Method and system for facilitating shipping via a third party payment service

Abstract

A system and method for a web server hosted by a third-party payment service is disclosed. Shipping information for a package is received from a client computer operated by a sender party. A shipping label associated with the package is generated in response to the receipt of the shipping information. The shipping label is sent to the client computer such that the shipping label can be printed out at the client computer.

1 . A method at a web server hosted by a third-party payment service, the method comprising:
 receiving from a client computer operated by a sender party shipping information for a package;   generating a shipping label associated with the package in response to the receipt of the shipping information; and   sending the shipping label to the client computer such that the shipping label can be printed out at the client computer.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generating of the shipping label includes:
 sending the shipping information received from the client computer to an on-line interface provided by a shipping vendor; and   receiving shipment data from the on-line interface, the generation of the shipping label being based on the shipment data received from the online interface.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the shipping information and the shipment data is sent as an extensible markup language (XML) document, and wherein the on-line interface comprises an XML application program interface (API). 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the shipping information includes send to address information. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the shipping information includes send from address information. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the send to address information pertains to an address registered with at least one of the shipping vendor and the third-party payment service. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising providing shipping payment for the package from the third-party payment service to the shipping vendor. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the shipping payment is deducted from a third-party payment service account held by the sender party. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the shipping payment is provided via a card network. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the shipping payment is provided via a virtual debit card. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising interacting with an online facility hosted by the shipping vendor to facilitate shipment of the package. 
     
     
         12 . A system hosted by a third-party payment service, comprising:
 a memory to store shipping information; and   at least one processor operatively coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured to:
 receive from a client computer operated by a sender party shipping information for a package; 
 generate a shipping label associated with the package in response to receipt of the shipping information; and 
 send the shipping label to the client computer such that the shipping label can be printed out at the client computer. 
   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform a proxy operation to enable the sender party to obtain a shipping account with a shipping vendor. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 store a tracking number corresponding to the shipment that is received from a shipping vendor;   automatically navigate, via a proxy operation, to a different web server hosted by the shipping vendor;   provide a tracking number to the different web server; and   direct the different web server to send a tracking summary page generated in response to entry of the tracking number at the client computer.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive the shipping information from the client computer after a transaction payment for an item associated with the package is paid from a buyer party to the sender party. 
     
     
         16 . The system d of  claim 12 , wherein shipment of the package is arranged as if the sender party is directly accessing on-line facilities hosted by a shipping vendor. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
 receive, at a web server hosted by a third-party payment service, from a client computer operated by a sender party shipping information for a package;   generate a shipping label associated with the package in response to receipt of the shipping information; and   send the shipping label to the client computer such that the shipping label can be printed out at the client computer.   
     
     
         18 . The medium of  claim 17 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to provide a user-interface enabling the sender party to view tracking information related to shipment of the package via the third-party payment service. 
     
     
         19 . The medium of  claim 17 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:
 tabulate shipment purchases for each user over a predetermined period; and   prevent a user from requesting further shipments if the tabulated purchases over the predetermined period exceed a predetermined purchase limit.   
     
     
         20 . The medium of  claim 17 , wherein the shipping information is received from the client computer after a transaction payment for an item associated with the package is paid from a buyer party to the sender party.