposal from the first merchant fulfills the set of criteria of at least one member of the group, automatically completing a transaction between the merchant and the member of the group whose criteria were fulfilled;

H. publishing the proposal to all members of the group where the criteria was not fulfilled by the proposal;

I. providing an option to publish the proposal from the first merchant in response to the RFP on the first consumer’s social network accounts and on the social network accounts of each social network contact which is a member of the group; and

J. upon acceptance of the first merchant’s proposal by any member of the group, automatically completing a transaction between the first merchant and the accepting member of the group.

[0017] Another embodiment of the invention is a system for generating sales based on the historical preferences of a consumer. The system includes a Web site where users may rank merchants according to two or more criteria or tiers. Then, a user may access the Web site and search for a merchant who may be ranked by people in the user’s social network, and the merchant offering a deal to the user based on the rankings of the merchant within the user’s social network.

[0018] Another embodiment is a method for creating vouchers, where a voucher is given a value by a consumer and a merchant agrees to that value, if a minimum number of vouchers are sold. The voucher has a limited time to be used, specified by the merchant. The merchant can target customers based on past dealings with the merchant or dealings by the user’s social network with the merchant. A merchant may also issue a deal based on the number of deals created by a user, when said user shared the deal with their social network.

[0019] Another embodiment is a voucher system, where a voucher is given a value by a consumer and a merchant agrees to that value, if a minimum number of vouchers are sold. The voucher has a limited time to be used, specified by the merchant. The merchant can target customers based on past dealings with the merchant or dealings by the user’s social network with the merchant. A merchant may also issue a deal based on the number of deals created by a user, when said user shared the deal with their social network.

[0020] Another embodiment is a voucher system, where a voucher is given a value by a consumer and a merchant agrees to that value. The voucher has a limited time to be used, specified by the merchant. The merchant can target customers based on past dealings with the merchant or dealings by the user’s social network with the merchant. A merchant may also issue a deal based on the number of deals created by a user, when said user shared the deal with their social network.

[0021] Another embodiment is a method for ranking merchants through a social network by providing a means for ranking a merchant and a means for sharing the rankings among a user’s social network.

[0022] Another embodiment is a method for ranking products through a social network by providing a means for ranking a product and a means for sharing the rankings among a user’s social network.

[0023] Another embodiment is a method for creating a map system that suggests merchants based on the rankings of a merchant within a user’s social network. The method provides for a Web site to allow for ranking of merchants and then collecting said rankings and using a user’s social network to give an output of the rankings. Then based on a geographic location, identifying merchants ranked by the user’s social network from a radius from that geographic location.

[0024] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for providing a deal based on the ranking of a merchant within a user’s social network. The method provides that a Web site is utilized to provide for a means for ranking merchants and a user’s social network is provided to give context to the rankings. Whereby a user searches for a merchant on said Web site, and is provided a deal based on the search and the rankings of merchants by the user’s social network, who have ranked merchants fitting the search criteria.

[0025] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for providing a deal based on the ranking of a merchant within a user’s social network. The method provides that a Web site is utilized to provide for a means for ranking merchants and a user’s social network is provided to give context to the rankings. Whereby a user searches for a merchant on said Web site, and is provided a deal based on the search and the rankings of merchants by the user’s social network, who have ranked merchants fitting the search criteria and the merchants being identified on a map based format which identifies the search hits. The map also identifies merchants which the user is following so that a user has a complete picture of the merchants he or she is following and what his or her friends are also following.

[0026] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for providing a deal based on the ranking of a merchant within a user’s social network. The method provides that a Web site is utilized to provide for a means for ranking merchants and a user’s social network is provided to give context to the rankings. Whereby a user searches for a merchant on said Web site, and is provided a deal based on the search and the rankings of merchants by the user’s social network, who have ranked merchants fitting the search criteria and the merchants being identified on a map based format which identifies the search hits within the confines of the geographic range of the map.

[0027] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for facilitating sales through a group format. The method entails using a server and searching for a merchant. Whereby, the search yields a set of results, each result being a group, and a user joining one or more of the groups. Each group is made up of consumers who are seeking a deal from a merchant. The group thereafter receives at least one offer from a merchant and once a user accepts the Merchant Offer, is charged the offer price. Finally, the server communicates a Code to each user and the merchant for each Deal that is completed.

[0028] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for facilitating sales through a group format. The method entails using a server and searching for a merchant. Whereby, the search yields a set of results, each result being a group, and a user joining one or more of the groups. Each group is made up of consumers who are seeking a deal from a merchant. The group thereafter receives at least one offer from a merchant and each Offer Price is matched against the Merchant Offer to determine who is automatically charged for the Deal. For each Deal automatically completed, the server communicates a Code to each user and the merchant for each Deal that is completed.

[0029] Another embodiment of the invention is a system for facilitating sales through a group format. The system entails using a server to read and write data to a database. The database is accessed through a Web site that allows a user to search for merchants and provides for search results which are groups seeking a deal from a merchant. The user may then join a group seeking a deal from a merchant. Each user, when they join the group, submits an Offer Price to the group, signifying the price they are willing to pay for a Deal. A merchant also submits a Merchant Offer to the members of the group. The Web site then compares the Offer Prices against the Merchant Offer and charges each user the Merchant Offer price, for those who made an Offer, equal to or higher than the Merchant Offer. The deal is then published on a Web site and provides an opportunity for other users, not in the group already, to benefit from the group deal. Those who complete a Deal are sent a Code generated by the Web site, completing the purchase of the Deal.

[0030] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for facilitating sales through a group format. The method entails using a server and searching for a merchant. Whereby, the search yields a set of results, each result being a group, and a user joining one or more of the groups. Each group is made up of consumers who are seeking a deal from a merchant. The group thereafter receives at least one offer from a merchant and each Offer Price is matched against the Merchant Offer to determine who is automatically charged for the Deal. For each Deal automatically completed, the server communicates a Code to each user and the merchant for each Deal that is completed. The Web site then tracks the number of hits each published deal receives as well as sales generated and stores the hits and sales generated in a database.

[0031] Another embodiment of the invention is a system for tracking hits to a published deal. A user joins a deal and publishes the deal to the user’s social network. The Web site then tracks the user’s who click on the published deal and the Web site completes a deal with friends of the user who join the deal through said published deal.

[0032] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for tracking hits to a published deal. A user joins a deal and publishes the deal to the user’s social network. The Web site then tracks the user’s who click on the published deal.

[0033] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for generating deals based on the commerce history or social influence of a user. Whereby a deal is completed and a user publishes the deal to a social network. The Web site then tracks the hits to a published deal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] FIG. 1 is a flowchart detailing a process for facilitating the purchase of goods or services in group format through the purchase of a deal through a Web site.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a flowchart describing the flow process for the merchant or server side of the business when completing a deal in group format. The process details what decisions are made by the server to either complete or end the deal based on the criteria set by the buyers.

[0036] FIG. 3 is an overlay of FIG. 1, that includes additional details of the databases present and the various points in the method in which data are gathered to ensure that merchants have information about the buyers of their products or services. FIG. 3 identifies an additional element of the invention, the ability to track and record the unique user views and purchases so that all activities run in conjunction with the Web site can be tracked and mined.. The additional steps identified in FIG. 3 identify which user published deals generate unique views and/or sales for a given deal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037]  Embodiments of Group Buying Platforms

[0038]  Traditional sales platforms do not allow for a buyer to always find the lowest possible price. This invention identifies groups of buyers to create demand for a product, thereby providing an increased number of sales which allows for lower margins on a product, resulting in lower sale prices. Generally, because the buyers do not know that other buyers exist for the same good they cannot cooperate together to demand better prices for the goods or services they seek.

[0039] Through the formation of groups, the buyer, who typically lacks leverage, is empowered to demand lower prices because of the guaranteed expanded volume of sales. Thus, the invention enables a buyer to find the good at a particular moment at a price less than the buyer would get if he or she simply went to a traditional or online “brick and mortar” store.

[0040] Generally, there is a benefit in production costs based on economies of scale. A single purchaser, for example, has little leverage as compared, for instance, to a group who could make 2, 100, or 1000 purchases, etc. Both a seller and buyer are disadvantaged when only a single sale is made at a time. By increasing the scale of the purchase of goods, the seller can increase total sales, and a buyer can negotiate for the best price. Thus, group sales and group purchasing formats can provide a benefit to a buyer, but also provide benefits for the seller from increased total sales.

[0041] The invention additionally provides a method for consumers to individually rank merchants and provides a manner for those consumers to share their rankings with their social network. By providing merchants with access to aggregated ranking data, merchants can more accurately and profitably target current and prospective customers with offers to attract the consumers to their establishments.

[0042] Allowing the consumers to access and review ranking information submitted to the server system by members of their social network, as defined by a social network external to the server system, provides consumers with a rich set of relevant data with which to judge merchants. The merchant benefits from the rankings by gaining the ability to leverage the rankings as a trusted, third-party reference to accompany a deal. Using the rankings as a filter before offering a deal, the merchant is able to offer deals or unique opportunities to potential or regular consumers, based on the merchant ranks within the social network of a user or group of users. Essentially, the system provides for new avenues to reach out to loyal customers and their network of friends. It also provides a mechanism to entice customers to rank and publicize the merchant, in the hope of receiving a deal based on their promotion of the merchant.

[0043] Indeed, the combination of rankings, social networking and geographic location provides a manner for consumers to understand what merchants their immediate friends like and use. It provides a mechanism to know which places are most frequented and accordingly, which places may be willing to offer benefits to a set of buyers. For the consumer, this ranking system provides a new avenue to understand what merchants your friends, and your friends’ friends like, providing an opportunity for the user to patronize those same merchants.

[0044] The invention utilizes the functionality of social networks to provide merchants with valuable information on particular sets of users. The ability to break out the rankings based on age, gender, and socio-economic status provides avenues to target consumers. The ability, therefore, to blend a ranking system with an existing social network, provides for new opportunities in marketing and buyer and seller driven commerce.

[0045] In addition, this invention provides mechanisms for sellers to track activities of buyers in the system. By tracking the buyers in the system, sellers can identify which buyers publish the most information to their social networks, and which buyers then generate the most additional sales due to their advertising efforts. Based on this data, sellers can reach out to these specific buyers and cater to their needs to drive additional sales.

[0046] Definitions

[0047] Deal: A Deal is a proposed or completed transaction between a Merchant and a Buyer. The term Deal also includes the purchase of a Deal, for any goods or services offered by a merchant, not excluded by any terms or conditions.

[0048] Merchant: A provider of goods or services. The term merchant is interchangeable with a seller or provider of goods or services. A merchant is one who is seeking to make a sale using the invented method.

[0049] Buyer: A purchaser of goods or services. The term buyer, can be singular or plural, and is interchangeable with a consumer or customer. The buyer is one who is seeking to make a purchase using the invented method.

[0050] Goods or Services: Any good or service either in a tangible or intangible form. The terms Goods and Services, are interchangeable terms in this invention. Goods or Services also means the purchase of a Deal, for any goods or services offered by a merchant, not excluded by any terms or conditions.

[0051] Item or Product: In addition to the sale of tangible Goods and Services rendered, merchants and customers alike may be interested in the purchase of a Deal, which simply provides for a reduced price for any Item or Product offered by a merchant, not excluded by any terms or conditions. Thus, the Deal provided would be for a Voucher good for a certain dollar amount to be used at a particular store based on the completed Deal.

[0052] Search: The use of the term as it would apply if you entered a query into any number of internet search engines, e.g. Google. Here, instead of returning web pages, as Google does, the search returns groups that have been formed for the purchase of the same or similar goods.

[0053] Group: An electronic meeting place for similarly situated persons who have an interest in the same or similar goods or services. Groups may be created by a merchant, the platform provider, or a consumer and can exist for a defined or undefined amount of time. A merchant who starts a group may end it once the merchant no longer wishes to engage in that deal. A group will continue to exist for any merchant on the platform regardless of the number of members in the group.

[0054] Code: As used in Figure 1, step 9, Code refers to a set of characters that identifies the result of a transaction between a buyer and seller.

[0055] Voucher: A receipt for the purchase of Goods, Services, Item, or Product that contains a Code.

[0056] Social Network: Any of the various social networks available via the internet, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linked-In, and any various blog or chat room.

[0057] Minimum number of deals: The lowest number of consumers required for a Deal to be approved by a Merchant. A Deal will specify if there are a minimum number of Deals required before the Deal can be completed.

[0058] Maximum number of deals: The highest number of consumers eligible to receive a deal. A merchant may limit the total number of deals for any reason.

[0059] Request for Proposal (RFP): When a consumer joins a group which is targeted to provide Deals to group members, the consumer has submitted a RFP. The consumer need not specify the a particular set of criteria, instead membership is sufficient to determine interest in and to the product or merchant and that a consumer is seeking a RFP from a merchant.

[0060] Offer Price: The price submitted by a user for which they are willing to pay for the Deal.

[0061] Merchant Offer: The price offered by a merchant to a group for a particular deal. It is this price that is matched against buyer’s Offer Price, to determine those who automatically accept a Deal, and those who need to manually accept a Deal.

[0062] User: As used herein, the term “user,” or “individual user,” refers to one account on the system. Each account will have the ability to log-in, or authenticate their account via a username and password before one can enter the Web site. A user can be a merchant or a buyer.

[0063]  Introduction of the group buying platform

[0064]  Embodiments of the invention described herein operate in conjunction with a Web site and a server to facilitate the purchase and sale of Goods or Services in group format. These embodiments seek to utilize the group format and the formation of groups to facilitate a particular deal at a particular moment at a particular price. A benefit of the invention is the ability for a group to receive offers not just for a particular merchant, but also other merchants who are offering the same or similar products or services. Further, some products or services are necessarily local, and the invention contemplates the difference between those that are local in nature and those that are not local, and provides Deals accordingly. Finally, multiple Deals may occur each day for each group.

[0065] The embodiment seeks to benefit from electronic media to form social groups for the purpose of buying Good, Services, Items, or Products in a local, national, and international realm. One embodiment of the invention, in conjunction with a server, utilizes a Web site to receive inputs from consumers who wish to form or join groups for the purposes of buying Goods or Services. The Group may include suppliers of Goods or Services, types of Goods or Services, price, location, time frame, or other variables to be determined by the buyer. Essentially, the group is a meeting place for individuals with the purpose of buying Items or Products from a particular supplier or buying a particular Good or Service, where each consumer’s particular requirements are not necessarily known to the rest of the group. The Web site is configured to allow multiple consumers to enter the same group. The Web site is also configured to allow new users to form new groups for the same or similar goods or services with different requirements from the original buyer. The Web site allows groups to contact other groups to notify them of a Deal. The Web site then allows the group of similarly situated buyers to communicate their interest in the goods or services through online media.

[0066] The Web site allows sellers of goods or services to search for groups of persons who are interested in a particular good or service. The Web site allows the seller to identify groups of relevant interest and to then make an offer to that group based on their defined terms, already set forth in their group or as individuals. The Web site can then contact the group and notify them of the offer made to the group and then determine whether the sale will go forward, if all the terms have been met, or, whether the buyer or seller need to modify terms to make a deal. If a deal is consummated, buyers may either manually accept the Deal, or choose to have Deals automatically accepted for them. The Web site will then take the payment information from the buyers and will pay the seller a portion of the agreed price. The Web site will then provide each member of the group with a unique voucher for the purchase of the goods or services as agreed upon. The transaction is complete at this point.

[0067] As identified in this embodiment, buyers have a choice as to whether they wish to be held to a particular bid. Step 18, of FIGS. 1 and 3, identifies the box where the “offer meets criteria.” When a buyer joins a group, they have the ability to choose a price, i.e the “Offer Price” for which they would automatically accept a Merchant Offer. This would be the case when the Merchant Offer is equivalent to or lower than the buyer’s Offer Price. By agreeing to automatically accept the Merchant Offer, the buyer will then be charged for the deal at the price of the Merchant Offer, not the highest price they agreed to automatically accept the offer. Those who set a maximum price lower than the Merchant Offer will then have the option to manually accept the offer. If a deal sets a maximum number of deals to be offered, and there are more group members than available deals, the group members who, first in time, agreed to automatically accept the deal at or above the Merchant Offer, will be the ones who are charged for the Deal. The remaining offers will stay outstanding, and will await another Merchant Offer.

[0068] A buyer may choose to join a deal but not commit to purchase the deal at any price. Thus, a buyer may also submit an Offer Price as a null value, i.e., the buyer is interested in a Deal, but is not yet willing to commit to the purchase of that Deal. Essentially, this allows a buyer to join a group and to seek a RFP from a merchant for a deal related to the group. In this case, the buyer is treated as if they had submitted an Offer Price below the Merchant Offer, and are given an option to manually accept the deal.

[0069] The Deals provided by a merchant can further include any items not excluded via the terms and conditions of the Deal. Under this scenario, the purchase is not necessarily for a particular Item or Product or Good or Service, instead it serves as a voucher for the purchase of any Item or Product or Good or Service not excluded by the terms of the Deal.

[0070] As contemplated, a merchant would find a group with an interest in an item, and make the group an offer. The group would have the ability to set a price they determined to be fair, or were willing to accept. Each individual in the group could choose to automatically accept an offer at below their individual set price, or they could choose to accept the offer manually, once one was presented.

[0071] The invention also discloses that Groups may be started by a merchant. The invention contemplates that buyers may seek out groups created by merchants to get a particular deal offered by that particular merchant.

[0072] Additionally both buyers and merchants may locate a Group or Deal through externally located links. With the advent of social networking, people often post on their Facebook page, or tweet about the things they are doing or want to do. The Web site allows these publications to include a hyperlink to the group identified by the particular person, and to allow others to join the group through the provided hyperlink. Because larger number of sales benefit a merchant, adding more members to a group may improve a Deal, based on the terms of the Merchant Offer.

[0073] The publication of an external link allow for each deal to have additional advertising at low to little cost to either the buyer or seller. Also, each time a group or a deal is posted externally on a social network, such activity is logged in a database as attributed to that user. This functionality allows site activity, i.e. unique users who visit a particular Deal that has been posted, to be stored in a database. This allows the Web site and database to collect data generated from Deals that are posted to a social network, and to store which links are clicked, and which links lead to sales of additional Deals. Finally, the Web site allows a merchant to mine this data to identify users who have the ability to generate additional views of a Deal as well as additional sales of the Deal. Merchants may utilize this information to provide a particular user with a Deal, based on their ability to drive additional sales or views.

[0074] There will be times where a maximum number of deals that a merchant is offering to a group may be less than the number of members in a group. If there are more group members than deals offered, the determination of who will receive the deal is based on the persons first in time, to make an automatically accepting Offer Price that is equal to, or higher than the Merchant Offer. If there are deals remaining after automatically accepting deals are completed, then first in time to manually accept the deal will get the deal.

[0075] There will also be times where a minimum number of deals must be reached for a merchant to be willing to agree to the deal. The minimum number of deals is a number set by the merchant when they require a certain number of buyers to agree to purchase, before the deal is finalized. The deal will not proceed until the minimum number of buyers agrees to automatically accept the deal at the Merchant Offer price. Once the minimum number of parties has been reached, all auto accept buyers will then be charged. At this time, parties may also then choose to manually accept the deal.

[0076] In addition, when a Merchant Offer is not automatically accepted, the Web site will prompt the buyer whether he or she wants to pay for the Deal now. This payment then completes the transaction, as if the buyer had auto accepted into the Deal. By paying sooner than later, the buyer ensures that he or she will not miss out on the Deal, if there are a maximum number of Deals offered to all buyers. When a deal is found by a buyer who seeks to complete a transaction, the buyer can opt to pay for the deal at that time (FIG. 1. Step 7).

[0077] Payments are contemplated to be completed through electronic systems. Payments are likely to be through any number of forms of electronic transfer or some form of credit card, charge card, or ATM card. Once payment has been completed, a voucher, or a unique code will identify the completed Deal. However, payments may still be completed person to person.

[0078] The embodiment also contemplates how to prove payment on a particular deal. When a user buys or completes a deal through the invented method with a credit card, the user then goes to merchant, conducts business there, and pays with same card. The Deal is applied to the card balance without work on the part of merchant or user. Essentially, the unique credit card number serves as the unique marker for the transaction. The Deal can be completed with or without any additional purchase at the merchant. In this manner, the deal can be completed without any additional paperwork, or the need to email a unique transaction number to the user and merchant. This provides for a coupon-less transaction.

[0079] In addition to the payment system, and payment for particular Items or Services. The embodiment may also be used for generally purchasing Items or Products. A Deal from a merchant may provide for 25% off any Item or Product, Good or Service sold by the Merchant, so long as the Deal is purchased at that time. In essence, this is a Deal for 25% off anything at that merchant’s place of business, instead of a Deal for something in particular. In this sense, a Voucher is then issued for the some monetary value. Maybe the Deal was for $100 worth of merchandise at the merchant, and the price for the Voucher was $75 as purchased through the embodiment.

[0080] The issuance of a Deal for a Voucher of this sort may be dependant on any limitations as set by the merchant. A Voucher may be contingent on total sales, or other limitation. In addition, the Voucher may have a limited term, such as a few hours, a few days, a few weeks, or longer. A merchant may target existing customers, or they may target new customers with such Deals. A merchant may target those users who are within the social network of a user who frequents the merchant, or friends of a user who has rated the merchant. A merchant may also target consumers who have purchased Deals from similar merchants.

[0081]  Ranking Merchants via Social Networks

[0082]  Another embodiment of the invention is the ability of a user to rank a merchant. A user provides a nominal amount of information that serves as a mechanism to rank merchants. The ranking system is a database entry system that gives value to a ranking provided by a user. For example, in a four tiered system where a user is asked to identify the number of visits to a merchant, the values might be: A, B, C, D; where A means a user has never visited, B means a user has visited once, C means a user has visited n number of times, and D the number of visits triggered among friends of a particular user.

[0083] The number of tiers in a ranking system includes at least one ranking tier. It is necessary to gather sufficient information to enable others to make a decision, but there is risk in providing too much information so that the user will not rank the merchant because the process is too onerous. Additionally, a system, for example, of an infinite number of tiers, may provide for too much information, such that organizing it into any useable format proves impossible. Thus, the system requires at least two tiers.

[0084] Ranking contemplates, at a minimum, at least one data point for ranking a merchant and potentially an unlimited number of data points as the maximum. However, there may be a limit to the number of useful rankings, such that the invention is for a ranking of 1-30 tiers. Another embodiment requires from 8-30 tiers. Other embodiments are from 1–15 tiers, 15-30 tiers, 7-20 tiers, 2-10 tiers, 2-8 tiers, 4-8 tiers, 5-8 tiers, and 7-8 tiers. In addition to what was described above, some of the ranking tiers may include: (1) user recommends merchant, (2) user does not recommend merchant, (3) user has not entered a merchant opinion, (4) user has been to merchant, (5) user has not been to merchant, (6) user is seeking a deal from merchant, (7), user is not seeking a deal from merchant, (8) user is seeking a deal from a like merchant.

[0085] In addition to the exemplar tiers listed above, there may be additional choices that provide value, necessitating different tiers. For example, the user has not been to the merchant, but seeks to go. This provides that a user is "following" a business and waiting for them to offer a deal before the user checks out the business. Additionally, a user may identify that a user frequents a merchant, or that the merchant is a user’s favorite or top choice. It might find value in adding elements to rate the customer service, quality, or speed of service. All of these elements have value, and based on the type of business to be ranked, may have more or less importance than other elements. Each business may have unique rankings that are important to that business, these additional rankings are contemplated by the embodiment.

[0086] Users visit a Web site and rank merchants. Their rankings provide the Web site with two pieces of information, 1- the rating for the merchant, and 2 - the fact that a user is seeking a deal from a particular merchant. A user can indicate that he or she recommends a business or does not recommend a business. He or she can indicate that he or she is seeking a deal from a business or group of businesses or he or she can indicate that he or she is not seeking a deal from a business. By default, on a user’s first visit, he or she is not seeking a deal from any business nor does the system know whether he or she does or doesn’t recommend any business.

[0087] Separately, on the system side, the system knows if you have purchased one or more deals to a business. Aside from the deals a user has purchased to a particular business, the Web site may implement QR codes and/or mobile phone based check-ins within merchants so that a user can get credit for a visit to a store that does not involve a Voucher provided by the Web site.

[0088] The embodiment also contemplates a situation where a user is interested in a deal from one merchant, where the location of the user is known and the user’s social network is known. The user has agreed to allow the system to send the user additional deals by merchants who are ranked by members of the user’s social network. Thus, the system can send a user a deal from a similar merchant. The Web site provides a suggestion for the merchant liked by the user’s friend. This provides value to the merchant being ranked, and provides value in seeking rankings from users with large social networks who like or rank their establishment.

[0089] Another premise is this: Where a user of a popular friend, wanting to visit the places that the popular friend also visits, looks on the Web site for the places visited by the popular friend and sees Merchant X. The fact of accessing merchant X is saved in the database under the user’s profile. Merchant X, can identify when the user has visited the merchant, based on the user's profile. Merchant X can offer a deal to User based on the user’s profile. User, never having been to merchant, is offered a deal. Or, User having visited once before, is offered a deal. Or, user, a frequent visitor to Merchant X is offered a deal. User then ranks the merchant, and the Web site logs that merchant has been visited X times by the user, and the merchant has Y rating from this user.

[0090] All of this information is used to help generate a profile for a user and for their social network within “N” degrees. In addition, the profile is generated with geographic proximity in mind. The purpose of the system is to facilitate the sharing of a user’s favorite merchants. A user has some control over who does and does not have access to their "rankings.”

[0091] The Web site utilizes the ranking system and social networkand provides a mechanism for combining the rankings with a social network, the interests of the user, and their geographic location. In this manner, the user has all the benefits of a system that ranks merchants, with the added detail of the geographic location, and what their friends like. Combining all of these elements provides a new way of generating interest in a merchant.

[0092] However, if, in the case a first user doesn't connect to a social graph, instead simply relying on the location data to filter results, the system can still generate suggestions, but without the additional parameters as contemplated by the embodiment. For example, the user looks for an Italian restaurant. Where there is no social network data, the Web site is missing some data to help it make a suggestion. However, the Web site is still able to gather the user’s location and the search itself to help generate suggestions. The Web site would find merchants or buying groups with high public rating that are offering Deals, and push these merchants or buying groups to the top of the search results.

[0093] Merchant and buying groups ranking information provides the Web site data to order the deals the Web site shows to someone in search results. The Web site can also use, among other aspects, a user’s commerce history, preferences, and geography (and/or the commerce history and preferences of their friends) that the user has made available to the Web site's algorithms to influence the order of a user’s search results. In this manner, the invention provides that a user can identify merchants that the user’s social network also likes. This provides a benefit to both the user and to the merchant. The merchant can offer a deal, to entice the user, and the user can find a merchant that has been selected by the user’s peers.

[0094] The Web site also provides a mechanism that empowers a user to publish their merchant rankings. This feature underscores the value to a merchant, when a particular user generates positive feedback about the merchant. Because the merchant is likely to receive a benefit through the user for a positive ranking, the merchant would be interested in rewarding the user for the ranking. Thus, the merchant could offer a special deal for the user, to entice the user to continue to rank, or increase the ranking of the merchant.

[0095] The ability to provide for a mechanism to entice consumers to publish positive feedback is a powerful factor in creating a ranking system that has real value to consumers. A system with only a few rankings provides little guidance, while greater numbers of rankings provides a consumer with more guidance. Enticing consumers to give candid feedback will help to drive the feedback system. Users are more likely to give feedback when they get value for their efforts. Thus, merchants are able to view those consumers who provided rankings and offer those consumers a deal.

[0096] The Web site also has the ability to take the ranking information and produce an output of the rankings in map view. For instance, after completing a search, the Web site provides a list of rankings, but the Web site can also place those rankings into a map view, which shows the locations of each merchant.

[0097] The Web site may also provide further suggestions for merchants in map view. For example, a user is seeking a deal for pizza, and finds that a friend likes a particular pizza place. In map view, the Web site may recommend another pizza place, that is also ranked by the user’s friends. Or, the Web site may provide a recommendation that is offering a Deal at the moment. The Web site may search within a geographic area, meaning, a defined radial distance from a given point. The user may define their geographic area as their current location, or as their home address, or their work address or some other area. The user may define the radial distance from that point at their discretion.

[0098] A user may also enter an address into a Web site generated map and the Web site will utilize the user’s Social Network as well as the rankings of Merchants for the User’s Social Network and generate a map of Proximate Merchants. The Web site may also suggest additional Merchants, not within the User’s Social Network, who are offering a Deal. Or, the Web site may suggest Merchants who are Offering a Deal within the User’s genre’s of interest, based on the User’s Social Network.

[0099] Referring now to the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 is a flowchart describing a group purchasing system for the buying and selling of goods and services through offline networks as well as social media. Step 1 identifies a customer, who is contemplated as someone seeking to make a purchase using the invented method. Step 1 identifies a choice that the customer makes when first addressing the patented system. The customer may enter search terms (step 2), authenticate their status (step 32), or manage their account (step 33). Step 2, “enter search terms,” is a step of a customer entering terms into the server. The server matches those terms against a database of groups on the server. The search will return groups that best fit within the terms of the search (step 3).

[0100] The results, in step 3, provide a listing of groups that have been formed for similarly minded customers or merchants that are looking for the same or similar product. After seeing the results in step 3, the buyer may have a variety of choices and at that time the buyer can select one of the results (Step 4). One choice is to go directly to a merchant page (Step 4a) to check for an ongoing deal.

[0101] After selecting a result in step 4, or going directly to a merchant page, (Step 4a) if there is a deal currently being offered for the product (step 5), the consumer may therefore continue with the deal being offered (Step 6). The consumer may then pay for the deal at that time (step 7) and will receive confirmation of payment (step 8). The server will then generate a code (step 9) which will uniquely identify the transaction. In Step (10) the code can be emailed as a voucher or alternatively sent via text to a user. The consumer then has the ability to share the deal with his social network (step 13) and the merchant has the ability to provide a reward or benefit to the consumer for this advertising, as determined by the merchant (steps 12 and 13). Finally, if the consumer chooses not to share the deal, the order is fulfilled and the transaction complete.

[0102] Alternatively, if at Step 6, if there is a merchant offering a deal, but the consumer is not interested in that deal, then there is no result (step 16).

[0103] If at step 5, no merchant is offering a deal, the consumer may join a group (step 15) looking for a deal on a particular good or service. The consumer can input his or her Offer Price and choose to auto accept a Merchant Offer that meets that Offer Price criteria (step 17). The server the proceeds with analysis of whether the Offer Price meets the Merchant Offer, yes (step a), or No (Step b). If the offer meets the criteria (step 18) then the server will charge the consumer (step 19) and send a confirmation (step 20) which brings the consumer back to step 9, as described above.

[0104] If a Merchant Offer at step 18 does not meet the Offer Price for a deal, then the server sends an email to accept or reject the deal (step 21). There the consumer has the choice to choose to accept the Merchant Offer, even though it did not meet the consumer’s Offer Price. If the consumer chooses to manually accept the deal, the consumer proceeds to step 19. If the consumer rejects the offer, there is no result (steps 22 and 23), between the two parties.

[0105] FIG. 2 identifies parts of the process from the perspective of the mechanisms of the server. At steps 24 or 24a, either the merchant or a representative creates a voucher (step 25). At step 26, there is a brief equation that needs to be solved, whether the number in the group who auto accepted is greater than the number of deals offered. If so, there is a deal, and at step 27, the earliest group members to auto accept are charged.

[0106] If instead, at step 26, the number of auto accept group members is less than the maximum deals offered, but greater than the minimum number of deals offered, then their deal is on and the server charges the applicable group members in step 29. In addition, after the deal is completed, the deal can be published on the Web site for others to accept the deal (step 30). Step 31 then emails all other members of the group who have not yet agreed to the Merchant Offer and allow them to manually (step 32) accept or deny the deal (steps 33 or 34). If they accept the deal, then the charge is accepted and proceeds as provided above (Fig. 1, Step a).

[0107] If instead at Step 26, the number of auto acceptances is less than the minimum requirement for the deal (Step 35), the server notifies the group members and encourages them to share the deal with others (Step 36). The deal can be published on the Web site (Step 37), including any group size limitations associated with that deal.

[0108] In FIG. 3, in addition to the features as described already in FIG. 1, additional features are employed. Step 3a represents the complete database of merchants known to the server at any one moment. This database will be continually in motion as more merchants are added to the database. Step 4b identifies the point where deals are recorded at an account level. Thus, step 4b, identifies the particular activities of an individual’s use. Step 15a is similar, in that it records membership of users at a group level. Step 7a follows after a payment has been made for a particular deal. Step 7a records the payments of a particular buyer. Step 7b then records the payments at another dimension, recording the source of the originating click. Thus, step 7b identifies whether the buyer joined a deal from his or her own search, or was referred to the deal by another consumer.

[0109] Step 9a records which buyer led to additional deals. Step 9a identifies which user generated additional sales through a social network. When a user publishes a Deal on a social network, and a second user enters the system through the link provided by the published Deal, the fact that a second user entered the system through the first user’s published Deal is recorded in Step 10a. Step 12a records all activity, where a sale was generated or not, from each user. Thus, any links published by a user or a merchant are recorded in a database. In addition, the unique hits attributed to each published link is also stored in a database and provides information on which users and which Web sites generate additional unique hits and additional sales.

[0110] The invention now being fully described, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.

CLAIMS

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-assisted method comprising:

a. receiving a request for proposal (RFP) including a set of criteria from a first consumer at a web site;

b. automatically establishing a group at the web site corresponding to the RFP;

c. providing an option to publish the RFP within any of the first consumer’s social network accounts;

d. if the option to publish is selected, automatically publishing the RFP within any of the first consumer’s social network accounts with a link to the group corresponding to the RFP on the web site which, when selected or clicked by a social network contact of the first consumer, credits the first consumer with having enrolled a social network contact into the group;

e. receiving at the web site a proposal from a first merchant in response to the RFP;

f. if the proposal from the first merchant fulfills the set of criteria of at least one member of the group, automatically completing a transaction between the merchant and the member of the group whose criteria were fulfilled;

g. publishing the proposal to all members of the group and non group members where the criteria was not fulfilled by the proposal;

h. providing an option to publish the proposal from the first merchant in response to the RFP on the first consumer’s social network accounts and on the social network accounts of each group member; and 

i. upon acceptance of the first merchant’s proposal by any member of the group, automatically completing a transaction between the first merchant and the accepting member of the group.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically charging a merchant a fee upon completing a transaction.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising assigning credit to a group member as a result of said group member having shared a traceable Web link to the group and another group member having clicked on said link and either joining the group and or accepting a proposal and communicating the credit to a merchant.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising calculating a value corresponding to completed transactions attributable to a member of a group, the value of transactions comprising transactions completed by any social network contact of the member of the group and communicating the value to a merchant.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising calculating a location on a map on a web site corresponding to a merchant and calculating the number of individuals who are seeking a proposal from said merchant.

6. The method of claim 1 comprising calculating a location on a map on a web site corresponding to a merchant and calculating the number of social network contacts of a member who have provided a review or ranking of the merchant.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising establishing a local merchant buying group prior to receiving the RFP from the first consumer.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising publishing a consumer request on a social network.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising graphically displaying a location of a merchant and displaying a list of which members of the first consumer’s social network complete a transaction with the merchant or indicate a like flag for the merchant.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein for each member of the group which has made a specific bid at a bid price which is higher to or equal to the proposal of the merchant, completing a transaction between the member which has made the specific bid and the merchant at the bid price.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising permitting a merchant access to records of sales attributable to a user and to determine which users have levels of sales made to the user’s social network contacts or followers.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising permitting a user to access records of which of the user’s social network followers or contacts indicate a like flag for a particular merchant and which of the user’s social network followers or contacts have completed a transaction with a particular merchant.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising permitting a user to access records of which of the user’s social network followers or contacts indicate a like flag for a particular merchant and which of the user’s social network followers or contacts have completed a transaction with a particular merchant; and displaying like flag and completed transactions data graphically in a map view, showing the merchant location on a map.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising permitting a user to access records of which of the user’s social network followers or contacts indicate a like flag for a particular merchant and which of the user’s social network followers or contacts have completed a transaction with a particular merchant; and displaying like flag, completed transactions, and proposed transactions data graphically in a map view, showing the merchant location on a map.

15. A computer system comprising a web server programmed to carry out the method of any of claims 1-14.

16. A system for generating a sale based on historical preferences of a consumer, comprising:

a. A Web site set-up to allow a user to provide a ranking for a merchant of their choice; said Web site providing a search tool to allow said user to find a particular merchant; said Web site facilitating the ranking of a merchant; said Web site storing user generated data, raking merchants in a database; said ranking system being a ranking of more than two data points;

b. Using a social network, Said Web site providing an output of ranked merchants by a user’s social network; said Web site suggesting merchants based on an algorithm of rankings and deals being offered by merchants; a ranked merchant offering a deal to said user based on the merchants ranking within the users social network.

17. The system of claim 15 further comprising:

a. Merchant X, can identify whether user has visited the merchant, based on the user's profile. Merchant, can offer a deal to User based on the user profile. User, never having been to merchant, is offered a deal. Or, User having visited once before, is offered a deal. User, a frequent visitor to merchant is offered a deal. User then ranks merchant, and Web site logs that User has visited merchant X times, and the merchant has y rating from this user, and from all users.

18. A method for providing for value for a voucher comprising: 

a. assigning a per Voucher purchase price by consumer;

b. making an offer by a Merchant which is contingent upon a minimum number of units sold which is agreed to be: the first date on which a Web site publishes the Voucher and offers it to its users and the last date on which a Web site publishes the Voucher and offers it to its users;

c. targeting new and existing customers; targeting existing customers based on quantity of past Web site transactions with the merchant; and

d. issuing a deal to a consumer based on the degrees of separation from a past deal purchases; and

e. issuing a deal to a consumer based on the number of sales generated off a deal that consumer shared.

19. A Voucher system comprising:

a. A Web site facilitating the use of vouchers for the purchase of goods or services; A voucher with a stated purchase price and a face value being different from the purchase price; the voucher being contingent upon a minimum number of units sold; the contingent number of units being sold being identified by the publication of the voucher over a network; the voucher system being available for purchase until the time when said voucher is removed from publication over said Web site; and,

b. targeting customers based on the quantity of past actions through said Web site with a merchant; targeting customers based on the degrees of separation from a past purchase on said Web site by a user connected to the customer as defined by a social network; and issuing a deal to a consumer based on the number of sales generated off a deal that a consumer shared.

20. A Voucher system comprising:

a. A Web site facilitating the use of vouchers for the purchase of goods or services; A voucher with a stated purchase price and a face value being different from the purchase price; the voucher system being available for purchase until the time when said voucher is removed from publication over said Web site; and,

b. targeting customers based on the quantity of past actions through said Web site with a merchant; targeting customers based on the degrees of separation from a past purchase on said Web site by a user connected to the customer as defined by a social network; and issuing a deal to a consumer based on the number of sales generated off a deal that a consumer shared.

21. A method for ranking merchants comprising:

a. Accessing a Web site with a searchable database of merchants; searching for a merchant on said Web site; said Web site providing a means for ranking said merchant based on at least one or more choices; a user ranking a merchant according to said one or more choices; saving said user’s rankings in said database; formatting said user’s rankings to be searchable by anyone within the user’s social network who has been granted access to search said rankings; accessing the rankings of a merchant from within a user’s social network.

22. A method for ranking products comprising:

a. Accessing a Web site with a searchable database of buying groups; searching for a buying group on said Web site; said Web site providing a means for ranking said buying groups based on at least one or more choices; a user ranking a buying group according to said one or more choices; saving said user’s rankings in said database; formatting said user’s rankings to be searchable by anyone within the user’s social network who has been granted access to search said rankings; accessing the rankings of a buying groups from within a user’s social network.

23. A method for creating an integrated map system of ranked merchants comprising;

a. Accessing a Web site with a searchable database of merchants; searching for a merchant on said Web site; said Web site providing a means for ranking said merchant based on at least one or more choices; a user ranking a merchant according to said one or more choices; saving said user’s rankings in said database; formatting said user’s rankings to be searchable by anyone within the user’s social network who has been granted access to search said rankings; accessing the rankings of a merchant from within a user’s social network.

b. Ranking said merchants within a geographic radius from a point, based on the particular inputs for each user based on the rankings of each merchant within a users social network; and further comprising,

c. Searching within a geographic radius from a point, providing said user with a map which identifies merchants resulting from said search based on the rankings, (providing deals from merchants who are offering a deal within the map system.

24. A method for providing a deal to a user based on the ranking of a merchant within a user’s social network:

a. Accessing a Web site with a searchable database of merchants; searching for a merchant on said Web site; said Web site providing a means for ranking said merchant based on one or more selections; members of a user’s social network ranking a merchant based on one or more options; saving said user’s rankings in said database; formatting said user’s rankings to be searchable by anyone within the user’s social network who has been granted access to search said rankings; accessing the rankings of a merchant from within a user’s social network; and further comprising

b. A user searching for a merchant on said Web site; filtering said users search by the users social network, via an algorithm to provide merchant suggestions based on the ranking of a merchant within the user’s social network; offering a deal to the user; said user accepting the deal as offered; wherein the Web site communicating a Code to said user who accepted the deal and to the merchant offering the deal, completing the deal.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising: where no merchant is ranked by the user’s social network related to the search, said Web site offering user a deal from a similar merchant.

26. The method of claim 24 further comprising: where no merchant is ranked by the user’s social network related to the search, user defining their geographic area; and said Web site providing an offer from a similar merchant who is offering a deal within the user’s selected geographic area.

27. The method of claim 24 further comprising: where no social information is available, the system identifies suggestions based on geographic relation for the user and whether an establishment is offering a deal.

28. The method of claim 24 further comprising the steps where after a user has searched for a merchant, so long as allowed by said user, notifying similar merchants that they may offer said user a deal.

29. The method of claim 24 further comprising offering a deal to a user who has ranked a merchant.

30. The method of claim 24 further comprising offering a deal to a user who has ranked a merchant and offering a deal to a second user who is in the first users social network.

31. Method of Claim 24 comprising a ranking of 2-15 tiers. 

32. Method of Claim 24 comprising a ranking of 15-30 tiers. 

33. Method of Claim 24 comprising a ranking of 5-10 tiers. 

34. Method of Claim 24 comprising a ranking of 2-8 tiers. 

35. Method of Claim 24 comprising a ranking of 5-8 tiers. 

36. Method of Claim 24 comprising a ranking of 2-5 tiers.

37. A method for creating a searchable map of merchants based on a user’s own social network and rankings comprising:

a. Accessing a Web site with a searchable database of merchants; searching for a merchant on said Web site; said Web site providing a means for ranking said merchant based on one or more selections; members of a user’s social network ranking a merchant based on one or more options; saving said user’s rankings in said database; formatting said user’s rankings to be searchable by anyone within the user’s social network who has been granted access to search said rankings; accessing the rankings of a merchant from within a user’s social network; and further comprising

b. Via a social network, accessing the rankings of a User’s Social Network; Searching for a merchant; reporting said search results based on the rankings of merchants within the user’s social network; populating a map with results from said search which provides a neighborhood guide of merchants within the confines of said search that are ranked by said user’s social network, and populating said map with groups that said user is following; and selecting a merchant from said map.

38. Method of Claim 37, further comprising receiving a Merchant Offer for a deal, User accepting deal, and the Web site generating a voucher.

39. Method of Claim 37 comprising a ranking of 2-15 tiers.

40. Method of Claim 37 comprising a ranking of 15-30 tiers.

41. Method of Claim 37 comprising a ranking of 5-10 tiers.

42. Method of Claim 37 comprising a ranking of 2-8 tiers.

43. Method of Claim 37 comprising a ranking of 5-8 tiers.

44. Method of Claim 37 comprising a ranking of 2-5 tiers.

45. A method according to claim 37 further comprising pushing to the top of the search results, a merchant who is also offering a deal.

46. A method according to claim 37 further comprising pushing to the top of the search results, a merchant who is also offering a deal, but who has not been ranked by the user’s social network.

47. A method according to claim 37 further comprising searching for an address and showing all merchants ranked by user’s social network within a user defined geographic area based on that address.

48. A web based map system comprising:

a. A Web site with a searchable database of merchants; the database being searchable by a user via said Web site; said Web site providing a means for ranking said merchant based on one or more selections; members of a user’s social network ranking a merchant based on one or more options and saving in the database; the rankings being searchable by anyone within the user’s social network who has been granted access to search said rankings; accessing the rankings of a merchant from within a user’s social network; and further comprising

b. in view of the social network of a user, a search is performed for a merchant ; the search results are based on the rankings of merchants within the user’s social network; the search results are populated on a map, which provides a neighborhood guide of merchants within the confines of said search that are ranked by said user’s social network, and selecting a merchant from said map.

49. The system of Claim 48, further comprising the map being populated with locations of merchants that said user is following.

50. The system of Claim 48, further comprising receiving a Merchant Offer for a deal, User accepting deal, and the Web site generating a voucher.

51. The system of Claim 48 comprising a ranking of 2-15 tiers.

52. The system of Claim 48 comprising a ranking of 15-30 tiers.

53. The system of Claim 48 comprising a ranking of 5-10 tiers.

54. The system of Claim 48 comprising a ranking of 2-8 tiers.

55. The system of Claim 48 comprising a ranking of 5-8 tiers.

56. The system of Claim 48 comprising a ranking of 2-5 tiers.

57. The system of Claim 48 further comprising pushing to the top of the search results, a merchant who is also offering a deal.

58. The system of Claim 48 further comprising pushing to the top of the search results, a merchant who is also offering a deal, but who has not been ranked by the user’s social network.

59. The system of Claim 48 further comprising searching for an address and showing all merchants ranked by user’s social network within a user defined geographic area based on that address.

60. A method for facilitating the sale of goods or services in group format comprising:

a. Using a network server as a communication medium, searching for a merchant against a database of groups; displaying a list of results from said search, selecting from said search result a group made up of consumers seeking a deal, joining said group seeking a similar deal; and

b. Using a Web site to receive at least one Merchant Offer from a seller directed to the group; charging each user the Merchant Offer when each said user accepts the Merchant Offer; and communicating a Code to each consumer which identifies the completed deal.

61. A method for facilitating the sale of goods or services in group format comprising:

a. Using a Web site and a network server set up to read and write to a database; searching for a merchant against a database of groups; displaying a list of results from said search; selecting from said search result a group made up of consumers seeking a deal from a merchant; joining said group seeking a similar deal; and

b. Using a Web site to receive Offer Prices from a plurality of users who are members of the group; receiving at least one Merchant Offer from a seller directed to the group; comparing the Merchant Offer against all Offer Prices submitted in the group; communicating the outcome of each Offer Price to each user; automatically charging each user the Merchant Offer if the user’s submitted Offer was higher than the Merchant Offer; and communicating a Code to each consumer which identifies the completed deal.

62. The method of claim 61, further comprising publishing the deal to a Web site.

63. The method of claim 62, further comprising a merchant publishing the deal to the individuals in the social network of an existing group member.

64. The method of claim 62, further comprising a buyer publishing the deal to the buyer’s social network.

65. The method of claim 62, further comprising adding each deal published to a social network to a database system; and adding each subsequent unique view of said deal attributed to said user’s published information, to a database; and adding each sale generated by a deal published to a social network to a database.

66. The method of claim 61, further comprising communicating said Merchant Offer to a user when the Merchant Offer is greater than the Offer Price, and said user accepting said Merchant Offer.

67. The method of claim 61, further comprising emailing the Code to a buyer.

68. The method of claim 61, further comprising texting the Code to a buyer.

69. The method of claim 61, further comprising making the Code available to a buyer via an application for mobile devices.

70. The method of claim 61, further comprising paying for the Merchant Offer via online payment.

71. The method of claim 61, further comprising paying for the deal with a credit card and utilizing attributes of the unique credit card number as the Code.

72. The method of claim 61, where the deal is for a product.

73. The method of claim 61, where the deal is for a service.

74. The method of claim 61, further comprising adding a merchant to the database when a user searches for and does not find said merchant, and notifying said merchant of a user’s interest.

75. The method of claim 61, further comprising ranking the merchant based after the completion of a Deal.

76. A system for facilitating the sale of goods or services in group format through utilization of social networking comprising:

a. A network server set-up to read and write to a database from multiple sources, a Web site that provides a user the ability to search for a particular merchant; the server comparing the search against said database and providing an output of results which are groups seeking a deal from a merchant; wherein, when a user may search for a deal from a merchant by joining a group as identified in said search results, said user is then stored in the database as seeking a deal from that merchant; wherein, the user submits an Offer for the services of the merchant where the user will be automatically charged for the deal at the Merchant Offer price, if the Merchant Offer is lower than the user’s Offer; wherein a merchant, being the one the group is seeking a deal from, or one offering similar products or services, offers a deal to the members of the group; wherein a user accepts the deal as offered; wherein the deal is published on the merchant’s Web site and social networking page providing additional users with opportunity to accept the deal; wherein the Web site communicates a Code to each consumer whose Offer was greater than the Merchant Offer, and to the merchant offering the deal, completing the deal.

77. The system of claim 76, further comprising a merchant publishing the deal to the individuals in the social network of an existing group member.

78. The system of claim 76, further comprising a buyer publishing the deal to the buyer’s social network.

79. The system of claim 76, further comprising adding each deal published to a social network to a database system, and further adding each subsequent unique view of said deal attributed to said user’s published information, to a database, and each sale generated through a user’s published deal is added to said database.

80. The system of claim 76, further comprising communicating said Merchant Offer to the buyer who may accept or reject the Merchant Offer manually, when the Merchant Offer is greater than the Offer Price.

81. The system of claim 76, further comprising emailing the Code to a buyer.

82. The system of claim 76, further comprising texting the Code to a buyer.

83. The system of claim 76, further comprising making the Code available to a buyer via an application for mobile devices.

84. The system of claim 76, further comprising paying for the Merchant Offer via online payment.

85. The system of claim 76, further comprising paying for the deal with a credit card and utilizing the unique credit card number as the Code.

86. The system of claim 76, further comprising a means for ranking the merchant after the completion of a Deal.

87. A system for generating deals based on the known commerce history and/or social influence of a user, comprising:

a. A Web site with the ability to search against a database of groups; A network server set-up to read and write to said database from multiple sources; said Web site provides a user the ability to search for a particular merchant; the Web site accessing said database and providing an output of results based on the search, which are groups seeking a deal from a merchant; wherein, a user joins a group as identified in said search results, said user is then stored in the database as seeking a deal from that merchant; wherein a merchant offers a deal to the members of the group; wherein a user accepts the deal as offered; wherein the Web site communicates a Code to each consumer who accepted the deal and to the merchant offering the deal, completing the deal; and

b. to a Web site; the Web site tracks the number of hits to a published deal on a individual user’s social network; the Web site also tracks the number of additional sales based generated from the published deal; the Web site records all the tracking information in a database.

88. The System of claim 87 further comprising; where additional deals purchased through a Deal published on a user’s social network are stored in a database.

89. The system of claim 87 further comprising a benefit of a special deal offered to a user based on said user’s ability to generate additional hits, from a publication of the deal on the user’s social network.

90. The system of claim 87 further comprising a benefit of a special deal offered to a user based on said user’s ability to generate additional sales and/or Deals, from a publication of the deal on the user’s social network.

91. The system of claim 87 further comprising the Web site generating a Voucher for the completed deal.

92. The system of claim 87, further comprising emailing the Code to a buyer.

93. The system of claim 87, further comprising texting the Code to a buyer.

94. The method of claim 87, further comprising making the Code available to a buyer via an application for mobile devices.

95. The system of claim 87, further comprising paying for the Merchant Offer via online payment.

96. The system of claim 87, further comprising paying for the deal with a credit card and utilizing the unique credit card number as the Code.

97. The system of claim 87, further comprising a means for ranking the merchant after the completion of a Deal.

98. A system for tracking user generated deals based on the known commerce history and social influence of a user comprising:

a. A Web site with the ability to search against a database of groups; A network server set-up to read and write to said database from multiple sources; said Web site provides a user the ability to search for a particular merchant; the Web site accessing said database and providing an output of results based on the search, which are groups seeking a deal from a merchant; wherein, a user joins a group as identified in said search results, said user is then stored in the database as seeking a deal from that merchant; wherein a merchant offers a deal to the members of the group; wherein a user accepts the deal as offered; and further comprising

b. a user shares the deal with the user’s social network by publishing a link generated by the Web site, which identifies the deal and the user; and the Web site tracks whether anyone on said user’s social network clicks the unique deal and stores said information in a database; wherein the Web site communicates a Code to each consumer who accepted the deal and to the merchant offering the deal, completing the deal.

99. The System of claim 98 further comprising; where additional deals purchased through a Deal published on a user’s social network are stored in a database.

100. The system of claim 98 further comprising a benefit of a special deal offered to a user based on said user’s ability to generate additional hits, from a publication of the deal on the user’s social network.

101. The system of claim 98 further comprising a benefit of a special deal offered to a user based on said user’s ability to generate additional sales and/or Deals, from a publication of the deal on the user’s social network.

102. The system of claim 98 further comprising the Web site generating a Voucher for the completed deal.

103. The system of claim 98, further comprising emailing the Code to a buyer.

104. The system of claim 98, further comprising texting the Code to a buyer.

105. The method of claim 98, further comprising making the Code available to a buyer via an application for mobile devices.

106. The system of claim 98, further comprising paying for the Merchant Offer via online payment.

107. The system of claim 98, further comprising paying for the deal with a credit card and utilizing the unique credit card number as the Code.

108. The system of claim 98, further comprising a means for ranking the merchant after the completion of a Deal.

109. A method for tracking user generated deals based on the known commerce history and social influence of a user comprising:

a. Accessing a Web site with the ability to search against a database of groups and a network server set-up to read and write to said database ; searching on said Web site for a particular merchant; the Web site accessing said database and providing an output of results based on the search, which are groups seeking a deal from a merchant; a user joining a group as identified in said search results; a merchant offering a deal to the members of the group; a user accepting the deal as offered; the Web site communicating a Code to each consumer who accepted the deal and to the merchant offering the deal, completing the deal; and

b. a user sharing the deal with the user’s social network; the Web site generating a link which identifies the deal and the user, the Web site tracking whether anyone on said user’s social network clicks the unique deal.

110. The method of claim 109 further comprising; where additional deals purchased through a Deal published on a user’s social network are stored in a database.

111. The method of claim 109 further comprising a benefit of a special deal offered to a user based on said user’s ability to generate additional hits, from a publication of the deal on the user’s social network.

112. The method of claim 109 further comprising a benefit of a special deal offered to a user based on said user’s ability to generate additional sales and/or Deals, from a publication of the deal on the user’s social network.

113. The method of claim 109 further comprising the Web site generating a Voucher for the completed deal.

114. The method of claim 109, further comprising emailing the Code to a buyer.

115. The method of claim 109, further comprising texting the Code to a buyer.

116. The method of claim 109, further comprising making the Code available to a

buyer via an application for mobile devices.

117. The method of claim 109, further comprising paying for the Merchant Offer via online payment.

118. The method of claim 109, further comprising paying for the deal with a credit card and utilizing the unique credit card number as the Code.

119. The method of claim 109, further comprising a means for ranking the merchant after the completion of a Deal.

120. A method for generating deals based on the known commerce history and/or social influence of a user, comprising:

a. Accessing a Web site that provides a means for searching a database; searching for a merchant against a database of groups; displaying a list of results from said search; selecting from said search result a group made up of consumers seeking a deal from a merchant; joining said group seeking a similar deal; receiving at least one Merchant Offer from a seller directed to the group; charging each user the Merchant Offer when each said user accepts the Merchant Offer; and communicating a Code to each consumer which identifies the completed deal; and

b. publishing the Deal to a Web site; tracking and recording each unique view of each published Deal..

121. The method of claim 120 further comprising tracking and recording each additional sale generated based on a published Deal.

122. The method of claim 120 further comprising a benefit of a special deal offered to a user based on said user’s ability to generate additional hits, from a publication of the deal on the user’s social network.

123. The method of claim 120 further comprising a benefit of a special deal offered to a user based on said user’s ability to generate additional sales and/or Deals, from a publication of the deal on the user’s social network.

124. The method of claim 120 further comprising the Web site generating a Voucher for the completed deal.

125. The method of claim 120, further comprising emailing the Code to a buyer.

126. The method of claim 120, further comprising texting the Code to a buyer.

127. The method of claim 120, further comprising making the Code available to a buyer via an application for mobile devices.

128. The method of claim 120, further comprising paying for the Merchant Offer via online payment.

129. The method of claim 120, further comprising paying for the deal with a credit card and utilizing the unique credit card number as the Code.

130. The method of claim 120, further comprising a means for ranking the merchant after the completion of a Deal.

131. The method of claim 120 further comprising: offering said user a special deal based on their ability to influence other’s within their social network.

ABSTRACT

A computer-assisted method and computer system programmed to carry out the method is disclosed. The method comprises receiving a request for proposal (RFP) including a set of criteria from a first consumer at a web site; automatically establishing a group at the web site corresponding to the RFP; providing an option to publish the RFP to the first consumer’s social network accounts; if the option to publish is selected, automatically publishing the RFP to the first consumer’s social network accounts with a link to the group corresponding to the RFP on the web site which, when selected or clicked on by a social network contact of the first consumer, credits the first consumer in the case the second consumer joins a group or accepts a proposal; receiving a set of criteria from at least one member of the group; receiving at the web site a proposal from a first merchant in response to the RFP; if the proposal from the first merchant fulfills the set of criteria of at least one member of the group, automatically completing a transaction between the merchant and the member of the group whose criteria were fulfilled; publishing the proposal to all members of the group where the criteria was not fulfilled by the proposal; providing an option to publish the proposal from the first merchant in response to the RFP on the first consumer’s social network accounts and on the social network accounts of each social network contact which is a member of the group; and upon acceptance of the first merchant’s proposal by any member of the group, automatically completing a transaction between the first merchant and the accepting member of the group.

FIG. 1

FIG. 2

FIG. 3