Systems and methods for purchasing arbitrage

Abstract

Various systems and methods that may relate to referral and/or delivery services are described. Some embodiments may include receiving from a user on a remote device an order for delivery of a plurality of items. Each item comprises an unique identifier. Embodiments also may include determining a location of the user; identifying at least two providers located within a radius of the user, in which each provider is capable of delivering the requested items; computing for each provider a total cost of delivery of the requested items; receive a request for a first provider to deliver the requested item; and facilitate delivery of the items.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, via an interface of a computing device, from an interface of a remote computing device of a user, an order for delivery of a plurality of items, in which each item comprises an unique identifier, in which the computing device and the remote computing device are in electronic communication over a network;   determining a location of the user;   identifying at least two providers located near the user to allow each provider to deliver the requested plurality of items;   after receiving the order, computing for each of the at least two providers a total cost of delivery of the requested plurality of items;   after identifying the at least two providers, receiving a request for one of the at least two providers to deliver the requested plurality of items; and   facilitating delivery of the requested plurality of items pursuant to the order.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the at least two items comprise grocery items, and
 in which the act of computing for each of the at least two providers a total cost of delivery of the requested plurality of items comprises:
 determining a first total cost of delivery for the first provider based on a first delivery fee determined by the first provider; and 
 determining a second total cost of delivery for a second of the at least two providers based on a second delivery fee determined by the second of the plurality of providers. 
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the at least two items comprise general merchandising items. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the identifier is a barcode, and
 in which the request to deliver the requested plurality of items is received from the first provider.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the identifier is a UPC label,
 in which, pursuant to the order, the requested plurality of items are purchased by the user and purchased from at least one retailer,   in which the at least two providers each comprise a delivery service provider separate from the at least one retailer,   in which the first provider does not own the requested plurality of items before they are delivered to the user.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the identifier is used to ensure that each provider is offering to deliver the same item. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  1 , in which at least one of the plurality of providers is a grocery store. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the remote device is a mobile device. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , in which determining the location of the user further comprises receiving indication of a GPS coordinates of the user. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , in which the GPS coordinates are transmitted by a GPS device that is integrated into the user's device. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , in which determining the location of the user comprises: receiving user-input data indicating the location of the user. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the radius is within a delivery region of each provider. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , in which the total cost of delivery comprises: a cost of the plurality of items and a delivery fee. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , in which the total cost of delivery is reduced by at least one coupon. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 computing a distance of each provider from the location of the user. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 transmitting information about the at least two providers. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , in which the information comprises:
 a distance of each provider from the location of the user.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , in which the information comprises:
 a total cost of delivery for each provider.   
     
     
         19 . An apparatus comprising:
 a processor of a computing device; and   a memory, in which the memory stores instructions which, when executed by the processor of the computing device, direct the processor of the computing device to:
 receive from an interface of a remote computing device of a user, data representing an order for delivery of a plurality of items, in which each item comprises an unique identifier; 
 determine a location of the user; 
 identify at least two providers located near the location of the user to allow each provider to deliver the requested plurality of items; 
 after receiving the order, compute for each of the at least two providers a total cost of delivery of the requested plurality of items; 
 after identifying the at least two providers, receive a request for one of the at least two providers to deliver the requested plurality of items; and 
 facilitate delivery of the requested plurality of items pursuant to the order. 
   
     
     
         20 . An article of manufacture comprising:
 a computer-readable medium that is non-transitory, in which the computer-readable medium stores instructions which, when executed by a processor of a computing device, direct the processor of the computing device to:
 receive from an interface of a remote computing device of a user, data representing an order for delivery of a plurality of items, in which each item comprises an unique identifier; determine a location of the user; 
 identify at least two providers located near the user to allow each provider to deliver the requested plurality of items; 
 after receiving the order, compute for each of the at least two providers a total cost of delivery of the requested plurality of items; 
 after identifying the at least two providers, receive a request for one of the at least two providers to deliver the requested plurality of items; and 
 facilitate delivery of the requested plurality of items pursuant to the order.