Buyer-initiated shipping system
First Claim
1. A method in which a buyer can obtain goods from a seller via a shipping service provider, said method comprising the following steps:
- establishing a relationship between said buyer and said shipping service provider in which said shipping service provider will transfer a shipping label to a designated location, said shipping label including buyer shipping information;
facilitating a transaction between said buyer and said seller in which said seller agrees to ship said goods to said buyer;
transferring buyer shipping information from said buyer to said shipping service provider, said buyer shipping information configured to facilitate, at least in part, the shipment of said goods to said buyer;
facilitating the creation of a shipping label by said shipping service provider, said shipping label configured to facilitate the shipment of said goods to said buyer; and
transferring said shipping label from said shipping service provider to said seller such that said seller can use said label to facilitate shipment of said goods to said buyer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method in which a buyer registers for a buyer'"'"'s shipping account and uses the shipping account to pay shipping costs associated with purchases made over the Internet. When a buyer purchases merchandise over the Internet from either a retailer'"'"'s website or from an individual through an online auction, the buyer is capable of controlling the shipping process by logging on to their buyer'"'"'s shipping account. Among other things, the buyer can use their shipping account to select the desired type of shipping service (overnight air or ground) and populate a shipping label with shipping information such as delivery address, return address, and preferred delivery time windows. Once the shipping label has been populated and verified, the shipping label is electronically transferred to the seller for use in shipping the package. The system and methods of the present invention allow the buyer greater control over the shipping process. In many cases, the present invention will also help buyers/receivers control costs by eliminating the shipper'"'"'s shipping and handling fee.
92 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method in which a buyer can obtain goods from a seller via a shipping service provider, said method comprising the following steps:
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establishing a relationship between said buyer and said shipping service provider in which said shipping service provider will transfer a shipping label to a designated location, said shipping label including buyer shipping information;
facilitating a transaction between said buyer and said seller in which said seller agrees to ship said goods to said buyer;
transferring buyer shipping information from said buyer to said shipping service provider, said buyer shipping information configured to facilitate, at least in part, the shipment of said goods to said buyer;
facilitating the creation of a shipping label by said shipping service provider, said shipping label configured to facilitate the shipment of said goods to said buyer; and
transferring said shipping label from said shipping service provider to said seller such that said seller can use said label to facilitate shipment of said goods to said buyer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system by which a buyer can create and purchase a shipping label from a shipping service provider for use by a seller in connection with the delivery of goods purchased over the Internet, comprising:
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a shipping subscription system operative to create a buyers shipping account in which a buyer can prepurchase one or more shipping services;
an online-shopping system in which said buyer can purchase one or more goods from said seller; and
a transaction management system, associated with said buyers shipping account, that is accessible to said buyer when using said online-shopping system; and
includesa user interface configured to allow said buyer to input data needed to prepare a shipping label for shipping said one or more goods bought from said seller;
said transaction management system further configured to create a file containing a pre-populated shipping label and transfer said file to said seller for use in the delivery of said goods purchased via said online-shopping system. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system by which a buyer can create and purchase a shipping label from a shipping service provider for use by a seller in connection with the delivery of goods purchased over the Internet, comprising:
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a shipping subscription system operative to create a buyers shipping account in which a buyer can arrange for direct payment of shipping services with said shipping service provider;
an online-shopping system in which said buyer can purchase one or more goods from said seller; and
a transaction management system, associated with said buyers shipping account, that is accessible to said buyer when using said online-shopping system; and
includesa user interface configured to allow said buyer to input data needed to prepare a shipping label for shipping said one or more goods bought from said seller;
said transaction management system further configured to create a file containing a pre-populated shipping label and transfer said file to said seller for use in the delivery of said goods purchased via said online-shopping system. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method in which a buyer can create and purchase a shipping label from a shipping service provider for use by a seller in connection with the delivery of goods, comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a shipping account between said buyer and said shipping service provider;
(b) conducting a transaction between said buyer and said seller;
(c) transferring shipping-related data from the buyer to the shipping service provider to facilitate the creation of a shipping label; and
(d) transferring said shipping label to said seller. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification