Patent ID: 7778881

Claim:
A method associated with a transaction entity, comprising: determining, by a transaction processing system, an average historical sales price for an automotive product; receiving, by the transaction processing system, directly from a customer via a kiosk, a product identifier; calculating, by the transaction processing system, a first price for the automotive product based at least in part on the average historical sales price and the product identifier; agreeing, by the transaction processing system, to provide a customer the automotive product in exchange for payment of the first price; subsequent to said agreeing: selecting a plurality of potential vendors based at least in part on historical performance information and historical pricing information; transmitting a request for the automotive product to the plurality of potential vendors; receiving, from a selected vendor from the plurality of potential vendors, a second price for the automotive product and an image of the automotive product captured by the selected vendor, wherein the second price is different from and not based on the first price; initiating payment of the second price to the selected vendor; initiating shipment of the automotive product to a distribution center of the transaction entity; monitoring the performance of the vendor using the image of the automotive product.