Method and apparatus for managing the sale of aging products
First Claim
1. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
- storing a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;
storing a customer identifier for identifying a customer;
storing an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;
storing a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected;
if the offer is effective, determining whether to accept the offer; and
if the offer is accepted, initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and utilizing the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A store controller stores a series of prices for a product and respective effective periods during which the prices are effective. A customer submits an offer to buy the product at an “offer price” that is one of the series of prices. The offer also has an offer period that elapses when the respective effective period of the product price elapses. The offer period thereby defines a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted. Each offer further specifies (i) a customer identifier for identifying the customer, and (ii) funds or a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds (typically the offer price) may be collected if the offer is accepted. The store controller then determines whether to accept the offer. If the offer is accepted, the store controller (i) initiates use of the payment identifier, if any, to collect the funds, and (ii) uses the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product. Thus, the customer pays for the product and the seller must deliver the product or otherwise inform the customer that the product has been sold to him.
12 Citations
53 Claims
-
1. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
-
storing a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;
storing a customer identifier for identifying a customer;
storing an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;
storing a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected;
if the offer is effective, determining whether to accept the offer; and
if the offer is accepted, initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and utilizing the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
-
a storage device; and
a processor connected to the storage device, the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;
a customer identifier for identifying a customer;
a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected; and
an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;
the processor operative with the program to determine whether to accept the offer if the offer is effective; and
if the offer is accepted, initiate use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and utilize the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
-
storing a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;
storing a customer identifier for identifying a customer;
storing an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;
receiving a collection identifier for specifying an amount of collected funds;
if the offer is effective, determining whether to accept the offer;
refunding the amount of collected funds if the offer is not accepted; and
utilizing the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product if the offer is accepted.
-
-
22. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
-
a storage device; and
a processor connected to the storage device, the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;
a customer identifier for identifying a customer; and
an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;
the processor operative with the program to receive a collection identifier for specifying an amount of collected funds;
determine whether to accept the offer if the offer is effective;
refund the amount of collected funds if the offer is not accepted; and
utilize the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product if the offer is accepted.
-
-
23. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
-
generating a customer identifier for identifying a customer;
selecting a price from a series of prices;
generating an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price which is the selected price;
generating a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected; and
transmitting the customer identifier, the offer and the payment identifier to a controller for storage. - View Dependent Claims (24)
-
-
25. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
-
a storage device; and
a processor connected to the storage device, the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
the processor operative with the program to generate a customer identifier for identifying a customer;
select a price from a series of prices;
generate an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price which is the selected price;
generate a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected; and
transmit the customer identifier, the offer and the payment identifier to a controller for storage. - View Dependent Claims (26)
-
-
27. A method for managing the sale of a plurality of products, comprising:
-
storing for each product a series of prices and effective periods, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;
storing inventory data for each product, including an indication of whether each product is available, storing a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to a product identifier for identifying a selected product of the plurality of products, an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices for the selected product, an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted, a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and a customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer;
identifying a group of offers which are effective; and
for each offer of the group of offers, determining if the selected product is available, and initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds if the selected product is available. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
-
-
31. An apparatus for managing the sale of a plurality of products, comprising:
-
a storage device; and
a processor connected to the storage device, the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
a series of prices and effective periods for each product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;
inventory data for each product, including an indication of whether each product is available, and a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to a product identifier for identifying a selected product of the plurality of products, an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices for the selected product, an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted, a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and a customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer;
the processor operative with the program to identify a group of offers which are effective; and
for each offer of the group of offers, determine if the selected product is available, and initiate use of the payment identifier to collect the funds if the selected product is available. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34)
-
-
35. A method for managing the sale of a product selected from a plurality of products, comprising:
-
storing a series of prices and effective periods for the selected product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;
storing a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to a product identifier for identifying one of the plurality of products, an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted, a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and a customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer;
identifying a group of offers which are effective and correspond to the selected product; and
for each offer of the group of offers, initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39)
-
-
40. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product selected from a plurality of products, comprising:
-
a storage device; and
a processor connected to the storage device, the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
a series of prices and effective periods for the selected product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective; and
a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to a product identifier for identifying one of the plurality of products, an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted, a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and a customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer;
the processor operative with the program to identify a group of offers which are effective and correspond to the selected product; and
for each offer of the group of offers, initiate use of the payment identifier to collect the funds. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44)
-
-
45. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
-
storing a first price and a second price, the second price being lower than the first price;
storing a first effective period at which the first price is effective;
storing a second effective period at which the second price is effective, the second effective period starting after the corresponding first effective period ends;
storing an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price which is one selected from the group consisting of the first price and the second price, and an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;
storing a customer identifier for identifying a customer;
storing a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected;
generating an acceptance signal if the offer period is effective; and
if an acceptance signal is generated, initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and utilizing the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the selected product.
-
-
46. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
-
a storage device; and
a processor connected to the storage device, the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
a first price;
a second price lower than the first price;
a first effective period at which the first price is effective;
a second effective period at which the second price is effective, the second effective period starting after the corresponding first effective period ends;
an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price which is one selected from the group consisting of the first price and the second price, and an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;
a customer identifier for identifying a customer; and
a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected;
the processor operative with the program to generate an acceptance signal if the offer period is effective; and
if an acceptance signal is generated, initiate use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and utilize the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the selected product.
-
-
47. A method of purchasing a product, comprising:
-
receiving a series of prices for a product, the series of prices established by a seller, each price having an effective period;
submitting an offer to purchase the product, the offer including an offer price selected from the series of prices, the effective period corresponding to the offer price, and a payment identifier including authorization to use the payment identifier to collect the offer price if the offer is accepted; and
if the offer is accepted, accepting a charge based on the payment identifier for the offer price, and receiving the product.
-
-
48. A method for selling a product, comprising:
-
advertising a series of special prices for the product, each of the special prices having an effective time period associated therewith;
receiving at least one offer for the product, the offer identifying one of the series of special prices and the corresponding effective time period;
continuing to sell the product at a list price while performing the receiving and storing steps, thereby establishing a source of alternate demand for the product; and
periodically reviewing the at least one offer to determine whether to accept the at least one offer. - View Dependent Claims (49)
-
-
50. A method of establishing prices for a product, comprising:
-
Setting a series of progressively decreasing prices for the product, each of the series of progressively decreasing prices including an effective time period;
printing the series of progressively decreasing prices and displaying the printed series in association with a display of the product;
accepting for storage at least one offer for the product, including one of the progressively decreasing prices and the included effective time period, and a payment identifier guaranteeing payment for the one price if the offer is accepted; and
accepting the at least one offer including utilizing the payment identifier to collect the one price. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52)
-
-
53. A method for calculating a price for a product, comprising:
-
establishing a list price at which the product may be purchased;
publishing at least one offer price for the product, the offer price being less than the list price, the offer price effective for submitting an offer for the product, the offer acceptable at a future date and at the discretion of the seller;
receiving at least one offer at the offer price;
storing the at least one offer;
adjusting the list price in dependence on the received at least one offer; and
accepting at least one of the at least one offer for the sale of the product.
-
Specification