Do You Sell Used Golf Clubs Online? If So, This Patent Application Should Be Of Interest To You
Ever heard of Global Value Commerce, Inc.? Me neither, but a quick Google search reveals that it is the company that owns and operates the popular GlobalGolf® website.
Well, this week GVC had an interesting patent application publish giving us an inside look at some intellectual property that GVC would love to own outright. The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20080313051 titled “Online Preowned Golf Club Sales.” The title alone piqued my interest.
The application summarizes the invention as:
[0007] In accordance with the invention there is provided a business to business portal in which accounts are created and representatives have login privileges. The functionality of the portal is such that a seller of preowned clubs can input an entire inventory of clubs it wishes to sell or return. Account representatives at the portal implement a system that grades the clubs and provides a group price. Thereafter, the clubs are made available to the public in accordance with the portal owner’s proprietary grading and pricing scheme.
[0008] Transactions can occur with manufacturers directly, or with retailers or individuals. In the case of a manufacturer, a negotiated price may be set in one exemplary embodiment for a group of clubs. With respect to retailers or individuals, published prices for different grades and brands of clubs may be provided as an alternative exemplary embodiment so that the retailer knows the expected return from the sale of a preowned club to the owner of the portal.
[0009] In one aspect a computer implemented method of reselling preowned golf clubs to a central buyer who owns a portal is provided. A portal is established for a portal owner on at least one server on a network. An account is created for a seller on the portal. When preowned clubs are to be sold to the portal owner, a return shipment record is created on the portal for the seller. The preowned golf clubs are then packed and shipped to the portal owner. The preowned golf clubs are then inspected at an owner’s site and a payment is determined in accordance through the predetermined criteria. Payment is then issued to the seller of the preowned golf clubs as determined with the predetermined criteria.
[0010] In one exemplary embodiment, any discrepancies are reported to the seller. A record of the price paid may be posted on the portal for inspection by the seller. In another exemplary embodiment, the preowned clubs are processed through the portal by golf company representatives and payment is made to the golf company. Alternatively, the clubs are processed through the portal by golf company representatives and payment is made to the representative directly. The seller can also be a retail merchant and payment made directly to the retail merchant.
[0011] The inspection of the shipment can also determine whether there are any missing items as compared to the return shipment record. A predetermined amount of time is allowed for the seller to account for the missing items before issuing a payment. In another specific embodiment, the predetermined criteria is defined by a negotiated contract between the portal owner and seller.
[0012] Yet still further, the invention also involves a system for conducting online sales of preowned golf clubs to a portal owner. The system includes a server on a network programmed to perform the aforementioned steps, preferably the seller’s computer is connected on the network to the server.
[0013] These and other advantages and features that characterize the invention are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and forming a further part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, and of the advantages and objectives obtained through its use, reference should be made to the drawings and to the accompanying descriptive matter in which there are described exemplary embodiments of the invention.
GVC’s proposed legal claims include:
1. A computer implemented method of reselling preowned golf clubs, comprising:
for a portal owner, establishing a portal on at least one server on a network;
creating an account for at least one seller on the portal;
creating a return shipment record on the portal for the seller, and packing and shipping preowned golf clubs to the portal owner;
inspecting the preowned golf clubs at a portal owner site, and determining a payment in accordance with predetermined criteria; and
issuing a payment to the seller for the preowned golf clubs as determined with said predetermined criteria.11. A system for conducting online sales of preowned golf clubs, comprising:
a server on a network, said server programmed for providing a portal for sellers of preowned golf clubs;
program code for allowing a seller of preowned clubs to create an account through communication on the network;
program code for allowing a seller to enter information concerning preowned golf clubs to be sold and issuing a report of price to be paid after inspection of a preowned golf club shipment; and
program code for processing and issuing a payment to a seller.
It will be interesting to see what the USPTO has to say about this application; and whether it issues as a patent!
Dave Dawsey – Monitoring Golf Online Commerce Inventions