5 ms·

EBay Patents 10-Click Checkout

337 points by timruffles 15y ago

swah 15y ago
When I saw this in my RSS feed, I thought it was spam, the text being so strange.
- timruffles 15y ago
  His last three posts have been satire. I'm hoping he gets back to content as good as http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/10/universal-design-pattern.html http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/10/universal-design-pat....
  - jdh 15y ago
    Dead link
revorad 15y ago
Oh he's so good. I hope he's back.
rwtaylor 15y ago
... ?
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
corin_ 15y ago
What I find most depressing is that you hear such moronic examples of patents that on reading this title a tiny part of me was thinking "well.. maybe..". Not sure if that says more about the patents system or my awakeness, I hope the former.
- DNeb 15y ago
  I was hoping they really did it just to show how rediculous the patent situation has gotten.
- cube13 15y ago
  To be fair, it's completely non-obvious, and innovative. Mostly because nobody in their right mind would consider that many steps to be a good thing, but still...
locci 15y ago
Yeah, but what if someone comes up with a 9-click checkout? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129387/quotes?qt=qt0410938 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129387/quotes?qt=qt0410938
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- angrycoder 15y ago
  No No No. Who checks out in 9 clicks?!?!
- pluies 15y ago
  With an IMDB reference, this could go the other way. "Our checkout process goes to eleven!"
scottkduncan 15y ago
I bid on something on Ebay for the first time in years this week and although I didn't win and make it to the infuriating checkout process, I was still amazed at how frequently I had resupply my user name and password. When you go back to a site like Ebay you realize how far some other parts of the web have come in promoting user-friendliness and how much some sites are being left behind.
- saurik 15y ago
  It must be kept in mind that some parts of the web are subject to much more fraud than other parts.
  - bittermang 15y ago
    But I actually think it's the volume by which eBay asks for your username and password, that opens them up to fraud. It should be a security gateway that prompts the user to get ready for some secure transactions. But it is asked for so many times that it becomes an afterthought, "Oh, eBay is asking for my password again." It asks when you want to view My eBay. It asks when you want to save an item for later. It asks when you place a bid. It asks again when you check out after winning. Then you get a phishing email, you click a link, it asks for your password. Users give it up without a second thought because they're so used to providing it. Conversely, Amazon, another site which is very good at separating you from your money, only asks when money is on the line. I can add to Wish Lists without logging in again. I can rate things without logging in again. I can write reviews without logging in again. The only time Amazon asks for my password is when I'm placing an order, or making changes under My Account. And they even have an express lane setup for making orders with PayPhrase, that doesn't ask for my login again, just a PIN.
    - nitrogen 15y ago
      On eBay, a bid is considered a contract to purchase, so it's probably a good idea to verify your identity before bidding.
      - 15y ago
Produce 15y ago
I honestly couldn't tell if this was satire or real for a while. It looks like satire, smells like it, tastes like it but it really isn't. EDIT: It really is satire. Some damn good satire, had me fooled.
- jturn 15y ago
  It doesn't help that it's called "10CLICKFU".
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- mrspandex 15y ago
  "..its collections and incarceration arm PayPal.." didn't give it away?
  - noonespecial 15y ago
    I've had money both forcefully collected and incarcerated by paypal. Seems reasonable to me.
- huherto 15y ago
  me too. I didn't know if ebay was trolling the patents office or if the writter was making fun of ebay. I had to search for the patent number to find out.
craigmc 15y ago
Fantastic! I used to do lot via the eBay platform as a "Power Seller", and I always thought they were a most bizarre company: one part incredibly innovative, one part money-grabbing corporate and one (big) part terrible UI/UX designers. Glad to hear nothing has changed....
- cpeterso 15y ago
  > one (big) part terrible UI/UX designers I had always assumed that eBay couldn't/wouldn't change their UI because their users are not techies and would be more confused by change than the terrible UI they've already learned. Users have learned how to do what they want, even if they don't understand why. For example, my parents know that to watch DVDs, they need to press button X on remote #1 and then button Y on remote #2. They just don't know why.
  - prawn 15y ago
    A bit like MYOB, for anyone who's been unfortunate enough to have used that program.
sfboy88 15y ago
I'd much rather use Amazon's 1 click instead. One click and the item is at my house the next day.
- astrange 15y ago
  This is one of the least interesting comments I have ever read. Please explain your thought process for future generations.
dpapathanasiou 15y ago
"The newly-patented buying system guides users through an intuitive, step-by-step process of clicking 'Buy It Now', entering your password, logging in because they signed your sorry ass out again, getting upsold shit you don’t want, continuing to your original destination" If that were a real patent, GoDaddy would owe Ebay millions.
- InclinedPlane 15y ago
  And monster.com.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - pitdesi 15y ago
    Try United or American Airlines...
  - brianlash 15y ago
    and VistaPrint.
melvinng 15y ago
Didn't amazon did something similar? All of this patents are so closely linked if someone sues, it will start a war.. Look at the Apple vs HTC case..
marknutter 15y ago
Man, this space is ripe for disruption.
- travem 15y ago
  You can see this is happening through self-organizing communities on Facebook and other social networks. Search for the "for sale or swap in ..." Facebook groups and you'll see people engaging in a much more social and local based bartering system. Extrapolating from the single data point of my wife's experience, it's much quicker and easier than eBay to buy and sell stuff locally.
  - zengr 15y ago
    That's a craiglists disruption, not eBay.
InclinedPlane 15y ago
Ebay is frustrating. They haven't changed the functionality or even the fit and finish of their site substantially for about a decade. They're still the de facto leader in online auctions but I feel as if they're slowly being bled by a lot of more specialized sites (amazon, craigslist, etsy, etc.)
- frossie 15y ago
  Actually eBay have made changes through the years - it is just that all of them are bad. The move to favour large corporate sellers, and to only give feedback as a buyer completely broke the "swap meet" feel that eBay had. Buying and selling on eBay is just not fun anymore. The problem is that there is no real online replacement - the auction space is hard to disrupt because in auctions the largest marketplace is, at face value, the best marketplace. I know I have gotten to the stage where I will Freecycle something before I sell it on eBay, and from reading the forums out there, I am not the only one.
d4nt 15y ago
For a minute there I though this was going to be a real attempt at challenging amazon's 1-click buying patent by patenting the non-1-click approach. This was funnier though.
tlrobinson 15y ago
Has anyone tried to patent the 1-touch checkout for touchscreen devices?
Raphael 15y ago
End patents.

337 points by timruffles 15y ago

swah 15y ago

When I saw this in my RSS feed, I thought it was spam, the text being so strange.

timruffles 15y ago
His last three posts have been satire. I'm hoping he gets back to content as good as http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/10/universal-design-pattern.html http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/10/universal-design-pat....
- jdh 15y ago
  Dead link

revorad 15y ago

Oh he's so good. I hope he's back.

rwtaylor 15y ago

... ?

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

corin_ 15y ago

What I find most depressing is that you hear such moronic examples of patents that on reading this title a tiny part of me was thinking "well.. maybe..". Not sure if that says more about the patents system or my awakeness, I hope the former.

DNeb 15y ago
I was hoping they really did it just to show how rediculous the patent situation has gotten.
cube13 15y ago
To be fair, it's completely non-obvious, and innovative. Mostly because nobody in their right mind would consider that many steps to be a good thing, but still...

locci 15y ago

Yeah, but what if someone comes up with a 9-click checkout? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129387/quotes?qt=qt0410938 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129387/quotes?qt=qt0410938

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
angrycoder 15y ago
No No No. Who checks out in 9 clicks?!?!
pluies 15y ago
With an IMDB reference, this could go the other way. "Our checkout process goes to eleven!"

scottkduncan 15y ago

I bid on something on Ebay for the first time in years this week and although I didn't win and make it to the infuriating checkout process, I was still amazed at how frequently I had resupply my user name and password. When you go back to a site like Ebay you realize how far some other parts of the web have come in promoting user-friendliness and how much some sites are being left behind.

saurik 15y ago
It must be kept in mind that some parts of the web are subject to much more fraud than other parts.
- bittermang 15y ago
  But I actually think it's the volume by which eBay asks for your username and password, that opens them up to fraud. It should be a security gateway that prompts the user to get ready for some secure transactions. But it is asked for so many times that it becomes an afterthought, "Oh, eBay is asking for my password again." It asks when you want to view My eBay. It asks when you want to save an item for later. It asks when you place a bid. It asks again when you check out after winning. Then you get a phishing email, you click a link, it asks for your password. Users give it up without a second thought because they're so used to providing it. Conversely, Amazon, another site which is very good at separating you from your money, only asks when money is on the line. I can add to Wish Lists without logging in again. I can rate things without logging in again. I can write reviews without logging in again. The only time Amazon asks for my password is when I'm placing an order, or making changes under My Account. And they even have an express lane setup for making orders with PayPhrase, that doesn't ask for my login again, just a PIN.
  - nitrogen 15y ago
    On eBay, a bid is considered a contract to purchase, so it's probably a good idea to verify your identity before bidding.
    - 15y ago

Produce 15y ago

I honestly couldn't tell if this was satire or real for a while. It looks like satire, smells like it, tastes like it but it really isn't. EDIT: It really is satire. Some damn good satire, had me fooled.

jturn 15y ago
It doesn't help that it's called "10CLICKFU".
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
mrspandex 15y ago
"..its collections and incarceration arm PayPal.." didn't give it away?
- noonespecial 15y ago
  I've had money both forcefully collected and incarcerated by paypal. Seems reasonable to me.
huherto 15y ago
me too. I didn't know if ebay was trolling the patents office or if the writter was making fun of ebay. I had to search for the patent number to find out.

craigmc 15y ago

Fantastic! I used to do lot via the eBay platform as a "Power Seller", and I always thought they were a most bizarre company: one part incredibly innovative, one part money-grabbing corporate and one (big) part terrible UI/UX designers. Glad to hear nothing has changed....

cpeterso 15y ago
> one (big) part terrible UI/UX designers I had always assumed that eBay couldn't/wouldn't change their UI because their users are not techies and would be more confused by change than the terrible UI they've already learned. Users have learned how to do what they want, even if they don't understand why. For example, my parents know that to watch DVDs, they need to press button X on remote #1 and then button Y on remote #2. They just don't know why.
- prawn 15y ago
  A bit like MYOB, for anyone who's been unfortunate enough to have used that program.

sfboy88 15y ago

I'd much rather use Amazon's 1 click instead. One click and the item is at my house the next day.

astrange 15y ago
This is one of the least interesting comments I have ever read. Please explain your thought process for future generations.

dpapathanasiou 15y ago

"The newly-patented buying system guides users through an intuitive, step-by-step process of clicking 'Buy It Now', entering your password, logging in because they signed your sorry ass out again, getting upsold shit you don’t want, continuing to your original destination" If that were a real patent, GoDaddy would owe Ebay millions.

InclinedPlane 15y ago
And monster.com.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- pitdesi 15y ago
  Try United or American Airlines...
- brianlash 15y ago
  and VistaPrint.

melvinng 15y ago

Didn't amazon did something similar? All of this patents are so closely linked if someone sues, it will start a war.. Look at the Apple vs HTC case..

marknutter 15y ago

Man, this space is ripe for disruption.

travem 15y ago
You can see this is happening through self-organizing communities on Facebook and other social networks. Search for the "for sale or swap in ..." Facebook groups and you'll see people engaging in a much more social and local based bartering system. Extrapolating from the single data point of my wife's experience, it's much quicker and easier than eBay to buy and sell stuff locally.
- zengr 15y ago
  That's a craiglists disruption, not eBay.

InclinedPlane 15y ago

Ebay is frustrating. They haven't changed the functionality or even the fit and finish of their site substantially for about a decade. They're still the de facto leader in online auctions but I feel as if they're slowly being bled by a lot of more specialized sites (amazon, craigslist, etsy, etc.)

frossie 15y ago
Actually eBay have made changes through the years - it is just that all of them are bad. The move to favour large corporate sellers, and to only give feedback as a buyer completely broke the "swap meet" feel that eBay had. Buying and selling on eBay is just not fun anymore. The problem is that there is no real online replacement - the auction space is hard to disrupt because in auctions the largest marketplace is, at face value, the best marketplace. I know I have gotten to the stage where I will Freecycle something before I sell it on eBay, and from reading the forums out there, I am not the only one.

d4nt 15y ago

For a minute there I though this was going to be a real attempt at challenging amazon's 1-click buying patent by patenting the non-1-click approach. This was funnier though.

tlrobinson 15y ago

Has anyone tried to patent the 1-touch checkout for touchscreen devices?

Raphael 15y ago

End patents.