Apparatus and method for providing and/or for fulfilling subscription services
An apparatus, including a receiver for receiving a request to receive or pick-up a good, service, or printed issue of a periodical, a newspaper, or a magazine, at a retail facility or store or at a location of a service provider, pursuant to a subscription, a processing device for processing information regarding the request, wherein the processing device determines whether the subscription is active or not active or determines whether any good, service, or issue or issues remain to be fulfilled pursuant to the subscription, and a transmitter for transmitting a message in response to the request, wherein the message contains an authorization or a denial of the request. The message is transmitted to a transaction device located at the retail facility or the store or at the location of the service provider.
1 . An apparatus, comprising:
a receiver for receiving a request to receive or pick-up a good, a service, or a printed issue of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, at a retail facility or a store, or at a location of a service provider, pursuant to a subscription;
a processing device for processing information regarding the request, wherein the processing device determines whether the subscription is active or not active or determines whether any good, any service, or any issue or any issues of the at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, remain to be fulfilled pursuant to the subscription; and
a transmitter for transmitting a message in response to the request, wherein the message contains an authorization or a denial of the request, and further wherein the message is transmitted to a transaction device located at the retail facility or the store or at the location of the service provider.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus processes information for at least one of renewing the subscription, extending the subscription, and canceling or terminating the subscription.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus processes information for creating or initiating the subscription.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the subscription is for a specified number of goods, services, or printed issues and is for a specified time period, and further wherein one or more of the goods, services, or printed issues can be skipped or foregone in or during the specified time period while allowing a subscriber to be able to pick-up or receive all of the specified number of goods, services, or printed issues in or during the specified time period.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a scanner device or a reader device for swiping or reading information stored on an account card associated with the subscription.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus processes information regarding a search for the subscription or a search for a second subscription.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus determines that the subscription is not active and processes information for re-opening or renewing the subscription.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus generates a second message, wherein the second message contains information regarding at least one of an availability of a subscription and a subscription sale or special, and further wherein the apparatus transmits the second message to the transaction device or to a communication device associated with an individual or a subscriber.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus generates a second message, wherein the second message contains information regarding at least one of an availability of a subscription good, service, or issue, a shipment of a subscription good or issue to the retail facility or the store or to the location of the service provider, and an arrival of a subscription good or issue at the retail facility or the store or at the location of the service provider, and further wherein the apparatus transmits the second message to the transaction device or to a communication device associated with an individual or a subscriber.
10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus receives a second request to receive or pick-up a ticket or tickets to or for a sporting event, sporting events, an entertainment event, entertainment events, a movie, movies, a show, shows, a theater performance, or theater performances, at the retail facility or the store pursuant to a second subscription, and further wherein the apparatus processes information regarding the second request, determines whether the second subscription is active or not active or determines whether any ticket or any tickets remain to be fulfilled pursuant to the second subscription, and transmits a second message in response to the second request, wherein the second message contains information regarding an authorization or a denial of the second request, and further wherein the second message is transmitted to the first transaction device or to a second transaction device located at the retail facility or the store or at the location of the service provider.
11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus processes information regarding a changing of the retail facility or the store or the location of the service provider from which a good, a service, or a printed issue of the at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, can be received or picked-up.
12 . An apparatus, comprising:
a processing device for processing a request to create or initiate a subscription which allows for goods, services, or printed issues of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, to be picked-up or received at a retail facility or a store or at another retail facility or another store, or at a location of a service provider, wherein the request is transmitted from a communication device or from a transaction device associated with the retail facility or the store or the location of a service provider, wherein the request contains information regarding a specified number of goods, services, or printed issues of the at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, to be picked-up or received at the retail facility or the store or at another retail facility or another store or at the location of a service provider in or during a specified time period, wherein one or more of the goods, services, or printed issues can be skipped or foregone in or during the specified time period while ensuring that a subscriber is able to pick-up or receive all of the specified number of the goods, services, or printed issues at the retail facility or the store or at another retail facility or another store, or at the location of a service provider, in or during the specified time period, wherein the request is processed with a processing device,
wherein the apparatus creates or initiates a subscription in response to the request and transmits a message to the communication device or to the transaction device associated with the retail facility or the store or the location of the service provider, wherein the message contains information regarding the subscription which was created or initiated.
13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the apparatus processes information for at least one of renewing the subscription, extending the subscription, and canceling or terminating the subscription.
14 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the apparatus processes information regarding a search for the subscription or a search for a second subscription.
15 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the apparatus generates a second message, wherein the second message contains information regarding at least one of an availability of a subscription, an availability of a subscription good, service, or issue, a shipment of a subscription good or issue to the retail facility or the store or to another retail facility or another store or to the location of a service provider, and an arrival of a subscription good or issue at the retail facility or the store or at another retail facility or another store or at the location of a service provider, and wherein the apparatus transmits the second message to the transaction device or to a communication device associated with an individual or the subscriber.
16 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the apparatus processes a second request, wherein the second request is a request to create or initiate a second subscription, wherein the second subscription allows for a ticket or tickets to be picked-up or received at the retail facility or the store or at another retail facility or another store or at the location of a service provider, wherein the second request is transmitted from the communication device or from the transaction device, or the second request is transmitted from a second communication device or from a second transaction device associated with the retail facility or the store or associated with another retail facility or another store or associated with the location of a service provider, wherein the apparatus processes information for creating or initiating a second subscription in response to the second request and transmits a second message to the communication device or to the transaction device, or transmits the second message to the second communication device or to the second transaction device, wherein the second message contains information regarding the second subscription which was created or initiated.
17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the second subscription is a subscription for a ticket or tickets to or for a sporting event, sporting events, an entertainment event, entertainment events, a movie, movies, a show, shows, a theater performance, or theater performances.
18 . An apparatus, comprising:
a processing device for processing a request to create or initiate a subscription which allows for goods, services, or printed issues of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, to be picked-up or received at a retail facility or a store or at a location of a service provider, wherein the request is transmitted from a communication device or from a transaction device associated with a retail facility or a store or is associated with a location of a service provider, wherein the request contains information regarding a specified number of goods, services, or printed issues of at least one of a periodical, a newspaper, and a magazine, to be picked-up or received in or during a specified time period, and a retail facility or a store or a location of a service provider from which the goods, services, or printed issues can be picked-up or received,
wherein the apparatus processes information for creating or initiating a subscription in response to the request and transmits a message to the communication device or to the transaction device associated with the retail facility or the store or associated with the location of a service provider, wherein the message contains information regarding the subscription which was created or initiated.
19 . The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein one or more of the goods, services, or printed issues can be skipped or foregone in or during the specified time period while allowing a subscriber to be able to pick-up or receive all of the specified number of the goods, services, or printed issues in or during the specified time period.
20 . The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the apparatus processes information for at least one of renewing the subscription, extending the subscription, and canceling or terminating the subscription.