US Patent 8065191 Electronic quantity purchasing system

Disclosed is an electronic quantity purchasing system which is a host computer that a user may access to purchase quantities of goods or services at a locked-in price for later redemption. The preferred communication means employed is via secure, high-speed Internet access. Data storage is electronic. Users employ the system to make an instant purchase of a small or large quantity of a commodity, such as gasoline at the current purchase price. Users can redeem all or part of their balance for real product at a physical location in the future when desired. The redemption will draw down the user's account balance at the locked-in purchase price, so the user is able to circumvent the market price in effect at the time of redemption.