Abstract: A system and method are disclosed that enable a personal shopping cart to be used to select items from multiple web sites of multiple business entities, and to place a single order for the selected items. The shopping cart may remain persistent over multiple sessions of the user.

Abstract: An electronic marketplace system embodies various inventions for assisting users in listing products for sale, locating the listings for a product, and performing related actions. A user wishing to sell a product can browse to an existing description of the product in an electronic catalog and then select an option to create a corresponding listing. To create the listing for the selected product, the user preferably specifies the product's condition and a selling price. Others may view and make purchases from such listings while browsing the catalog. In one embodiment which is part of a web page metadata service, the World Wide Web serves as the electronic catalog such that users may create, view and make purchases from product listings during viewing of third party web pages that describe the associated products. The system may also provide an option for buyers to preorder products from unspecified sellers.

Abstract: An electronic marketplace system embodies various inventions for assisting users in listing products for sale, locating the listings for a product, and performing related actions. A user wishing to sell a product can browse to an existing description of the product in an electronic catalog and then select an option to create a corresponding listing. If the user previously purchased the product via the system, the user may alternatively select the product from a personal purchase history. The pending listings for a product are preferably displayed or summarized on the product's detail page in the catalog. When no such listings exist, an option to preorder the product from an unspecified seller may be provided, and the resulting preorders may be displayed on the associated product detail pages to entice potential sellers. In one embodiment, the electronic catalog also serves as a retail sales catalog of a merchant.

Abstract: A facility for notifying a first user about a purchase made by a second user is described. The facility detects that the second user has purchased an item. The facility further determines that the first user has a purchase notification relationship with the second user. The facility then provides to the first user a notification that the second user has purchased the item.

Abstract: An electronic marketplace system embodies various inventions for assisting users in listing products for sale, locating the listings for a product, and performing related actions. A user wishing to sell a product can browse to an existing description of the product in an electronic catalog and then select an option to create a corresponding listing. If the user previously purchased the product via the system, the user may alternatively select the product from a personal purchase history. To create the listing for the selected product, the user preferably specifies the product's condition and a selling price. The pending listings for a product are preferably displayed or summarized on the product's detail page in the catalog. When no such listings exist, an option to preorder the product from an unspecified seller may be provided. In one embodiment, the electronic catalog also serves as a retail sales catalog of a merchant.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention distributes data via a network to remotely located users. Historical purchase information for a first user is stored in a database. Authorization is received over a network from the first user allowing a second user to view at least a portion of the historical purchase information. In addition, the first user selectively specifies which historical purchase information may be viewed by the second customer. An electronic notification is transmitted to the second user, wherein the notification informs the second user of the first user's authorization.

Abstract: A facility for rewarding the provision of useful item reviews is described. The facility receives a plurality of item reviews, each from a source. The facility publishes each of the plurality of received item reviews, and assesses the usefulness of the published item reviews. Based upon this assessment of usefulness, the facility selects one or more of the published item reviews, and provides rewards to the sources of these selected item reviews.

Abstract: A facility for identifying purchasing opportunities within a set of purchasing opportunities that are similar to a distinguished purchasing opportunity is described. The distinguished purchasing opportunity has descriptive information associated with it. For each of several terms occurring in this descriptive information, the facility generates a term score. Each term score reflects the extent to which the occurrence of the term and the descriptive information associated with the distinguished purchasing opportunity differentiates the distinguished purchasing opportunity from auto purchasing opportunities in the set. The facility then selects as key words the terms occurring in the descriptive information associated with the distinguished purchasing opportunity that have the highest term scores.

Abstract: An interactive merchandising program includes two or more program segments that are organized in a series. Each program segment in the series includes at least one time-limited offer for sequential presentation to the customer. The customer is required to undertake some action with respect to each program segment without knowing the identity of offers in program segments yet to be presented. If an offer is accepted within the time limit of the offer, the merchandising program terminates and the customer's acceptance of the offer is processed. If the customer declines a presented offer, the offer is withdrawn. The merchandising program proceeds to the next program segment in which the customer is presented the next time-limited offer. In this manner, the customer is provided an interactive experience that invites considered decision-making on the part of the customer.

Abstract: An online marketplace system provides various features for assisting users in listing products for sale, locating the listings for a product, and performing related actions. A user wishing to sell a product can browse to an existing description of the product in an electronic catalog and then select an option to create a corresponding listing. If the user previously purchased the product via the system, the user may alternatively select the product from a personal purchase history. The system may also proactively send product-specific listing requests to those predicted to own specific products. To create a listing for a selected product, the user preferably specifies the product's condition and a selling price. The pending listings for a product are preferably displayed or summarized on the product's detail page in the catalog. In one embodiment, the catalog also servers as a retail sales catalog of an online merchant.

Abstract: A network-based contact management system provides various features for assisting users in locating, and sharing information with, other users. The system provides a web-based user interface through which each may user create a personal data record, establish contact relationships with other users, and specify permissions for allowing such other users to view the user's own personal data. Users can preferably view the personal data records of their respective contacts via personal address books in accordance with the permissions granted by such contacts. A search feature enables each user to search for contacts of that user's own contacts to locate other users of interest. A crossing paths notification feature notifies users when their travel plans coincide with those of their contacts.

Abstract: A facility for presenting information about new items, such as new items available via a web site is described. The facility receives a request for information submitted on behalf of an identified user. In processing the request, the facility accesses a set of items having effective times. The facility performs a first filtering process to eliminate items of the set whose effective times indicate that the items are not new. The facility performs a second filtering process to eliminate items of the set in which the user likely has a low level of interest. Subsequent to both the first and second filterings, the facility presents to the user information about each of at least a portion of the filtered items.

Abstract: A facility for rendering a dynamic electronic document is described. The dynamic electronic document has both a current and a future edition. The current edition incorporates a current version of a content item, while the future edition incorporates a future version of the content item. The facility receives a request to return the dynamic electronic document. In response to the request, the facility retrieves a template for the electronic document that contains a single identifier that identifies a group of content item versions containing both the current version of the content item and the future version of the content item. The facility uses the single identifier contained in the template, together with an indication of whether the current edition of the dynamic electronic document or the future version is being requested by the received request, to incorporate the appropriate version of the content item in the rendered dynamic electronic document.

Abstract: A computer-implemented service, provided in association with a browsable electronic catalog, automatically notifies a user when an item being accessed in the catalog is on an electronic wish list of an “affiliated” user. The affiliations may be created explicitly by the users (e.g., by completing an online form), and/or implicitly based on actions performed by the users (e.g., an affiliation is automatically created between two users when one purchases a gift for the other). In a web based embodiment, the notifications are presented by supplementing web pages, such as product detail pages, associated with particular catalog items. In some embodiments, users are also notified when the viewed items are merely similar to items on the wish lists of their affiliates. Also disclosed are services for reminding or notifying users of events associated with their affiliates, and for including within these reminders links to the associated wish lists.

Abstract: A network-based payment service provides various features for facilitating online, user-to-user payments. One feature involves the ability for users to define customized pay pages for receiving payments from other users. The pay pages are preferably hosted by a service provider site that handles the collection process, and may be created using pay page templates that specify the layouts and behaviors of the pay pages. In one embodiment, a pay page owner can also define one or more “pay boxes” to allow payments to be initiated from other web sites, which may include the web sites of associates who receive commissions on resulting payments. Another feature involves the ability for users to make single-action payments from web sites external to the service provider site. Also disclosed are various features for controlling access to content and services based on whether, or an extent to which, a visitor has made voluntary or mandatory payments.

Abstract: An Internet-based customer referral system enables individuals and other business entities (“associates”) to refer customers to a merchant's web site in return for compensation, such as commissions on resulting sales. Entities initially register with the merchant web site as associates, and are provided with instructions for creating links to the merchant web site. An associate may, for example, set up an associate web site (or other information dissemination system) with reviews, recommendations, and/or editorials of specific products in the merchant's online catalog, together with links to associated pages in the catalog. When a user follows such a link and then makes a purchase (as tracked by the merchant web site), the system preferably awards a commission to the associate. The system also preferably generates feedback reports that provide each associate with data regarding the effectiveness of each link provided by that associate.

Abstract: In a system in which documents are generated dynamically in response to user requests, historical data is collected regarding data retrieval subtasks, such as service requests, that are performed to generate such documents. This data is used to predict the specific subtasks that will be performed to respond to specific document requests, such that these subtasks may be initiated preemptively at or near the outset of the associated page generation task. A subtask that would ordinarily be postponed pending the outcome of a prior subtask can therefore be performed in parallel with the prior subtask, reducing document generation times. In one embodiment, the historical data is included within, or is used to generate, a mapping table that maps document generation tasks (which may correspond to specific URLs) to the data retrieval subtasks that are frequently performed within such tasks.

Abstract: A facility for identifying users to whom to promote a selected auction is described. The facility maintains a representation of bidding histories of a plurality of users. At a point at which certain users have already bid in the selected auction, the facility identifies users that have not already bid in the selected auction that have bidding histories that are similar to those of users that have already bid in the selected auction. The facility then promotes the selected auction to the identified users.

Abstract: An electronic catalog system provides an interface for users to author and post pieces of content, referred to as “blurbs,” for viewing by other users. The blurbs submitted by a particular author are made available for viewing in an author-specific blog (web log) format. Blurbs may also be obtained from external sources, such as from blogs hosted by various web sites. A personalized blurb selection component selects blurbs to present to users based on histories of catalog items selected by such users, and/or based on various other criteria. The blurbs selected for a particular user are presented within a personal log or “plog,” which may be updated daily and will typically contain entries from many different authors. User feedback provided on specific blurbs is taken into consideration by the personalized blurb selection algorithms.

Abstract: Various computer-implemented services are disclosed for assisting users in selecting items from an electronic catalog, and for selecting merchants with which to conduct transactions. One such service detects when a first user accesses a web page associated with a particular merchant, and then attempts to identify, from a set of users who are affiliated with the first user, a second user who has engaged in business with this merchant. If such a second user is identified, the service notifies the first user, and provides an option or information for the first user to contact the second user regarding the merchant.