摘要:
A method and apparatus is disclosed for advancing the sale of vending machine products. The invention enables selling products without revealing the identity of the product. By concealing the identity of the products from a consumer prior to receiving payment, the present invention promotes the automated sale of perishable, slow-selling and/or less profitable products, to increase the overall profitability of a vending machine. Various embodiments are disclosed, including: predetermined price embodiments in which a vending machine sells one or more mystery products for a predetermined price; consumer-specified price embodiments in which a consumer is allowed to specify a price for one or more mystery products; and upsell embodiments in which a vending machine offers one or more upsell mystery products in exchange for the amount of change owed to a consumer, or in exchange for an amount of change owed to a consumer plus an additional monetary value.
摘要:
A point of sale system or other computer system stores a product pricing database in which a full price and discount prices corresponding to one or more discount pricing tiers are stored for each product available for sale. Each of the discount prices for a given product has an associated threshold purchase total that has to be satisfied before the discount price is applied to a transaction. When a transaction occurs, the purchase total for the transaction is first calculated on the basis of full retail prices for the products and the purchase total for the transaction is compared with one or more threshold purchase totals which correspond to the discount pricing tiers. If a discount pricing tier is applicable (e.g. the calculated purchase total for the transaction is at least equal to a threshold purchase total), the appropriate discount prices for each product in the transaction are retrieved and used to calculate a reduced purchase total for the transaction. Qualification for discount pricing can also be based on, for example, a customer's purchasing history, or the number of a certain type of product included in the transaction instead of the purchase total of a transaction.
摘要:
A point of sale system or other computer system stores a product pricing database in which a full price and discount prices corresponding to one or more discount pricing tiers are stored for each product available for sale. Each of the discount prices for a given product has an associated threshold purchase total that has to be satisfied before the discount price is applied to a transaction. When a transaction occurs, the purchase total for the transaction is first calculated on the basis of full retail prices for the products and the purchase total for the transaction is compared with one or more threshold purchase totals which correspond to the discount pricing tiers. If a discount pricing tier is applicable (e.g. the calculated purchase total for the transaction is at least equal to a threshold purchase total), the appropriate discount prices for each product in the transaction are retrieved and used to calculate a reduced purchase total for the transaction. Qualification for discount pricing can also be based on, for example, a customer's purchasing history, or the number of a certain type of product included in the transaction instead of the purchase total of a transaction.
摘要:
A method and apparatus allows a customer to indicate his or her brand indifference within a product category, and then receive a benefit for purchasing a product chosen by a third party from within this product category. This method and apparatus is particularly useful in differentiating between brand-loyal or brand-sensitive customers and brand-indifferent customers, and allows manufacturers to price-discriminate between these two types of customers. The method includes a step during which an indication of at least one product or service category of interest is received from a customer or other potential purchaser, a step during which a selection of at least one product or service is made that matches the indicated product or service category, a step during which an indication of the selected product or service is provided to the customer or other potential purchaser or to a device used or accessible by the customer or other potential purchaser, a step during which an indication is received that the customer or other potential purchaser has actually purchased, rented, leased, obtained, etc. the selected product or service, and a step during which a benefit is provided to the customer or purchaser who actually purchased, rented, leased, obtained, etc. the selected product or service, or to some other person or entity designated by the customer or some other person or entity.
摘要:
A point of sale system or other computer system stores a product pricing database in which a full price and discount prices corresponding to one or more discount pricing tiers are stored for each product available for sale. Each of the discount prices for a given product has an associated threshold purchase total that has to be satisfied before the discount price is applied to a transaction. When a transaction occurs, the purchase total for the transaction is first calculated on the basis of full retail prices for the products and the purchase total for the transaction is compared with one or more threshold purchase totals which correspond to the discount pricing tiers. If a discount pricing tier is applicable (e.g. the calculated purchase total for the transaction is at least equal to a threshold purchase total), the appropriate discount prices for each product in the transaction are retrieved and used to calculate a reduced purchase total for the transaction. Qualification for discount pricing can also be based on, for example, a customer's purchasing history, or the number of a certain type of product included in the transaction instead of the purchase total of a transaction.
摘要:
A point of sale system or other computer system stores a product pricing database in which a full price and discount prices corresponding to one or more discount pricing tiers are stored for each product available for sale. Each of the discount prices for a given product has an associated threshold purchase total that has to be satisfied before the discount price is applied to a transaction. When a transaction occurs, the purchase total for the transaction is first calculated on the basis of full retail prices for the products and the purchase total for the transaction is compared with one or more threshold purchase totals which correspond to the discount pricing tiers. If a discount pricing tier is applicable (e.g. the calculated purchase total for the transaction is at least equal to a threshold purchase total), the appropriate discount prices for each product in the transaction are retrieved and used to calculate a reduced purchase total for the transaction. Qualification for discount pricing can also be based on, for example, a customer's purchasing history, or the number of a certain type of product included in the transaction instead of the purchase total of a transaction.
摘要:
A method and apparatus allows a customer to indicate his or her brand indifference within a product category, and then receive a benefit for purchasing a product chosen by a third party from within this product category. This method and apparatus is particularly useful in differentiating between brand-loyal or brand-sensitive customers and brand-indifferent customers, and allows manufacturers to price-discriminate between these two types of customers. The method includes a step during which an indication of at least one product or service category of interest is received from a customer or other potential purchaser, a step during which a selection of at least one product or service is made that matches the indicated product or service category, a step during which an indication of the selected product or service is provided to the customer or other potential purchaser or to a device used or accessible by the customer or other potential purchaser, a step during which an indication is received that the customer or other potential purchaser has actually purchased, rented, leased, obtained, etc. the selected product or service, and a step during which a benefit is provided to the customer or purchaser who actually purchased, rented, leased, obtained, etc. the selected product or service, or to some other person or entity designated by the customer or some other person or entity.
摘要:
A system and method is provided by which players participating in a primary lottery drawing may elect to participate in a second, or derivative lottery drawing (a “meta-game”). In one embodiment, a meta-game is conducted by first registering a plurality of lottery entries to define a group. The group wins an award in the meta-game if the plurality of lottery entries of the group fail to win an award above a predetermined threshold in the primary lottery drawing.
摘要:
A system, method, and ticket for a lottery player to increase a payout received for winning a lottery game is disclosed. A request to purchase a set of play indicia (e.g. lottery numbers) and to associate the play indicia with a multiplier is received from a player. Data relating to the set of play indicia and data identifying the multiplier are stored in a memory where they are logically associated with each other. A purchase price is determined for the multiplier based upon various factors including the expected value of the multiplier as applied to a lottery ticket. The set of play indicia may be for a drawing-type lottery game and/or an instant-type lottery game and may be defined by characters and/or other representations. An embodiment of the present invention also includes a computer system having a memory for storing data related to the lottery game and having a processor in communication with the memory. The processor is operative to store data in the memory identifying a first set of play indicia, a second set of play indicia, and a multiplier. Further, the processor is operative to associate the first set of play indicia and second set of play indicia with the multiplier and calculate a purchase price for the multiplier. Further, the processor is operative to apply the multiplier to redemption values of one or more sets of play indicia associated with the multiplier according to various different algorithms to compute a payout amount to award a lottery player.
摘要:
A system and method is provided by which players participating in a primary lottery drawing may elect to participate in a second, or derivative lottery drawing (a “meta-game”). In one embodiment, a meta-game is conducted by first registering a plurality of lottery entries to define a group. The group wins an award in the meta-game if the plurality of lottery entries of the group fail to win an award above a predetermined threshold in the primary lottery drawing.