Services such as Craigslist, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Mercari, OfferUp, and other classified and auction based sites & apps have allowed for greater interaction between consumers, facilitating the Customer to Customer model.
Normally used in text-based print, classified advertisement is now a strong vertical market that allows customers to communicate their needs with each other.
Most C2C websites, such as eBay, have both streamlined and globalized traditional person-to-person trading, which was usually conducted through such forms as garage sales, collectibles shows, flea markets and more, with their web interface.
This facilitates easy exploration for buyers and enables the sellers to immediately list an item for sale within minutes of registering.
[9] Many C2C sites have expanded and developed existing product categories by introducing category-specific bulletin boards and chat rooms, integrating category-specific content, advertising its service in targeted publications and participating in targeted trade shows.
For example, eBay Motors serves the automotive marketplace, including vehicles, parts and accessories; and Half.com (now closed) was focused on providing a fixed-price trading environment, initially for books music, videos and video games.
[10] There are various platforms that Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce is taking place on, such as social media (e.g. Facebook, Reddit), advertisement websites (e.g. Craigslist) and online auction sites (e.g.
As such, the products and services bought and sold are usually varied in type and have a short development and sale cycle.
As opposed to the pricey costs to advertise in media such as newspapers and magazines, products are already being promoted and publicized once users decide to officially put them on the internet.
Aside from possible fees and commissions imposed by the auction or listing site, advertising in this market does not require a substantial amount of money.
Moreover, anyone can now sell and advertise a product in the convenience of one's home – enabling one to easily start a business.
Therefore, a wide variety of products can often be found on auction sites such as eBay, including second-hand goods.
Since the majority of these sales occur over the internet, sellers can reach both national and international customers and greatly increase their market.
For instance, Sears has reported selling items at higher prices on these auctions when compared to discounting them in stores.
[15] The success of an online auction site largely depends on six variables: interactivity, product offering, level of trust, rate of growth and adoption, networking, level of commitment, and payment options.
With the growing need for convenience, the variety of products offered can greatly attribute to the client basis.
Users must be guaranteed that their personal information will remain secured and that they will receive their purchased product in a perfect condition and in a timely manner.
Having an array of different sellers, buyers, suppliers, and delivery agents will increase the number of users, which would also raise the level of interactivity.
Although most prefer speedy online transactions, it is beneficial to offer different payment options that will accommodate different buyers.
Craigslist utilizes the internet to attract a wide customer and buyer base which employs the website to list and sell items.
Revenues which support the company are derived through subsidiary channels, while maintaining the model and convenience of the site.
OLX and Quikr recently enabled their users to sell cows and buffaloes in rural India [19] C2C marketing is of critical importance to retailers.
Recent trends by Facebook and Wavespot that leverage free WIFI at a local business are indicative of C2C marketing's importance in SMB space.
A study performed in Colombia[20] with 686 surveys analyzed factors C2C users perceive as influences in the intention to use and the acceptance of a marketplace: trust, high web quality, low prices and social influence are key drivers that engage consumers to this marketplaces.