| Systems and methods to provide a product to a customer before a final transaction term value is established -> Monitor Keywords |
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  Systems and methods to provide a product to a customer before a final transaction term value is establishedRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Financial, Business Practice, Management, Or Cost/price Determination, Automated Electrical Financial Or Business Practice Or Management Arrangement, Including Point Of Sale Terminal Or Electronic Cash Register, Price Look-up Processing (e.g., Updating)The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080059318. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
PRIORITY APPLICATION [0001] The present Application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/409,041, filed on Sep. 29, 1999 and entitled "Systems and Methods to Provide a Product to a Customer before a Final Transaction Term Value is Established." [0002] The content of the above application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes: RELATED APPLICATION [0003] The following commonly-owned patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/889,503 filed Jul. 8, 1997 and entitled "System and Process for Local Acquisition of Products Priced Online" (97-032); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/083,345 filed May 22, 1998 and entitled "Method and Apparatus for Managing Remote Vending Machine Transactions" (97-554); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/337,906 filed Jun. 22, 1999 and entitled "Purchasing Systems and Methods Wherein a Buyer Takes Possession at a Retailer of a Product Purchased Using a Communication Network" (99-013). BACKGROUND [0004] The present invention relates to the sale of products (e.g., goods or services) to customers, and more particularly to systems and methods to provide a product to a customer before one or more final transaction term values are established. [0005] When purchasing a product, consumers are generally concerned with obtaining a favorable transaction term, typically a low price. This concern may lead the consumer to postponing a purchase until he or she has had an opportunity to comparison shop for the most favorable transaction term. This search may be further complicated by a number of different transaction terms, such as: an interest or finance rate; a payment schedule (e.g., no down payment required or no monthly payments for six months); and the duration or scope of warranty provisions. These factors may prolong the consumer's search for the best deal. As a result, a business may lose a potential sale to a consumer who is comparison shopping--even when the seller offers competitive transaction terms. [0006] To recover some of these lost sales, some businesses (e.g., sellers) offer some form of "price protection program" whereby a customer is guaranteed to receive the lowest available price for a product within a specified time period, such as thirty days from the date of purchase. The price protection program typically allows the consumer to bring, or mail, to the seller proof of a lower price from a competing product provider. The actual seller may refund the difference between the original price and the competing product provider's price. In some case, an additional amount (e.g., 5%) may also be refunded to the customer. Unfortunately, the initial price associated with the product may delay or deter the purchase, even if the refund is to be made soon thereafter. [0007] Some credit card issuers also provide price protection programs. According to these programs, the original price of the product is initially charged to the customer's credit card account. Within a predetermined period of time, the customer may provide proof to the credit card issuer that the product is available for a lower price. In this case, the difference between the original price and the lower price is credited to the customer's credit card account. This may require the buyer to carry the higher balance over a billing cycle. [0008] Another price protection technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,279 to Bloomberg et al. Bloomberg et al. describes a price protection technique by which product prices within a specified geographic area are tracked. For example, consider a consumer who purchases a product for a first price. When that product is advertised at a price lower than the first price within a specified area and time period, a refund check for the amount of the difference between the first price and the advertised price is automatically printed and sent to the consumer. While Bloomberg facilitates the refund process for the consumer in comparison to the aforementioned price guarantee program, the consumer must still initially pay a higher price in order to acquire the product. [0009] What is needed is a purchasing system and method whereby a consumer may acquire a product while paying the lowest price to which he or she is entitled, without having to pay a higher initial sale price and receive a refund at a later time. Also needed is a purchasing system and method which would allow the consumer to acquire a product and later obtain, as a part of the transaction, competitive terms such as a sale price, an interest rate and/or a warranty provision. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0010] The present invention provides a purchasing system and method whereby a customer may acquire a product from a seller and subsequently search for and receive a more competitive transaction term associated with the product. That is, a subsequently located transaction term value may influence the final transaction term value of the product. The seller can then bill or otherwise charge the customer in accordance with the final transaction term. The present invention provides advantages to the seller in that the customer's concern that the product may be obtained from a competing product provider with a more favorable term, such as a lower price, is reduced, resulting in a higher sales volume for the seller. The present invention also provides advantages to the customer in that the customer may search for and obtain competitive transaction terms for the product, such as the lowest current sale price, without having to postpone acquisition of the product or requiring a subsequent rebate or refund process. [0011] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a purchasing method is disclosed in which a product is provided to a customer prior to finalizing at least one transaction term. A final value of the at least one transaction term is then determined, and the transaction is completed using the final value of the at least one transaction term as a term of the transaction. [0012] According to another embodiment, a purchasing system is presented which includes at least one point of sale (POS) terminal coupled to a central server. The at least one POS terminal includes an input device, such as a bar code reader configured to accept product information identifying a product. The central server includes a data storage device which stores a transaction term default value associated with the identified product. The central server further includes a processor coupled to a network interface and the data storage device. The network interface is configured to receive, after conveyance of the product, an override value of the transaction term default value associated with the product. The processor retrieves the transaction term's default value and replaces it with the received override value. [0013] The present invention will be more fully understood when considered in light of the foregoing drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0014] FIG. 1A is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a purchase transaction process in accordance with the present invention. [0015] FIG. 1B is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of the product acquisition process shown in FIG. 1A. [0016] FIG. 1C is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of the post-acquisition process shown in FIG. 1A. [0017] FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a purchasing system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. [0018] FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the POS terminal shown in FIG. 2A. [0019] FIG. 2C is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the customer-operated kiosk shown in FIG. 2A. Continue reading... Full patent description for Systems and methods to provide a product to a customer before a final transaction term value is established Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Systems and methods to provide a product to a customer before a final transaction term value is established patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. 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