The apparatus and method disclosed herein is a new e-commerce business model and its possible embodiments. By grouping merchandise and users, the invention provides new interfaces between multiple merchandises / service, multiple askers and multiple bidders. Certain merchandises / services will be identified and grouped with a Merchandise Group ID (MGID). Each MGID represents a group of merchandise / service with some common properties. MGID works like the stock tickers, which represents all products from the same category. It then enables users (bidders / askers / shipping carriers), who are also grouped by their
User Group ID (UGID), to put bid / ask /
cAsk offers on the above said merchandise or the shipping services. With MGIDs, the merchandise and service would then be identified and traded like stocks. With UGID that categorize users into user groups and then matching UGID, one group of users can find the
counterparty user group they would like to deal with much easier. It reshapes the business operation chain of current e-commerce. It combines all elements (merchandise / services / users) of the chain with same / similar / equivalent properties into corresponding groups and assigns these groups with identifier—the groupID. Grouped users are identified by
User Group ID (UGID). They can select their desired counterparties through the counterparties' UGID. Matched parties (buyer / sellers / carriers) can then trade grouped merchandise / services by using the merchandise / service's Group ID (MGID) like trading stock tickers. This invention changes the current “Instance Trading”, which only deals with each single pieces of merchandise instance, into “Group Trading”, which is based on categorized merchandise groups and categorized user groups. It provides communication and interaction between these user groups and merchandise groups. MGID, BGID, AGID and CGID work together to divide all bid / ask /
cAsk offers into subgroups. It then peer matches the offers within each subgroup of records to find out the final matched orders for that subgroup. This new business model will also provide a much broader stage for shipping service carriers and manufactures. Every component of the business chain has been offered an adequate position and weight to make the market operate more efficient, transparent and fair. The new trading platform will also help to enhance
payment performances and security by reducing
payment fraud.