Patent ID: 7240026

Claim:
A method for executing a transaction, comprising acts of: (A) receiving an order initiated by a customer from a terminal located at a vendor's place of business, the order comprising a first item selected for purchase from a web site affiliated with the vendor; (B) processing, via software associated with the web site, the order to generate data relating to the order, the data relating to the order comprising an indication of a price of the first item; (C) transmitting the data relating to the order, via a secure communication channel which connects a first network address accessible by the web site to a second network address accessible by a computer operated by the vendor, the first and second network addresses comprising the only entry or exit points for data transmitted via the secure communication channel; (D) acknowledging a selection by the customer, from items at the vendor's place of business, of a second item for purchase; (E) recording, via software executable from the vendor's place of business, a payment from the customer at the place of business in return for the first item selected for purchase from the web site and the second item selected from the items at the vendor's place of business; (F) accessing, via software executable from the vendor's place of business, the data transmitted via the secure communication channel relating to the order; (G) comparing, via software executable from the vendor's place of business, the payment recorded in the act (E) for the first item to the indication of the price of the first item in the data relating to the order, to determine whether the payment received for the first item is appropriate; and (H) upon determining that the payment received for the first item is appropriate, initiating shipment of the first item to the customer, from a location separate from the vendor's place of business.