The present invention provides a method and apparatus for creating and
ordering customized branded merchandise over a computer network. A
Internet site is provided that allows a consumer to create and order
customized branded merchandise, such as bottles of soda. A customer may
visit the WWW site utilizing a standard WWW browser executing on a
computer. Once the customer has registered with the WWW site, the customer
may place an order for an item of customized branded merchandise. The
customer may also be asked to identify a graphic image for customizing the
requested merchandise. The graphic image may be a digital photograph taken
by the customer or other type of graphic image. Once the customer has
identified a graphic image, the graphic image may be displayed for
editing. The customer may be permitted to crop the graphic image or
perform other types of image manipulations. A preview of the cropped or
manipulated image may also be provided for the customer. Once the customer
is satisfied with the graphic image, the graphic image may be transmitted
to the WWW server. Once the customer has specified order details, the
customer may be asked to provide a billing and shipping address. The
customer may then be asked to identify a payment method, and provide a
credit card or other billing number. The customer may then be provided
with a summary of the order details and asked to verify that all of the
information is correct. If the information is correct, the customized
branded merchandise item ordered by the customer will be created and
shipped to the customer at address they provided.
