Method and apparatus for shipping mail and packages
First Claim
1. A method for facilitating shipping, comprising:
- in a computer system, automatically detecting that a user has obtained a shipping label for a shipment;
obtaining shipping information associated with said shipping label; and
based on said shipping information, automatically scheduling a pick-up service to obtain said shipment from said user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for facilitating shipping pick-up services and managing shipping information. A customer may register with a shipping information management system (SIMS) to provide customer preferences and billing information to enable transparent shipping services with the SIMS. When a customer purchases postage electronically, an application on the customer'"'"'s computer detects postage printing activities and extracts shipping information. The extracted shipping information is transmitted to a SIMS server, from which pick-up instructions are automatically issued to a pick-up service provider. Payment for the pick-up service may be verified at the time the pick-up instruction is issued. The SIMS apparatus may also provide tracking status to customers, as well as shipping information data-mining services to shipping service providers.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method for facilitating shipping, comprising:
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in a computer system, automatically detecting that a user has obtained a shipping label for a shipment;
obtaining shipping information associated with said shipping label; and
based on said shipping information, automatically scheduling a pick-up service to obtain said shipment from said user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An apparatus comprising:
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user computer program code executing in a user computer;
server computer program code executing in a server computer;
wherein said user computer program code is configured to;
automatically detect that a user has obtained a shipping label for a shipment;
obtain shipping information associated with said shipping label; and
transmit said shipping information to said server computer;
wherein said server computer program code is configured to automatically schedule a pick-up service to obtain said shipment from said user. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification