US Patent 7870039 Automatic product categorization

Techniques are provided for automatic product categorization. In one aspect, the categorization is based on text and one or more other values associated with a product offering. In another aspect, a first categorization of a product offering is performed and, if the product category chosen is in a set of co-refinable product categories, then a second (or third, fourth and so on) categorization is performed among the set of co-refinable product categories. In a third aspect, products are categorized based on cost. In another aspect, after products are categorized, the products are flagged for further categorization processing if the cost for categorizing the product is beyond a predefined threshold.