METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING OPEN-ENDED SUBSCRIPTIONS TO COMMODITY ITEMS NORMALLY AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH TERM-BASED SUBSCRIPTIONS

A system for providing an open-ended subscription to commodity items normally available on a term basis includes a central agent that serves as the front-end for commodity suppliers. This central agent maintains databases containing information associated with a group of commodity items and their sales. Using these databases, the central agent produces subscription records to provide open-ended subscription services to its customers, while supporting the term-based subscriptions of the commodity suppliers.