WHAT IS CLAIMED IS :

1.

A method for facilitating a purchase transaction, comprising : selecting from a primary buyer computer an item that is desired to be purchased by payment of a purchase price ; collecting at least one proposed contribution toward the purchase price from at least one copayer computer ; and accepting an amount of the proposed contribution sufficient to meet the purchase price.

2.	A method as in claim 1, further comprising entering a contribution toward the purchase price from the primary buyer computer.

3.	A method as in claim 1, further comprising identifying at the primary buyer computer at least one co payer from which proposed contributions are to be collected.

4.	A method as in claim 3, further comprising composing a solicitation letter at the primary buyer computer which contains a request for a contribution toward the purchase price and sending the letter to the copayer computer.

5.	A method as in claim 1, further comprising selecting the item from an inventory of items displayed at the primary buyer computer.

6.	A method as in claim 1, further comprising sending a notification to the primary buyer computer of any proposed contributions.

7.	A method as in claim 1, further comprising sending a notification to the primary buyer computer when the contribution meets or exceeds the purchase price.

8.	A method as in claim 7, further comprising confirming the selection from the primary buyer computer after receiving the notification.

9.	A method as in claim 8, wherein the proposed contribution is in the form of a credit purchase using a payment instrument, and further comprising authorizing charging of the payment instrument prior to accepting the amount.

10.	A method as in claim 9, further comprising collecting multiple proposed contributions using multiple payment instruments, and wherein the amount is accepted by charging the payment instruments only after authorizations to charge all of the payment instruments have been received.

11.	A method as in claim 1, further comprising delivering the ordered item to a recipient.

12.

A method for facilitating a purchase transaction, comprising : selecting from a primary buyer computer which is coupled to a network an item that is desired to be purchased by payment of a purchase price ; sending the selection of the item to one or more co payer computers over the network along with a request to contribute toward the purchase price ; collecting proposed contributions toward the purchase price from the copayer computers ; and accepting an amount of the proposed contributions sufficient to meet the purchase price.

13.	A method as in claim 12, further comprising collecting a contribution toward the purchase price from the primary buyer computer.

14.	A method as in claim 12, further comprising identifying at the primary buyer computer copayers who may wish to contribute to the purchase price.

15.	A method as in claim 14, further comprising composing a solicitation letter at the primary buyer computer which contains a request for a contribution toward the purchase price and sending the letter over the network to the copayer computers.

16.	A method as in claim 12, further comprising sending over the network a notification to the primary buyer computer of any proposed contributions.

17.	A method as in claim 12, further comprising sending over the network a notification to the primary buyer computer when the contributions meet or exceed the purchase price.

18.	A method as in claim 17, further comprising confirming the selection from the primary buyer computer after receiving the notification.

19.

A method as in claim 18, wherein the proposed contributions are in the form of a credit purchase using multiple different payment instruments, and further comprising sending authorization requests to banks or credit organizations who have authority to charge the payment instruments prior to accepting the amount.

20.	A method as in claim 19, wherein the amount is accepted by charging the payment instruments only after authorizations to charge all of the payment instruments have been received.

21.	A method as in claim 12, further comprising delivering the item to a recipient.

22.

A system for facilitating a purchase transaction, comprising : at least one network server computer which is adapted to be coupled to a network to allow the network server computer to communicate with a primary buyer computer and at least one copayer computer ; code to present a list of inventory items at the primary buyer computer to allow the primary buyer computer to select one of the items to purchase at a given purchase price ; code to send a message to the copayer computer requesting whether a contribution is to be made toward the purchase price of the item using a payment instrument ; code to determine when one or more proposed contributions toward the purchase price meets or exceeds the purchase price ; and code to send a command to charge the payment instrument (s) to pay the purchase price.

23.	A system as in claim 22, further comprising code to send over the network a notification to the primary buyer computer of any proposed contributions.

24.	A system as in claim 22, further comprising code to send over the network a notification to the primary buyer computer when the proposed contributions meet or exceed the purchase price.

25.	A system as in claim 24, further comprising code to send a confirmation of the selection from the primary buyer computer to the network server computer after receiving the notification to confirm that the item is to be purchased.

26.

A system as in claim 25, wherein the network server computer is also adapted to be coupled to at least one credit organization, wherein at least one of the proposed contributions involves a credit transaction, and further comprising code to contact the credit organization to authorize the charging of the payment instrument (s).

27.

A system as in claim 26, wherein the network server computer receives proposed contributions from multiple different payment instruments, and further comprising code to send the command to charge the payment instruments only after receiving authorization from the credit organization to charge all of the payment instruments.

28.

A method for facilitating a purchase transaction, comprising : at a merchant server computer, collecting multiple proposed contributions toward a purchase price of an item using multiple payment instruments ; sending from the merchant server computer requests for authorization to charge the payment instruments ; at the merchant server computer, collecting returned responses to the authorization requests ; sending from the merchant server computer commands to charge all of the payment instruments only if the responses indicate an authorization to charge all of the payment instruments.

29.

A method as in claim 28, wherein the payment instruments are selected from the group consisting of credit cards from different credit organizations, debit cards, smart cards, utility bills, credit accounts, billing services, electronic funds transfer, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and money market funds.

30.	A method as in claim 28, further comprising sending the proposed contributions to the merchant server computer from multiple copayer computers which are coupled to the merchant server computer over a network.

31.	A method as in claim 30, further comprising sending a list of proposed contributors to the merchant server computer from a primary buyer computer which is coupled to the network, and sending requests for proposed contributions to the copayer computers over the network.

32.	A method as in claim 28, further comprising sending the authorization requests to banks or credit organizations who have authority to charge the payment instruments.

33.

A method for facilitating a purchase transaction over a network of computers, the method comprising : receiving a selection of an item that is desired to be purchased by payment of a purchase price from a primary buyer computer ; collecting at least one proposed contribution toward the purchase price from at least one copayer computer ; and accepting an amount of the proposed contribution sufficient to meet the purchase price.

34.

A method as in claim 33, further comprising collecting multiple contributions from multiple copayer computers, wherein the proposed contributions are in the form of a credit purchase using multiple different payment instruments, and further comprising sending authorization requests to banks or credit organizations who have authority to charge the payment instruments prior to accepting the amount.

35.

A computer readable medium containing a program for transacting a sale over a network of computers comprising the steps of : receiving a selection of an item that is desired to be purchased by payment of a purchase price from a primary buyer computer ; collecting at least one proposed contribution toward the purchase price from at least one copayer computer ; and accepting an amount of the proposed contribution sufficient to meet the purchase price.