Abstract: Method and system for storing contextual information for a plurality of parties. The contextual information comprises a context owner and relationship information associating the context owner to other parties. Upon receipt of a request for access to a requested context, granting access when a relationship information from the requested context associates the requesting party with the context owner of the requested context. Corresponding relationship information from the requested context associated to a first party is accessible to the requesting party when there exists a context owned by the first party in which the relationship information associates the first party with the requesting party and the first party with the context owner of the requested context and there exists a context owned by the requesting party in which relationship information associates the requesting party with the first party and the requesting party with the context owner of the requested context.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a computer program product for providing a system for selling shipping services online. The system comprises data recording medium, product selector, shipping service information collector, shipping parameter collector, shipping option computing module, shipping service selector, shipping service notifying module and transaction concluding module. The product selector is for selecting a product by a buyer. The shipping service information collector is for obtaining information about shipping services from carriers. The shipping parameter collector is for obtaining information to specify shipping parameters. The shipping option computing module is for computing available shipping services. The shipping service selector is for selecting a shipping service related to a given carrier. The shipping service notifying module is for generating a shipping service request and transmitting the request to the carrier.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for enabling buyers, sellers and shipping companies (or carriers) to exchange goods, services and communications, through a system provided by a third party entity, referred to herein as the “mediator”. Particular to the present invention is to enable buyers to openly select their shipping method from an independent carrier to deliver goods purchased from sellers. This invention also enables sellers to relinquish their shipping operations to independent carriers to focus more on their core business. Finally, this invention enables carriers to bypass a seller of goods, as middleman, to openly promote their services to buyers. The system allows all these parties to interact using computing devices with Web browsing capability. The mediator provides an electronic trading platform wherein sellers register their goods for sale, and carriers publish their shipping methods and rate charts, for buyers to choose from.