Patent Publication Number: US-2019180341-A1

Title: Method and process for selling, gifting and redeeming subscription based products via an online marketplace

Description:
BRIEF SUMMARY 
     This patent application describes a unique method and process for selling, gifting and redeeming a subscription of certain products via an online marketplace. The method includes offering subscription based products for sale via an online retail store that utilizes an Announcement Package (either electronic or physical), whereby the Announcement Package enables recipients to activate their subscription using a unique activation code and order number. Once the recipient has activated their subscription, they can order products by redeeming installments or points associated with their subscription using a system that provides the recipient ultimate flexibility in managing their subscription, empowering them to customize each order based on his or her needs. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The advent of the Internet has led to the proliferation of various online marketplaces. Such online marketplaces are configured to allow consumers to purchase products and services from a variety of merchants, vendors and retailers from all around the world. A user who wishes to purchase a product can visit an online marketplace, place the product in an online shopping cart and then proceed to a checkout process where the user is prompted to pay for the product or service using one or more payment options. The checkout process usually includes additional steps such as providing a billing address, a shipping address and a re-confirmation of the order placed. Once the user confirms the order, a fulfillment process is initiated, wherein the ordered product is packed and thereafter shipped to the user. Users can also buy gifts in a similar fashion. 
     Often, when a person wants to buy a gift for a friend or a relative, he is much less certain about the specifics of what to give than he is when he is purchasing a good or service for himself. The gift-giver may not know the kind of gift that would suit the recipient&#39;s needs. Even when the gift-giver has an idea of the kind of gift to buy, perhaps the category of product or service, he/she may not be sure about the specifics of what to get. He may not know the size, type, quantity, quality or timing of the product required or preferred by the recipient. As an example, imagine if a person wanted to buy a “Year&#39;s Supply of Diapers” for a relative or friend who is expecting or just had a baby. The purchaser (gift-giver) would not know which brand, type or size of diapers to buy. To some extent, even the recipient would not know which diapers would be needed. There are too many variables at play for the recipient to know what will suit that baby best several months or a whole year in advance. Yet, the gift-giver would still like to purchase and give that Year&#39;s Supply of Diapers today, before the child has been born. Likewise, the recipient would like to register for and receive that Year&#39;s Supply of Diapers before the baby has been born. Today&#39;s online retailers or marketplaces lack the flexibility required in cases like this—cases where they must sell a gift of products that will be consumed on a regular basis by the recipient, where the recipient will need to make periodic choices and changes regarding the product to be consumed, and where these choices and changes will be made by the recipient after the gift of products has already been paid for by the gift-giver. In other words, the gift giver wants to give a gift that will be redeemed in installments, but allow for each installment to be different, and to have a different economic value in relation to the total gift, as per the choices of the recipient. Right now, the model within the marketplace is such that installments of equal value are shipped on a monthly basis. For example, most subscriptions operate on the basis of a blind box where the shipper makes all of the decisions regarding the inclusions in the box and thereby determines its value. With the blind box model, the recipient does not specifically choose what they receive in the box, as contrasted with the type of choice they would need to exercise in the Year of Diapers scenario. Other subscriptions often feature a single brand of product so that, again, the shipper can equalize the value of all shipments. But what if you wanted to give a subscription wherein the recipient exercised a wider range of choice regarding what he received and when he received it? What if within that example of A Year of Diapers, the recipient could choose from a wide variety of brands and configurations, each one of a different value than the others, but ultimately all installments combining to satisfy the pre-paid gift of the purchaser? What if you wanted to allow the purchaser to prepay that sort of gift one time but enable the recipient to make choices about the manner and timeframe within which they redeemed that gift? 
     The authors of this patent application, John and Jean Matra (husband and wife) recognized that there is a need for a more efficient system through which consumers could purchase and gift such an online subscription service for products—one that would provide the recipient more flexibility in managing their subscription, empowering the recipient to customize each installment based on his or her needs. John and Jean Matra have developed such a system and currently operate an online business called IncrediBundles.com where consumers can purchase, gift and redeem subscriptions for certain types of products such as A Year of Diapers. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     This patent application describes a unique method and system for selling, gifting and redeeming a subscription of certain products via an online marketplace. The method includes activating, by a client device (e.g., computer, tablet, mobile phone), a subscription service using a unique activation code and order number and then ordering products by redeeming installments or points associated with that subscription. Let&#39;s use the example above where a consumer wishes to gift someone a Year&#39;s Supply of Diapers. A consumer (gift giver) should be able to visit an online store, purchase “A Year of Diapers” subscription and have it sent to the recipient. The purchaser should not have to worry about picking the brand, type or size of diapers or when they need to be delivered. When the “Year of Diapers” gift is shipped, the recipient would first receive an announcement package. The announcement package describes the gift and explains how to redeem the diapers. Included in the announcement package is a certificate that has a unique activation code and other information associated with the order. The recipient would then visit a website, create an online account and use the activation code and order number included in the announcement package to activate their diaper subscription. By activating the subscription, the recipient&#39;s account is credited with a certain number of installments or points which are used to place orders for products they want, when they need them. This process is different than receiving a generic gift card because the recipient is limited in what they can purchase. In this case, the recipient can only redeem diapers. However, they have complete freedom to choose which diapers (i.e., brand, type, size) and set the delivery schedule. For the purchaser of the gift, it provides assurance that the gift is being used for the intended purpose (to buy diapers). It would not be the same if the purchaser gave the recipient an Amazon gift card, for example, because there is no guarantee that the recipient will buy diapers with the gift card. As to the method of redemption, if the products being redeemed are all of relatively equal value, then the recipient will receive a certain number of installments. In the example above, the recipient would receive 12 installments. With each installment, the recipient would receive a month&#39;s supply of diapers. The recipient could redeem the installments on any schedule they choose. If the products being redeemed vary greatly in value, then the recipient will receive a certain number of points in their account once a subscription is activated. Each product available in the subscription would cost a different number of points. Therefore, the quantity of product redeemed is dependent on the value of the product selected. Importantly, the method and process of redeeming products via a subscription (either by installments or points) is streamlined because no payment is required. The products were already paid for by the gift giver. The example above (A Year&#39;s Supply of Diapers) is illustrative only. The same type of subscriptions can be used for any category of products (i.e., books, toys, clothes, food and more). 
     In order to manage the subscriptions, operations and provide customer support, there is a back-end application that allows administrators to modify any element described above (i.e., activation codes, installments, points, products, inventory, orders, etc.). For example, if a recipient loses their activation code, the administrator can void that code and issue a new one. The administrator is also able to run various types of reports, export data to common file formats and sync all data with a third-party CRM system. 
     Underlying Software Technology 
     There are various software and web-based technologies that can be employed to accomplish the objectives described in this patent application. Therefore, the underlying technology is not the focus for this application. It is understood that the method and process for the invention is built on commonly used software and web-based technologies that will certainly change and be improved over time. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings or depictions constitute a part of this patent application. They serve as exemplary embodiments and together with the descriptions below illustrate and further explain how the subscriptions work. It is intended that modifications, adaptations and other implementations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims outlined herein. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 FIG. 1 
                 For purposes of this application, an online marketplace includes a 
               
               
                   
                 consumer, a terminal (such as a computer, tablet, mobile device, etc.), a 
               
               
                   
                 vendor and a vendor website. Interaction between consumer and vendor 
               
               
                   
                 is facilitated using the Internet. The consumer uses a commercially 
               
               
                   
                 available Internet browser or mobile app to conduct a transaction, such as 
               
               
                   
                 purchasing a product that is offered for sale by a vendor. 
               
               
                 FIG. 2 
                 IncrediBundles.com is an example of a vendor website where consumers 
               
               
                   
                 can purchase subscription based products as a gift for someone else. 
               
               
                 FIG. 3 
                 “A Year of Diapers” is an example of a diaper subscription available for 
               
               
                   
                 sale on the IncrediBundles.com website. 
               
               
                 FIG. 4 
                 If a consumer wants to purchase “A Year of Diapers” they would add that 
               
               
                   
                 product to the online shopping cart and begin the checkout process. 
               
               
                 FIG. 5 
                 The purchaser completes the checkout process by entering their 
               
               
                   
                 information, the recipient&#39;s name &amp; address, a gift message (optional) and 
               
               
                   
                 payment information. 
               
               
                 FIG. 6A-C 
                 Once the order is processed, IncrediBundles.com will ship the Year of 
               
               
                   
                 Diapers “Announcement Package” to the recipient. The most important 
               
               
                   
                 part of the Announcement Package is a certificate that contains a unique 
               
               
                   
                 activation code and instructions for how to redeem the diapers. 
               
               
                 FIG. 7 
                 The recipient must first register by creating an account at vendor website. 
               
               
                 FIG. 8 
                 The recipient can add multiple shipping addresses to their account in the 
               
               
                   
                 event that they want diapers shipped to different locations. 
               
               
                 FIG. 9A-B 
                 Recipient then uses the unique activation code and order number to 
               
               
                   
                 activate their diaper subscription on the IncrediBundles.com website. If 
               
               
                   
                 they enter the correct information, they will receive a message saying the 
               
               
                   
                 activation was successful. If they enter incorrect information, they will 
               
               
                   
                 receive an error message. 
               
               
                 FIG. 10 
                 Upon activation, the recipient will also receive a confirmation email that 
               
               
                   
                 contains the relevant information about their subscription. 
               
               
                 FIG. 11 
                 The subscription home page displays a summary of each subscription 
               
               
                   
                 activated by that user. The data includes the subscription type, activation 
               
               
                   
                 code and status. Clicking the “Manage” button allows the recipient to 
               
               
                   
                 redeem their diapers. 
               
               
                 FIG. 12 
                 A Year of Diapers subscription would add twelve (12) installments to the 
               
               
                   
                 recipient&#39;s account. Each installment enables the recipient to place one 
               
               
                   
                 order. The recipient would use the drop-down menus to select the product 
               
               
                   
                 brand, type, size and shipping address. If a user profile has more than 
               
               
                   
                 one shipping address, then the user can choose to select one of the 
               
               
                   
                 shipping addresses while placing the order. Clicking on the “Submit” 
               
               
                   
                 button takes them to the order review page. Note, that in this illustration 
               
               
                   
                 the recipient is placing an order for Installment # 1. Once that order has 
               
               
                   
                 been placed, then they will see options to place an order for Installment # 
               
               
                   
                 2, and so on. The recipient can place orders at any time. The subscription 
               
               
                   
                 is not based on time; therefore, it will end after all 12 installments have 
               
               
                   
                 been redeemed regardless of how long the subscription has been active. 
               
               
                 FIG. 13 
                 The order review page allows the user to review their order, make 
               
               
                   
                 changes if necessary and then place their order by clicking on the green 
               
               
                   
                 “Place Order” button. It is important to note that since the diapers were 
               
               
                   
                 already paid for by the purchaser, the recipient does not need to pay for 
               
               
                   
                 the diapers. The ordering process is more simplistic than a traditional 
               
               
                   
                 online checkout because no payment method is required and the shipping 
               
               
                   
                 address is already stored in their account. The user would repeat this step 
               
               
                   
                 when they are ready to order another month&#39;s supply of diapers. The user 
               
               
                   
                 would be able to place a total of 12 orders for A Year of Diapers, after 
               
               
                   
                 which, the subscription will end. 
               
               
                 FIG. 14 
                 Once the order has been placed, the user will receive an on-screen 
               
               
                   
                 confirmation and email that contains all of the relevant information related 
               
               
                   
                 to that order. That would be followed by a second email when the diapers 
               
               
                   
                 ship that contains a tracking number. 
               
               
                 FIG. 15 
                 A depiction of the Points based subscription home page. This is a 
               
               
                   
                 summary page that displays each subscription type, activation code, 
               
               
                   
                 status and points balance. The user can click “View” to see detailed 
               
               
                   
                 information for each subscription (as shown below) or they can click on 
               
               
                   
                 “Redeem” to order products using their points. 
               
               
                 FIG. 16 
                 The points based subscription activity page displays detailed information 
               
               
                   
                 regarding the “points activity” and “points balance” for each subscription. 
               
               
                   
                 Much like a general ledger, the user can see point credits and debits to 
               
               
                   
                 their account. It also displays “Pending” credits which will be credited to 
               
               
                   
                 the account at a future date based on a schedule predetermined by the 
               
               
                   
                 vendor or the type of subscription. For example, an annual “Book Club” 
               
               
                   
                 Subscription might provide the user with 100 credits per month for 12 
               
               
                   
                 months. The user can only redeem the points which have been credited to 
               
               
                   
                 their account as of that date. In the example below (shown as of 
               
               
                   
                 Aug. 13, 2017), the user has been credited 100 points per month from January 
               
               
                   
                 through August 2017. With each order placed, the number of points 
               
               
                   
                 redeemed is deducted from the user&#39;s account and reflected in the 
               
               
                   
                 summary of that subscription (as shown below on Apr. 20, 2017 and Aug. 13, 2017). 
               
               
                   
                 The Pending credits will become active on the 1 st  day of September, 
               
               
                   
                 October, November and December.