Method and apparatus for managing the sale of aging products

Abstract

A store controller stores a series of prices for a product and respective effective periods during which the prices are effective. A customer submits an offer to buy the product at an “offer price” that is one of the series of prices. The offer also has an offer period that elapses when the respective effective period of the product price elapses. The offer period thereby defines a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted. Each offer further specifies (i) a customer identifier for identifying the customer, and (ii) funds or a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds (typically the offer price) may be collected if the offer is accepted. The store controller then determines whether to accept the offer. If the offer is accepted, the store controller (i) initiates use of the payment identifier, if any, to collect the funds, and (ii) uses the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product. Thus, the customer pays for the product and the seller must deliver the product or otherwise inform the customer that the product has been sold to him.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising: 
 storing a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;    storing a customer identifier for identifying a customer;    storing an offer for the product, the offer including 
 an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;  
   storing a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected;    if the offer is effective, determining whether to accept the offer; and    if the offer is accepted, 
 initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and  
 utilizing the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product.  
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 storing an inventory signal indicative of whether the product is available.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of determining is performed only if the inventory signal indicates that the product is available.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising: 
 deleting the offer if the inventory signal indicates that the product is not available.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of storing the inventory signal comprises: 
 storing a first inventory signal indicative of whether the product is available from a first seller, and    storing a second inventory signal indicative of whether the product is available from a second seller.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of storing the inventory signal comprises storing an inventory signal indicative of a quantity of the product.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of determining is performed only if the inventory signal indicates that the quantity is greater than a predetermined amount.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 deleting the offer after the offer period has elapsed.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the effective periods are sorted such that each effective period increases in comparison to the previous effective period.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein each price decreases in comparison to the previous price as the effective periods increase in comparison to each previous effective period.  
     
     
         11 . An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising: 
 a storage device; and    a processor connected to the storage device,    the storage device storing 
 a program for controlling the processor;  
 a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;  
 a customer identifier for identifying a customer;  
 a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected; and  
 an offer for the product, the offer including 
 an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;  
 
   the processor operative with the program to 
 determine whether to accept the offer if the offer is effective; and  
 if the offer is accepted, 
 initiate use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and  
 utilize the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product.  
 
   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the storage device further stores an inventory signal indicative of whether the product is available.  
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further operative with the program to determine whether to accept the offer only if the inventory signal indicates that the product is available.  
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further operative with the program to: 
 delete the offer if the inventory signal indicates that the product is not available.    
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein inventory signal comprises: 
 a first inventory signal indicative of whether the product is available from a first seller, and    a second inventory signal indicative of whether the product is available from a second seller.    
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the inventory signal is indicative of a quantity of the product.  
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the processor is further operative with the program to determine whether to accept the offer only if the inventory signal indicates that the quantity is greater than a predetermined amount.  
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further operative with the program to: 
 delete the offer after the offer period has elapsed.    
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the effective periods are sorted such that each effective period increases in comparison to the previous effective period.  
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein each price decreases in comparison to the previous price as the effective periods increase in comparison to each previous effective period.  
     
     
         21 . A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising: 
 storing a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;    storing a customer identifier for identifying a customer;    storing an offer for the product, the offer including 
 an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;  
   receiving a collection identifier for specifying an amount of collected funds;    if the offer is effective, determining whether to accept the offer;    refunding the amount of collected funds if the offer is not accepted; and    utilizing the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product if the offer is accepted.    
     
     
         22 . An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising: 
 a storage device; and    a processor connected to the storage device,    the storage device storing 
 a program for controlling the processor;  
 a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;  
 a customer identifier for identifying a customer; and  
 an offer for the product, the offer including 
 an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;  
 
   the processor operative with the program to 
 receive a collection identifier for specifying an amount of collected funds;  
 determine whether to accept the offer if the offer is effective;  
 refund the amount of collected funds if the offer is not accepted; and  
 utilize the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the product if the offer is accepted.  
   
     
     
         23 . A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising: 
 generating a customer identifier for identifying a customer;    selecting a price from a series of prices;    generating an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price which is the selected price;    generating a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected; and    transmitting the customer identifier, the offer and the payment identifier to a controller for storage.    
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the stored offer further includes an offer period during which the offer is effective.  
     
     
         25 . An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising: 
 a storage device; and    a processor connected to the storage device,    the storage device storing 
 a program for controlling the processor;  
   the processor operative with the program to 
 generate a customer identifier for identifying a customer;  
 select a price from a series of prices;  
 generate an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price which is the selected price;  
 generate a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected; and  
 transmit the customer identifier, the offer and the payment identifier to a controller for storage.  
   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the stored offer further includes an offer period during which the offer is effective.  
     
     
         27 . A method for managing the sale of a plurality of products, comprising: 
 storing for each product a series of prices and effective periods, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;    storing inventory data for each product, including an indication of whether each product is available,    storing a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to 
 a product identifier for identifying a selected product of the plurality of products,  
 an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices for the selected product,  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted,  
 a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and  
 a customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer;  
   identifying a group of offers which are effective; and    for each offer of the group of offers, 
 determining if the selected product is available, and  
 initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds if the selected product is available.  
   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising: 
 for each offer of the group of offers, initiating use of the customer identifier to deliver the selected product to the customer if the selected product is available.    
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the step of determining if the selected product is available comprises searching each of a plurality of inventory databases, each inventory database storing inventory data for at least one store.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the step of identifying a group of offers further comprises identifying a group of offers which are effective and cannot be accepted after a predetermined date.  
     
     
         31 . An apparatus for managing the sale of a plurality of products, comprising: 
 a storage device; and    a processor connected to the storage device,    the storage device storing 
 a program for controlling the processor;  
 a series of prices and effective periods for each product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;  
 inventory data for each product, including an indication of whether each product is available, and  
 a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to 
 a product identifier for identifying a selected product of the plurality of products,  
 an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices for the selected product,  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted,  
 a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and  
 a customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer;  
 
   the processor operative with the program to 
 identify a group of offers which are effective; and  
 for each offer of the group of offers, 
 determine if the selected product is available, and  
 initiate use of the payment identifier to collect the funds if the selected product is available.  
 
   
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , the processor further operative with the program to: for each offer of the group of offers, initiate use of the customer identifier to deliver the selected product to the customer if the selected product is available.  
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , the storage device further storing a plurality of inventory databases, each inventory database storing inventory data for at least one store; 
 the processor further operative with the program to: 
 search each of the plurality of inventory databases in order to determine if the selected product is available.  
   
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , the processor further operative with the program to identify a group of offers which are effective and cannot be accepted after a predetermined date.  
     
     
         35 . A method for managing the sale of a product selected from a plurality of products, comprising: 
 storing a series of prices and effective periods for the selected product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective;    storing a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to 
 a product identifier for identifying one of the plurality of products,  
 an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices,  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted,  
 a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and  
 a customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer;  
   identifying a group of offers which are effective and correspond to the selected product; and    for each offer of the group of offers, initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds.    
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , further comprising: 
 for each offer of the group of offers, initiating use of the customer identifier to deliver the selected product to the customer.    
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 35 , further comprising: 
 determining if the selected product is available.    
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the step of initiating use of the payment identifier is performed only if the product is available.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the step of storing the plurality of offers comprises: 
 storing a first set of offers in a first database and a second set of offers in a second database; and wherein the step of identifying a group of offers comprises:    identifying a group of offers from the first set of offers which correspond to the selected product and are effective; and    if no offers correspond to the selected product, 
 identifying a group of offers from the second set of offers which correspond to the selected product and are effective.  
   
     
     
         40 . An apparatus for managing the sale of a product selected from a plurality of products, comprising: 
 a storage device; and    a processor connected to the storage device,    the storage device storing 
 a program for controlling the processor;  
 a series of prices and effective periods for the selected product, each price having a respective effective period during which the price is effective; and  
 a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to 
 a product identifier for identifying one of the plurality of products,  
 an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices,  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted,  
 a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and  
 a customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer;  
 
   the processor operative with the program to 
 identify a group of offers which are effective and correspond to the selected product; and  
 for each offer of the group of offers, initiate use of the payment identifier to collect the funds.  
   
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 40 , the processor further operative with the program to: 
 for each offer of the group of offers, initiate use of the customer identifier to deliver the selected product to the customer.    
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 40 , the processor further operative with the program to: 
 determine if the selected product is available.    
     
     
         43 . The apparatus of  claim 42 , the processor further operative with the program to: 
 initiate use of the payment identifier only if the product is available.    
     
     
         44 . The apparatus of  claim 40 , the storage device further storing: 
 a first set of offers in a first database, and    a second set of offers in a second database;    the processor further operative with the program to: 
 identify a group of offers from the first set of offers which correspond to the selected product and are effective; and  
 if no offers correspond to the selected product,  
 identify a group of offers from the second set of offers which correspond to the selected product and are effective.  
   
     
     
         45 . A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising: 
 storing a first price and a second price, the second price being lower than the first price;    storing a first effective period at which the first price is effective;    storing a second effective period at which the second price is effective, the second effective period starting after the corresponding first effective period ends;    storing an offer for the product, the offer including 
 an offer price which is one selected from the group consisting of the first price and the second price, and  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;  
   storing a customer identifier for identifying a customer;    storing a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected;    generating an acceptance signal if the offer period is effective; and    if an acceptance signal is generated, 
 initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and  
 utilizing the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the selected product.  
   
     
     
         46 . An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising: 
 a storage device; and    a processor connected to the storage device,    the storage device storing 
 a program for controlling the processor;  
 a first price;  
 a second price lower than the first price;  
 a first effective period at which the first price is effective;  
 a second effective period at which the second price is effective, the second effective period starting after the corresponding first effective period ends;  
 an offer for the product, the offer including 
 an offer price which is one selected from the group consisting of the first price and the second price, and  
 an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted;  
 
 a customer identifier for identifying a customer; and  
 a payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be collected;  
   the processor operative with the program to 
 generate an acceptance signal if the offer period is effective; and  
 if an acceptance signal is generated, 
 initiate use of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and  
 utilize the customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the selected product.  
 
   
     
     
         47 . A method of purchasing a product, comprising: 
 receiving a series of prices for a product, the series of prices established by a seller, each price having an effective period;    submitting an offer to purchase the product, the offer including 
 an offer price selected from the series of prices,  
 the effective period corresponding to the offer price, and  
 a payment identifier including authorization to use the payment identifier to collect the offer price if the offer is accepted; and  
   if the offer is accepted, 
 accepting a charge based on the payment identifier for the offer price, and  
 receiving the product.  
   
     
     
         48 . A method for selling a product, comprising: 
 advertising a series of special prices for the product, each of the special prices having an effective time period associated therewith;    receiving at least one offer for the product, the offer identifying one of the series of special prices and the corresponding effective time period;    continuing to sell the product at a list price while performing the receiving and storing steps, thereby establishing a source of alternate demand for the product; and    periodically reviewing the at least one offer to determine whether to accept the at least one offer.    
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , further comprising: 
 maintaining the at least one offer in confidence from prospective buyers of the product.    
     
     
         50 . A method of establishing prices for a product, comprising: 
 Setting a series of progressively decreasing prices for the product, each of the series of progressively decreasing prices including an effective time period;    printing the series of progressively decreasing prices and displaying the printed series in association with a display of the product;    accepting for storage at least one offer for the product, including one of the progressively decreasing prices and the included effective time period, and a payment identifier guaranteeing payment for the one price if the offer is accepted; and    accepting the at least one offer including utilizing the payment identifier to collect the one price.    
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50 , further including: 
 displaying a list price for the product, the list price effective for an immediate sale.    
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , further including: 
 adjusting the list price in dependence on the received offers.    
     
     
         53 . A method for calculating a price for a product, comprising: 
 establishing a list price at which the product may be purchased;    publishing at least one offer price for the product, the offer price being less than the list price, the offer price effective for submitting an offer for the product, the offer acceptable at a future date and at the discretion of the seller;    receiving at least one offer at the offer price;    storing the at least one offer;    adjusting the list price in dependence on the received at least one offer; and    accepting at least one of the at least one offer for the sale of the product.