E-Commerce

Electronic Business (E-Business) or E-Commerce can be conducting of any business transactions online, whether it be Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C) or Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C).[1 pg. 220] Consumer to Consumer transactions are the ones that interest me most. C2C is a branch of of E-Commerce that involves consumers selling directly with other consumers, usually involving a third party. [1 pg. 220]

The most common example I have come across are C2C online auctions. With online auctions consumers place the item(s) they want to sell on auction for a starting price and allow other consumers to bid on that item for a period of time.[2] The third party website will set up the users with all the proper information to conduct the transactions, and in doing so they usually take a small percentage of each sale. [3] Ebay, Bidwicket, and uBid are just a few examples of website that act as that Third Party. Once an item is sold the consumer who bid the most money will end up with the item and the third party will officiate the transaction. [3]

Although online auctions are largely a C2C e-commerce, many businesses take advantage of them. Businesses use these third party online auctions mostly to sell sale items and surplus (Business-to-Consumer or B2C). These businesses don't risk losing money on sale items because they can set the starting bid price to cover the costs of using the site. [2]

Some drawbacks to online auctions are that consumers can hold the product they are viewing in their hand which leads to a potential for fraud and the fact that you are paying money to a third party and losing some of the money one will be making from the sale. [2] Fraud occurs on online auctions when a person decides to sell an "item" and has the other consumer pay first and never sends the item or steal their credit information.

Another Example of C2C e-commerce taking place is through classifieds. The most common website using that format is Craigslist. Consumer's place whatever items they want to sell/want and a description on Craigslist.com and other consumers can view them and purchase/sell as they see fit. Usually people who are selling items set parameters such as where they live and how they want to sell the items whether it be in person or delivery. The best thing about classified websites is that most of the time they are free to post on. [4]

A common practice with any sort of E-commerce is the use of Electronic Payment Systems. Most website you use whether it be Ebay or Amazon offer multiple forms of payment for more ease to the consumer. [1 Pg. 232] The most common ways consumers purchase items are with debit/credit cards. Electronic Payment Systems confirm the credit card you are using is valid with the CRV number on your card (the number next to the signature script). [5 Pg 550] Other less common but still used forms of payment are electronic money (Paypal), smart card (cards used to store information, as well as money for purchasing), P-cards (usually cards given to employee’s with guidelines to how they can be used). [1 Pg 233] You can also pay using your cell-phone. One-click payment on your phone has become popular and incredibly dangerous for shopaholics. Amazon.com implements this system through their amazon phone application.

In conclusion e-commerce has become increasingly popular since it started. It is more convenient, a lot of times less expensive and ever-growing with technology and popularity. E-commerce has known to put many physical stores out of business and I believe it will continue to do so.

[1] Introduction to Information Systems by Ralph Stair and George Reynolds
[2] http://www.answers.com/topic/online-auction-business-model
[3] http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-consumer-to-consume r-e-commerce.htm
[4] http://smallbusiness.chron.com/craigslist-money-27287.html
[5] Electronic Commerce 2008: A Managerial Perspective. London: Pearson Education Ltd. by E. Turban, D King