System and method for purchasing a prepaid debit account

• US 9,922,368 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2016
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GiftCodes.com, LLC
• Original Assignee: GiftCodes.com, LLC
• Inventors: Wolfe, Jason, Allen, Shawn D.
• Primary Examiner(s): FRANKLIN, JAMARA ALZAIDA
• Application Number:
  US15/138,342
• Publication Number:
  US 20160239909A1
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• Field of Search: 705 37, 705 5, 705 263, 705 261, 705 35, 705 11, 705 39, 705 1423, 705 80, 705 264, 705 1451, 705 44, 235379, 235380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/42 for ticket printing or like apparatus , e.g. apparatus for dispensing of printed paper tickets or payment cards

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for auctioning gift cards on the secondary market. The system can receive a prepaid debit account for resale from an owner and determine a face value for the prepaid debit account. The system can establish a floor price and offer the prepaid debit account for sale via an auction, starting at an initial price above the floor price and up to and including the face value, and can decrement the sale price at regular time intervals. The system can end the auction when a purchaser purchases the prepaid debit account at the decremented price. However, if no purchaser purchases the prepaid debit account before the decremented price is below the floor price, the system can purchase the prepaid debit account from the owner for the floor price. The system can store the prepaid debit account in an inventory for resale.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a prepaid debit account for sale from an owner of the prepaid debit account;

determining, via a processor, a face value for the prepaid debit account;

based on the face value, establishing a floor price;

offering the prepaid debit account for sale via an auction, wherein the prepaid debit account is offered for sale at an initial price above the floor price and up to and including the face value, and wherein the initial price is decremented at time intervals to yield a decremented price; and

if no purchaser purchases the prepaid debit account before the decremented price is below a threshold based on the floor price, purchasing the prepaid debit account from the owner for the floor price.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the prepaid debit account is associated with one of a physical gift card, a virtual gift card, a gift certificate, an electronic gift card and a gift code.

3. The method of claim 1, where the prepaid debit account is one of an open loop account and a closed loop account.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the face value for the prepaid debit account comprises querying an administrator regarding the prepaid debit account.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing an auction parameter associated with the auction.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a minimum set of auction parameters; and

presenting a preview to the owner of the prepaid debit account prior to offering the prepaid debit account for sale via the auction.

7. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable computer medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving a prepaid debit account for sale from an owner of the prepaid debit account;

determining a face value for the prepaid debit account;

based on the face value, establishing a floor price;

offering the prepaid debit account for sale via an auction, wherein the prepaid debit account is offered for sale at an initial price above the floor price and up to and including the face value, and wherein the initial price is decremented at time intervals to yield a decremented price; and

if no purchaser purchases the prepaid debit account before the decremented price is below a threshold based on the floor price, purchasing the prepaid debit account from the owner for the floor price.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the prepaid debit account is associated with one of a physical gift card, a virtual gift card, a gift certificate, an electronic gift card and a gift code.

9. The system of claim 7, where the prepaid debit account is one of an open loop account and a closed loop account.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein determining the face value for the prepaid debit account comprises querying an administrator of the prepaid debit account.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the computer-readable computer medium stores additional instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

establishing at least one auction parameter associated with the auction.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the computer-readable computer medium stores additional instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

establishing a minimum set of auction parameters; and

presenting a preview to the owner of the prepaid debit account prior to offering the prepaid debit account for sale via the auction.

13. A computer-readable computer storage device storing additional instructions which, when executed by processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a prepaid debit account for sale from an owner of the prepaid debit account;

determining a face value for the prepaid debit account;

based on the face value, establishing a floor price;

offering the prepaid debit account for sale via an auction, wherein the prepaid debit account is offered for sale at an initial price above the floor price and up to and including the face value, and wherein the initial price is decremented at time intervals to yield a decremented price; and

if no purchaser purchases the prepaid debit account before the decremented price is below a threshold based on the floor price, purchasing the prepaid debit account from the owner for the floor price.

14. The computer-readable computer storage device of claim 13, wherein the prepaid debit account is associated with one of a physical gift card, a virtual gift card, a gift certificate, an electronic gift card and a gift code.

15. The computer-readable computer storage device of claim 13, where the prepaid debit account is one of an open loop account and a closed loop account.

16. The computer-readable computer storage device of claim 13, wherein determining the face value for the prepaid debit account comprises querying an administrator of the prepaid debit account.

17. The computer-readable computer storage device of claim 13, wherein the computer-readable computer storage device stores additional instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

establishing at least one auction parameter associated with the auction.

18. The computer-readable computer storage device of claim 13, wherein the computer-readable computer storage device stores additional instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

establishing a minimum set of auction parameters; and

presenting a preview to the owner of the prepaid debit account prior to offering the prepaid debit account for sale via the auction.