Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

Product providers are able to liquidate goods via a transacting entity such as a liquidation broker which acts to exchange a user's reward points for the liquidated goods in a manner that is transparent to both the redeeming user and the product provider. A user selects a product to be liquidated from a product provider and then designates to the transacting entity that reward points, held by a reward account holder in a reward point account on the user's behalf, are to be used towards the purchase of the liquidated product in whole or in part. The transacting entity acts to decrease the number of reward points in the user's reward account, as either designated by the user or by a third party, by the required number of points. The reward account holder conveys consideration to the transacting entity equivalent to the par value of the reward points. In this case, the consumer obtains the product in exchange for reward points having a retail value equivalent to what he would have otherwise paid for the product (a 'reference price'), while the reward account holder is required to convey only the par value of the points (which is generally substantially less than the retail value of the points). The product provider is able to liquidate the product and obtain payment (the lower par value of the reward points) equivalent to what it would otherwise have obtained in a prior art liquidation process, auction or trading environment, but without having to go through a typically 'liquidation process' with its accompanying brand devaluation and associated costs. The reward account holder is able to eliminate the liability of the reward points previously owed to the user, but pays far less (only at the lower par value) than the retail value of the points assigned by the user. The user may utilize reward points from a single reward points issuer, or he may aggregate points from multiple reward points issuing entities as described herein (cash and/or other consideration may also be combined with points as described herein).

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim