An article which bears information representative of a convertible value thereof is deposited by a consumer for retrieval by the manufacturer of the article. The information is represented by a bar code on the article and read by a bar-code reader. A valuable return, such as a monetary payment, to the consumer is prepared based on the convertible value represented by the information read by the bar code reader. The valuable return is actually made to the consumer based on information borne by a consumer's recording card and updated based on the information read by the bar-code reader.