Method and system for facilitating shipping via third-party payment service
First Claim
1. A method for enabling, via a third party payment service, a first party to arrange for shipment of a package to a second party via a shipping vendor, the method comprising:
- receiving, by the third-party payment service, a request from the first party to arrange for shipment of the package;
receiving shipping information entered by the first party, via a first computer interface provided by the third-party payment service;
providing a second computer interface by the third party payment service that functions as a proxy to enable a user to obtain, using the second computer interface, a shipping account with the shipping vendor;
determining, via the second computer interface, whether the first party has a shipping account;
responsive to determining that the first party does not have a shipping account, setting up, through the third party payment service, the first party'"'"'s shipping account with the shipping vendor, the setting up to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor;
arranging, by the third-party payment service, for the shipment of the package through the shipping vendor to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor; and
facilitating payment from the first party to the shipping vendor for the shipment via the third-party payment service, the facilitating payment to the shipping vendor, by the third-party payment service, to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An integrated shipping scheme enables seller users of a third-party payment service to facilitate shipping transactions in connection with payment transactions for items sold by the sellers. Shipping information is automatically gathered and/or entered by the seller via a computer interface hosted by the third-party payment service and sent “behind the scenes” to a selected shipping vendor. The shipping vendor processes the shipping information, and returns shipment data, including data to generate a shipping label. A web page containing the shipping label is then generated and served to a client operated by the seller and displayed on a browser screen, enabling the shipping label to be printed out by the seller. At the same time, electronic payment transfer operations are performed to effectively transfer payment from the seller directly to the shipping vendor via the third-party payment service in a manner that is transparent to both the seller and the shipping vendor.
56 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for enabling, via a third party payment service, a first party to arrange for shipment of a package to a second party via a shipping vendor, the method comprising:
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receiving, by the third-party payment service, a request from the first party to arrange for shipment of the package; receiving shipping information entered by the first party, via a first computer interface provided by the third-party payment service; providing a second computer interface by the third party payment service that functions as a proxy to enable a user to obtain, using the second computer interface, a shipping account with the shipping vendor; determining, via the second computer interface, whether the first party has a shipping account; responsive to determining that the first party does not have a shipping account, setting up, through the third party payment service, the first party'"'"'s shipping account with the shipping vendor, the setting up to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor; arranging, by the third-party payment service, for the shipment of the package through the shipping vendor to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor; and facilitating payment from the first party to the shipping vendor for the shipment via the third-party payment service, the facilitating payment to the shipping vendor, by the third-party payment service, to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for enabling a first party to arrange, via a third party payment service, shipment by a shipping vendor of an item to a buyer, the system comprising:
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means for receiving, by the third-party payment service, a request from the first party to arrange for shipment of the package; means for receiving shipping information entered by the first party, via a first computer interface provided by the third-party payment service; means for providing a second computer interface by the third party payment service that functions as a proxy to enable a user to obtain, using the second computer interface, a shipping account with the shipping vendor; means for determining, via the second computer interface, whether the first party has a shipping account; means responsive to determining that the first party does not have a shipping account, setting up, through the third party payment service, the first party'"'"'s shipping account with the shipping vendor, the setting up to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor; means for arranging, by the third-party payment service, for the shipment of the package through the shipping vendor to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor; and means for transferring payment for the shipment from the from the first party to the shipping vendor by the third-party payment service, the payment by the third-party payment service to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device having embedded therein a set of instruction which, when executed by one or more processors of said computer causes said computer to execute operations enabling, via a third party payment service, a first party to arrange for shipment of a package to a second party via a shipping vendor, the operations comprising:
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receiving, by the third-party payment service, a request from the first party to arrange for shipment of the package; receiving shipping information entered by the first party, via a first computer interface provided by the third-party payment service; providing a second computer interface by the third party payment service that functions as a proxy to enable a user to obtain, using the second computer interface, a shipping account with the shipping vendor; determining, via the second computer interface, whether the first party has a shipping account; responsive to determining that the first party does not have a shipping account, setting up, through the third party payment service, the first party'"'"'s shipping account with the shipping vendor, the setting up to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor; arranging, by the third-party payment service, for the shipment of the package through the shipping vendor to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor; and facilitating payment from the first party to the shipping vendor for the shipment via the third-party payment service, the facilitating payment to the shipping vendor, by the third-party payment service, to appear to the shipping vendor as if the first party directly accesses on-line facilities hosted by the shipping vendor. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification