Method and apparatus for certified secondary market inventory management

• US 7,945,487 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2007
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arrow Electronics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Arrow Electronics Incorporated
• Inventors: Brown, John P., Ruef, Josef T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith; Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): ZUKANOVICH, BRANDY A
• Application Number:
  US11/727,951
• Publication Number:
  US 20080243704A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,510 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/27.1
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/383 Anonymous user system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A certified secondary market inventory platform maintains a certified catalog of items for sale on a secondary market. Certified items are tracked by the platform and have a verified chain of custody between the manufacturer and the current owner. The certified catalog of items is presented anonymously, such that current owners of certified items are not revealed to potential buyers. Anonymity also extends to fulfillment, with shipment of a certified item to a buyer being performed without revealing the buyer and the current owner to each other. Verification of the chain of custody may, for example, include evidence such as a goods-received note corresponding to a shipment of the certified item from the manufacturer to the current owner, or a shipping notification from the manufacturer. A physical audit may also be conducted in association with publication of the certified catalog of items, as a pre-requisite for such publication.

Claims

1. A method for presenting certified secondary market inventory, the method comprising:

maintaining, by a computer, a certified catalog of items for sale on a secondary market, wherein the certified catalog of items includes at least one certified item available from a current owner, the certified item being associated with item identification information and having a chain of custody between the manufacturer of the certified item and the current owner;

verifying the chain of custody between the manufacturer of the certified item and the current owner prior to presenting the certified item as available in the certified catalog of items;

presenting, by a computer, available certified items in the certified catalog anonymously, such that the current owner of the certified item is not revealed to potential buyers; and

fulfilling a transaction involving the certified item by accommodating shipment of the certified item to a given buyer without revealing the given buyer and the current owner to each other in association with the fulfillment of the transaction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the verified chain of custody includes evidence comprising a goods-received note corresponding to a shipment of the certified item from the manufacturer to the current owner.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the evidence comprises a shipping notification from the manufacturer, corresponding to the goods received note.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a security status is accorded to each individual certified item based upon the evidenced chain of custody.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the item identification information includes a unique identifier that is associated with items made available in the certified listing of items.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the item identification information includes a part identification code and manufacturer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a payment from the buyer and sending another payment to the seller for the certified item, without revealing the identity of the buyer and the seller to each other.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein verifying the chain of custody comprises:

prompting a physical audit of the certified item at a location of the seller, wherein the physical audit verifies the physical presence of the items and obtains information used to verify chain of custody.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the presentation of certified items implements dynamically updated search results corresponding to queries regarding published inventory items without requiring separate page loads.

10. A system for presenting certified secondary market inventory, the system comprising:

means for maintaining a certified catalog of items for sale on a secondary market, wherein the certified catalog of items includes at least one certified item available from a current owner, the certified item being associated with item identification information and having a chain of custody between the manufacturer of the certified item and the current owner;

means for verifying the chain of custody between the manufacturer of the certified item and the current owner prior to presenting the certified item as available in the certified catalog of items;

means for presenting available certified items in the certified catalog anonymously, such that the current owner of the certified item is not revealed to potential buyers; and

means for fulfilling a transaction involving the certified item by accommodating shipment of the certified item to a given buyer without revealing the given buyer and the current owner to each other in association with the fulfillment of the transaction.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the verified chain of custody includes evidence comprising a goods-received note corresponding to a shipment of the certified item from the manufacturer to the current owner.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the evidence comprises a shipping notification from the manufacturer, corresponding to the goods received note.

13. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

means for prompting a physical audit of the certified item at a location of the seller prior to presenting the certified item as available in the certified catalog of items, wherein the physical audit verifies the physical presence of the items and obtains information used to verify chain of custody.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the presentation of certified items implements dynamically updated search results corresponding to queries regarding published inventory items without requiring separate page loads.

15. A method for selling items on a certified secondary market platform, the method comprising:

making at least one certified item available for presentation in a certified catalog of items for sale on a secondary market as a current owner of the certified item, wherein the certified item is associated with item identification information and having a verified chain of custody between the manufacturer of the certified item and the current owner, wherein the verification of the chain of custody between the manufacturer of the certified item and the current owner occurs prior to making the at least one certified item available for presentation in a certified catalog of items and wherein available certified items are presented in the certified catalog anonymously, such that the current owner of the certified item is not revealed to potential buyers; and

accommodating fulfillment of a transaction involving the certified item by receiving instructions corresponding to the transaction and making the certified item available to a shipper that ships the certified item to a given buyer without revealing the given buyer and the current owner to each other in association with the fulfillment of the transaction.

16. A method for buying items on a certified secondary market platform, the method comprising:

accessing a certified catalog of certified items for sale on a secondary market, wherein the certified catalog of items includes at least one certified item available from a current owner, wherein the certified item is associated with item identification information and having a verified chain of custody between the manufacturer of the certified item and the current owner, wherein the verification of the chain of custody between the manufacturer of the certified item and the current owner occurs prior to the at least one certified item being made available for presentation in the certified catalog of items, and wherein the available certified items are presented in the certified catalog anonymously, such that the current owner of the certified item is not revealed to potential buyers;

selecting the certified item for purchase; and

submitting payment for the certified item to a provider of the certified secondary market platform, pursuant to fulfilling a transaction involving the certified item without receiving an identification of the current owner in association with the fulfillment of the transaction.