System and method for providing logistics for a sale or transfer of goods with proceeds provided to a third party

Abstract

A system 10 for providing logistics for a sale of goods over a computer network. The system 10 is effective to provide financial logistics for a sale and transfer of goods between a seller and a remote buyer, and may be implanted so that at least a portion of the proceeds of the sale is transferred to a third party, such as a charitable or nonprofit entity. The system 10 allows the sale and transfer to occur in a manner that does not require interaction between the seller and buyer. The system 10 may further conduct the sale using an auction or raffle process.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 ) A system for providing logistics for a sale goods, the system being adapted to receive information from at least one remote seller and at least one remote buyer, and to provide financial logistics and shipping logistics for completing the sale of goods, wherein the financial logistics include collecting funds from the buyer and transferring at least a portion of the funds to a third party designated by the seller, without requiring interaction between the buyer and seller.  
     
     
         2 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the third party comprises a charitable or nonprofit entity.  
     
     
         3 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the third party comprises a political action committee.  
     
     
         4 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the third party comprises a fundraising entity.  
     
     
         5 ) The system of  claim 2  wherein said financial logistics comprises providing said entity with information regarding the seller sufficient to allow the entity to generate an acknowledgement for tax reporting purposes.  
     
     
         6 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the system is adapted to receive the information over a computer network.  
     
     
         7 ) The system of  claim 6  wherein the financial logistics comprises conducting an auction over the computer network.  
     
     
         8 ) The system of  claim 6  wherein the financial logistics comprises conducting a raffle over the computer network.  
     
     
         9 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the system is adapted to provide the shipping logistics by use of at least one geography-based and time-based strategy.  
     
     
         10 ) The system of  claim 9  wherein the goods are time-sensitive.  
     
     
         11 ) The system of  claim 10  wherein the goods are event tickets.  
     
     
         12 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the financial logistics include authorizing an amount of sale on a credit card of the buyer, charging the credit card for the amount of sale, receiving the amount of sale, and transferring at least a portion of the amount of sale to the third party.  
     
     
         13 ) A method for providing logistics for a sale of goods comprising the steps of: 
 receiving information from a seller, including a description of certain goods, a method of sale for the certain goods, and an identity of a third party that will receive proceeds from the sale;    presenting the description of the certain goods to a prospective buyer according to the method of sale;    conducting the sale over a computer network;    providing financial logistics, including collecting proceeds from the buyer and transferring at least a portion of the proceeds to the third party; and    providing shipping logistics, including arranging for transfer of the goods to the buyer.    
     
     
         14 ) The method of  claim 13  wherein the goods comprise event tickets.  
     
     
         15 ) The method of  claim 14  wherein the third party comprises a charitable or nonprofit entity.  
     
     
         16 ) The method of  claim 14  wherein the third party is a political action committee.  
     
     
         17 ) The method of  claim 14  wherein the third party is a fundraising entity.  
     
     
         18 ) The method of  claim 15  further comprising the step of: 
 providing the charitable or nonprofit entity with information regarding the seller sufficient to allow the entity to generate an acknowledgement for tax reporting purposes.  
 
     
     
         19 ) The method of  claim 15  further comprising the step of: 
 causing an acknowledgement for tax reporting purposes to be provided to the seller.  
 
     
     
         20 ) The method of  claim 14  wherein said system is adapted to provide said shipping logistics by use of at least one geography-based and time-based strategy.  
     
     
         21 ) A computerized method for conducting a raffle, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving requests to purchase raffle tickets from a plurality of buyers over a computer network;    receiving identification information from the plurality of buyers;    creating a record of the plurality of buyers weighted according to the number of tickets purchased by each buyer;    selecting a winner at random from the record; and    notifying the winner.    
     
     
         22 ) The method of  claim 21  wherein the winner wins goods provided by a first party.  
     
     
         23 ) The method of  claim 22  wherein the goods comprise event tickets.  
     
     
         24 ) The method of  claim 22  further comprising the steps of: 
 receiving information from the first party, including the identity of a third party that will receive the proceeds of the raffle; and  
 transferring proceeds from raffle tickets purchased to the third party.  
 
     
     
         25 ) The method of  claim 24  wherein the third party is a charitable or nonprofit organization.  
     
     
         26 ) The method of  claim 24  wherein the third party is a political action committee.  
     
     
         27 ) The method of  claim 24  wherein the third party is a fundraising entity.  
     
     
         28 ) The method of  claim 25  further comprising the step of: 
 causing an acknowledgement for tax reporting purposes to be provided to the first party.  
 
     
     
         29 ) The method of  claim 21  wherein the record is created by entering the plurality of buyers into a spreadsheet.  
     
     
         30 ) The method of  claim 29  wherein each buyer occupies a number of rows in the spreadsheet corresponding to the number of tickets purchased by that buyer.  
     
     
         31 ) The method of  claim 30  wherein the step of selecting a winner comprises generating a random number between one and the total number of tickets sold, and wherein the winner is the buyer occupying the row in the spreadsheet corresponding to the random number.  
     
     
         32 ) The method of  claim 21  wherein the record is created by sequentially assigning numbers to the plurality of buyers based on the number of tickets purchased by each buyer, wherein a winner is selected by generating a random number between one and the total number of tickets sold, and wherein the winner is the buyer corresponding to the random number.  
     
     
         33 ) The method of  claim 21  wherein the winner is notified over the computer network.  
     
     
         34 ) The method of  claim 33  wherein the winner is notified by automatically generating an email to the winner.  
     
     
         35 ) The method of  claim 33  wherein the winner is notified by automatically generating an instant message to the winner.