Systems and/or methods for selling non-inventory items at point-of-sale (pos) locations

An electronic registration (ER) system, comprising:

• processing resources including at least one processor and a memory;
• an ER database configured to store records of purchased products;
• a return/warranty qualification module that, under control of the processing resources and in response to a return/warranty eligibility inquiry, is configured to issue a return/warranty qualification;
• a connection to a store's checkout system, the ER system being configured to receive, via the connection, a data feed from the checkout system, the data feed being formatted to include unique identifiers of purchased products, as well as pairs of order numbers and product identifiers for products ordered from, but not delivered by, the store;
• and
• program logic that, under the control of the processing resources and for each entry in the data feed, is configured to:
• create a corresponding record in the ER database,
• determine whether the entry is either a unique identifier of a purchased product, or an order number/product identifier pair for a product ordered at the store, and
• transmit an electronic message to a supplier of the product ordered at the store indicating that payment has been received for that product ordered at the store, when the program logic determines that the entry is an order number/product identifier pair.

A method of processing an order, the method comprising:

• receiving, via a computer provided to a brick-and-mortar store, an order for a product that is sold but not stocked by the store, the computer being prevented from actually selling the ordered product;
• generating, using the computer, an order number for the ordered product, the order number being formatted in accordance with a first mask;
• printing a receipt for the ordered product, the receipt including the order number and a product identifier for the ordered product,
• wherein the receipt is processable by a checkout system of the store so as to complete a sale of the ordered product, the order number being treated as if it were a serial number formatted in accordance with a second mask that is different from the first mask, and
• wherein a centralized computer system is configured to (a) receive from the checkout system a data feed including entries for both unique identifiers of purchased products and order numbers for ordered products, and (b) generate messages confirming to one or more suppliers, as appropriate, that payment has been received for entries in the data stream that correspond to ordered products.

A method of processing orders for products placed at, but not delivered by, a retailer, the method comprising:

• receiving, from a point-of-sale (POS) system of the retailer and over a computer network connection, a data feed including unique identifiers of purchased products, as well as pairs of order numbers and product identifiers for products ordered from, but not delivered by, the store;
• for each entry in the data feed, and in connection with at least one processor:
• creating a corresponding record in an electronic registration (ER) database,
• determining whether the entry is either a unique identifier of a purchased product, or an order number/product identifier pair for a product ordered at the retailer, and
• transmitting an electronic message to a supplier of the product ordered at the store indicating that payment has been received for that product ordered at the store, when it is determined that the entry is an order number/product identifier pair;
• and
• receiving, from the supplier, an indication that a product has been or is being shipped, along with a serial number of the product that has been or is being shipped, and updating the corresponding record in the ER database with the serial number.