WHAT IS C2C E-COMMERCE?

Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is basically commerce between private individuals or consumers.

This type of e-commerce is characterized by the development of online auctions and electronic marketplaces, particularly in vertical organizations where businesses/ firms can offer for what they would like from among multiple suppliers. It perhaps has the maximum potential for developing new markets.

This type of e-commerce comes in at least three forms:

• Peer-to-peer systems, for illustration the Napster model (a protocol for sharing files between users used by chat forums similar to IRC) and other file exchange and later money exchange models,
• Classified ads at portal sites for instance Excite Classifieds and e-Wanted (an interactive, online marketplace where buyers and sellers can negotiate and which features "Buyer Leads & Want Ads"); and
• Auctions facilitated at a portal, for instance eBay, which allows online real-time bidding on items being sold in the Web.

Consumer-to-business (C2B) transactions occupy opposite auctions, which permit the consumer to drive transactions. A tangible example of this when competing airlines gives a traveler best travel and ticket offers in response to the traveler's post that she wishes to fly from New York to San Francisco.

There is tiny information on the relative size of global C2C e-commerce. Though, C2C figures of popular C2C sites such as Napster and eBay point out that this market is relatively large. These sites generate millions of dollars in sales every day.