Patent ID: 8447623

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a processor; a memory operable to communicate with the processor, the memory further operable with the processor to: receive, via a web interface of a first merchant and from a customer, a request to have a desired item shipped to the customer; identify a first price for which the item is being offered for sale by the merchant at the time of the request; determine a period of time associated with the item during which a second price may be determined for the item, the second price being lower than the first price, wherein the period of time has an expiration condition associated therewith which defines the end of the period of time; receive from the customer an indication of a financial account identifier identifying a financial account of the customer, the financial account identifier for use in charging only one of the first price or the second price to the financial account upon the expiration condition occurring; store an indication of the first price for the item in association with the financial account identifier; determine that the expiration condition has occurred; determine whether the second price for the item has been identified and verified prior to the occurrence of the expiration condition; and use the received financial account identifier to charge, upon the occurrence of the expiration condition and therefore only at the end of the period of time, only one of the first price or the second price to the financial account, such that only the second price and not the first price is charged to the financial account at the end of the period of time if the second price has been identified and verified prior to the occurrence of the expiration condition and only the first price and not the second price is charged to the financial account at the end of the period of time if the second price has not been identified and verified prior to the occurrence of the expiration condition.