E-Commerce

The buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers through an electronic medium, without using any paper documents.

E-commerce is widely considered the buying and selling of products over the internet, but any transaction that is completed solely through electronic measures can be considered e-commerce.

E-commerce is subdivided into three categories: business to business or B2B (Cisco), business to consumer or B2C (Amazon), and consumer to consumer or C2C (eBay). also called electronic commerce.

Web sites such as Amazon.com, Buy.com, and eBay are all e-commerce sites.

The terms "e-business" and "e-tailing" are often used synonymously with e-commerce.



B2B (Business-to-Business)
Companies doing business with each other such as manufacturers selling to distributors and wholesalers selling to retailers. Pricing is based on quantity of order and is often negotiable.

B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
Businesses selling to the general public typically through catalogs utilizing shopping cart software.


C2B (Consumer-to-Business)
A consumer posts his project with a set budget online and within hours companies review the consumer's requirements and bid on the project. The consumer reviews the bids and selects the company that will complete the project.

C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer)
There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums where individuals can buy and sell thanks to online payment systems like PayPal where people can send and receive money online with ease. eBay's auction service is a great example of where person-to-person transactions take place everyday since 1995.

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