Patent ID: 7617133

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for dynamically routing items being returned from customers to appropriate final return destinations while the items are in transit, the method comprising: for each of multiple customers of an online merchant, shipping an ordered item to the customer from an item distribution center of the merchant; and providing information to the customer for use in returning the item, the information directing the item to be shipped to a third-party item shipping location; and for each of one or more third-party item shipping locations, at the item shipping location, identifying one or more items that each have been received at the item shipping location from a customer who shipped the item as part of returning the item to the merchant; at a first time after the identifying and without the identified items being removed from the item shipping location, and under control of one or more configured computing devices, automatically obtaining information about current values at the first time for conditions corresponding to multiple possible final return destinations for the identified items, each of one or more of the conditions being a changing condition such that the current value for the changing condition is distinct from other values for the changing condition at other times, and the current values for the conditions being unknown when the identified items were previously shipped to the item shipping location; and for each of the identified items, automatically determining one of the multiple possible final return destinations for the identified item based at least in part on the obtained information about the current values for the conditions; and sending each of the identified items from the item shipping location to the automatically determined final return destination for the item, so that determination of an appropriate final return destination for an item occurs dynamically while the item is being returned.