Electronic registration systems for processing variable or multiple return/warranty policies, and associated methods
First Claim
1. A method of processing a product at a point-of-sale (POS) location, the method comprising:
- identifying the product at the POS location;
retrieving return/warranty information from an electronic registration (ER) database, the return/warranty information indicating a first time period during which a refund is acceptable, a second time period during which product replacement is acceptable, and a third time period during which pro-rata product exchange is acceptable;
determining whether the processing is taking place during the first, second, or third time period;
when the processing is taking place during the first time period, providing the refund or a replacement product;
when the processing is taking place during the second time period, providing a replacement product;
when the processing is taking place during the third time period, providing an amount of credit for the subsequent purchase of a replacement product, the amount of credit being relative to when the processing is taking place in the third time period;
when the processing is taking place beyond the third time period, denying any return/warranty request;
updating the ER database to reflect a refund, replacement product, or pro-rata exchange; and
when a replacement product is provided, associating, in the ER database, at least some information pertaining to the product with the replacement product.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The exemplary embodiments described herein relate to the field of electronic registration (ER) of purchased products and, more particularly, to an improved electronic registration system that enables variable or multiple return/warranty policies to be processed. In certain exemplary embodiments, at least some transaction information corresponding to an originally purchased product is selectively provided to replacement products provided as a part of a return/warranty request. Thus, it is possible in certain exemplary embodiments to make sure that a return/warranty policy'"'"'s terms and/or conditions are managed consistently and effectively, even though one or more replacement products may be provided during the lifetime of the policy. In an example variable policy, no refunds are available past a first time period, no exchanges are available past a second time period, and only pro-rata exchanges are available in a third time period, with the periods being fixed regardless of how many times a product has been replaced.
148 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A method of processing a product at a point-of-sale (POS) location, the method comprising:
-
identifying the product at the POS location; retrieving return/warranty information from an electronic registration (ER) database, the return/warranty information indicating a first time period during which a refund is acceptable, a second time period during which product replacement is acceptable, and a third time period during which pro-rata product exchange is acceptable; determining whether the processing is taking place during the first, second, or third time period; when the processing is taking place during the first time period, providing the refund or a replacement product; when the processing is taking place during the second time period, providing a replacement product; when the processing is taking place during the third time period, providing an amount of credit for the subsequent purchase of a replacement product, the amount of credit being relative to when the processing is taking place in the third time period; when the processing is taking place beyond the third time period, denying any return/warranty request; updating the ER database to reflect a refund, replacement product, or pro-rata exchange; and when a replacement product is provided, associating, in the ER database, at least some information pertaining to the product with the replacement product. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method of managing an electronic registration (ER) system including an ER database, the method comprising:
-
populating the ER database with information corresponding to a plurality of products; updating the ER database as products are sold, the ER database including a unique identifier for the product and an original transaction date corresponding to the sale; identifying an already-purchased product presented for return or exchange at a point-of-sale (POS) location; determining terms and/or conditions for the return or exchange based on the original transaction date stored in the ER database and associated with the product; providing a refund or replacement product when doing so is acceptable within the terms and/or conditions; and when a replacement product is provided, updating the ER database so that an original transaction date for the replacement product corresponds to the original transaction date for the already-purchased product for at least some of the terms and/or conditions. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. An electronic registration (ER) system, comprising:
-
an ER database including information corresponding to a plurality of products, the ER database being updated by the ER system as products are sold to reflect an original transaction date corresponding to the sale; and a return validation subsystem configured to; identify an already-purchased product presented for return or exchange at a point-of-sale (POS) location; determine terms and/or conditions for the return or exchange based on the original transaction date stored in the ER database and associated with the product; send a message to the POS location authorizing a refund or replacement product to be provided when doing so is acceptable within the terms and/or conditions; and when a replacement product is provided, update the ER database so that an original transaction date for the replacement product corresponds to the original transaction date for the already-purchased product for at least some of the terms and/or conditions. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
-
Specification