University:
California State University, Los Angeles
Course:
CIS 1200 | Information and Technology Literacy
Academic year:

2024
Views:

363

Pages:

2
Author:

Jithin J. I.

CONSUMER TO CONSUMER (C2C) - E-COMMERCE MODEL Consumer to consumer (C2C) or citizen-to-citizen electronic commerce involves the electronically facilitated transactions between consumers. A common example is the online auction, in which a consumer posts an item for sale and other consumers bid to purchase it. The sites are only intermediaries, just there to match consumers. They do not have to check quality of the products being offered. The C2C model facilitates online transactions of goods and services between the individual net users. But in this both the web users orboth the parties cannot carry out any transaction without the platform that is provided by an online market maker such as the eBay. C2C Examples The foremost example of C2C via a third-party website would be an auction platform like eBay which brings seller and buyers together. eBay charges a fee for facilitating each sale while the other parties to the transaction are responsible for settling other matters such as product quality, packaging, shipping, and refunds. Advantages of C2C E-Commerce  It is always available so that consumers can have access to whenever they feel like shopping  There is regular updating of the website  Consumers selling products to other consumers benefit from the higher profitability that result from selling directly to one another  There is a low transaction cost; sellers can post their goods over the internet at a cheaper rate far better than higher price of renting a space in a store  Customer can directly contact sellers and do without an intermediary.  With C2C, the products gallery is unlimited since different customers are on board and selling various items scattered across different niches.  C2C facilitates the sale of used items as opposed to B2C where a majority of the products are new.  C2C often serves as a black market for businesses to purchase items without going through the primary market.  Any online platform that allows interaction between two or more people can facilitate a C2C trade. Disadvantages of C2C E-Commerce  There could be theft as scammers might try to create their website with names of some famous C2C websites such as eBay to attract customers.  The cost charged for each sale using the C2C e commerce model on a third-party site like eBay may eat into the profit of the merchant.  C2C poses a high level of risk in terms of product quality than other e commerce business models. Under C2C, most transactions require that both parties trust it each other.  For auction sites, users may end up buying goods at inflated prices which is not a good economic decision.