Systems and methods for activation of postage indicia at point of sale
AssigneeStamps.com Inc.
InventorsJames Michael Bortnak, Kenneth Thomas McBride
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Abstract
Systems and methods which provide for activation of postage indicia at a point of sale are shown. In operation according to embodiments, unassigned (e.g., not yet activated or not yet representing postage value) tokens (e.g., IBI barcodes) suitable for later use as postage indicia are distributed to various point of sale locations, such as retail locations, consumer kiosks, vending machines, etc. and made available for purchase by users. Upon purchase, at a point of sale, such unassigned tokens are preferably activated as valid or “live” postage indicia. Thereafter, the postage indicia may be used to post mail items.
Claims1
A method comprising:
- providing postage stock having one or more pre-produced tokens thereon, at least one of said postage stock and said pre-produced tokens having unique identifying information associated therewith;
- and
- activating said one or more pre-produced tokens at a point of sale using said at least a portion of said unique identifying information to provide at least one valid value bearing postage indicia comprising said one or more pre-produced tokens.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.