Abstract: Computer-accessible medium and apparatus for providing subscription-based shipping of items. Embodiments may provide mechanisms that allow customers of an e-commerce Web site to pay a fee to obtain a subscription in a shipping program that provides subscribed customers with free and/or reduced-rate shipping for at least some items ordered via the e-commerce Web site during the period covered by the subscription. The Web site may provide user interface elements on the Web site that may provide one or more shipping and possibly other options only to subscribed customers. Some embodiments may provide mechanisms that allow a subscriber to share a subscription to the shipping program with other customers. One embodiment may provide a mechanism through which a subscribed customer can invite other customers to share a subscription. Some embodiments may provide other exclusive services and/or offers to the subscribers of the shipping program that are not provided or offered to non-subscribers.

Abstract: Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between computing systems, such as via a third-party transaction authorization system that automatically authorizes transactions between parties. In some situations, the transactions are programmatic transactions involving the use of fee-based Web services by executing application programs, with the transaction authorization system authorizing and/or providing payments for transactions between Web service provider and consumer parties in accordance with private authorization instructions previously specified by the parties. The authorization instructions may include predefined instruction rule sets that regulate conditions under which a potential transaction can be authorized, with the instruction rule sets each referenced by an associated reference token.

Abstract: A computer-implemented service associated with an electronic catalog analyzes purchase histories of users, and/or other types of activity data reflective of user affinities for specific items, to identify items that are significantly more popular in specific user communities than in a general user population. The communities may, for example, include email-based communities (e.g., all users with email addresses associated with a particular company), shipping address based communities (e.g., all users with shipping addresses in Seattle), and/or communities based on other types of user attributes. In one embodiment, a user of the service can select a particular community, such as by selecting the name of a corresponding organization or geographic region, to view a list of items having relatively high popularity levels therein.

Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may see an item that interests him or her and would like to remember the item for future reference. The user captures data (e.g., a digital image, an audio recording, etc.) of the item of interest (e.g., anything user can see, hear or touch) and submits the captured data to the memory enhancement service for enhancement and storage. The memory enhancement service submits the captured data to a human interaction task system for enhancement. More specifically, the human interaction task system distributes the captured data to one or more human workers to identify the item subject of the captured data, determine the user's interest in the item subject of the captured data, and provide information regarding the item that may be relevant to the user based on this determined interest. The enhanced data returned from the human interaction task system is then stored by the memory enhancement service for subsequent recall by the user and possible use by the user or others.

Abstract: A web site or other interactive service maintains user activity data reflective of the activities of its users. A failure analysis component analyzes the user activity data to automatically detect likely failure events. A failure event filtering component intelligently selects failure events for which to request feedback from the user, preferably taking into consideration information about the failure event itself and information about the particular user. Requests for user feedback, and operator responses to the user feedback messages, are preferably presented on a personal log page that also displays other types of personalized information.

Abstract: A computer-implemented data processing system includes tag logic for permitting a user to create an active tag. The active tag is associated with an object and includes configuration information that defines an action to be performed upon selection of the active tag. The configuration information is accessible by another user. The system also includes a user interface in communication with the tag logic for displaying the active tag.

Abstract: A network-based payment service provides functionality for site operators to add payment links or objects to their sites. When a user selects such a link or object, the payment service may charge a fee to an account of the user, and may redirect a browser of the user to content associated with the link. In some use cases, the payment service may also cause all or a portion of the fee to be divided between multiple entities or site operators; for example, a portion may be paid to an entity responsible for hosting or publishing the payment link or object, and another portion may be paid to an entity that hosts or provides the associated content.

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. 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: 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: 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: Prominence data resulting from user interaction with a hyperlink on a page may be stored in one or more repositories. Prominence data may be collected automatically when the user views a page or clicks on a hyperlink without requiring separate action from the user to accomplish storage or retrieval. The prominence data may further include a display parameter that denotes a level of prominence that is usable to affect the display of a hyperlink. A prominence score used to determine the display parameter may be calculated by dividing a count of click-throughs by a count of page views of the page containing the hyperlink. Other score calculations may be used. User feedback may be incorporated into the score calculation and may be collected through a toolbar, popup window, or other feedback-collecting mechanism.

Abstract: A network-based payment service and site provides various features for facilitating user-to-user payments. One such feature enables users of the payment service to create pay boxes, or other types of payment objects, that can be incorporated into externally hosted web pages and used to make payments. In some embodiments, the payment objects enable users to make payments directly from the externally hosted web pages.

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: An electronic 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. 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 information regarding 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: An electronic 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 who have purchased or otherwise indicated ownership of specific products.

Abstract: Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between computing systems, such as by performing transactions between parties that are automatically authorized via a third-party transaction authorization system. In some situations, the transactions are programmatic transactions involving the use of fee-based Web services by executing application programs, with the transaction authorization system authorizing and/or providing payments in accordance with private authorization instructions previously specified by the parties. The authorization instructions may include predefined instruction rule sets that regulate conditions under which a potential transaction can be authorized, with the instruction rule sets each referenced by an associated reference token.