Friday, October 11, 2013

E- Commerce

E-Commerce is something which is used by many people who have internet access. E-commerce varies from online banking to online auction sites. There are both scopes and limitations to this variety of e-commerce going on within the online community.
Online Auctions


One type of e-commerce is online auctioning such as ‘Ebay’, this is where people can sell things to other people at fairly cheap prices. Ebay now sells products from local retail stores such as new look, Topshop and Jack Wills. Sometimes these products can even get sent as whole sales from jewellery to handbags.
Advanatges
-You are more likely to get a good price for your unused belongings, this is because ‘Ebay’ gives you the option to ‘bid’ on something or in some causes you can ‘buy it now’. This gives customers time to buy the product for the appropriate price or click on the ‘buy it now’ option if they prefer that price or just want to buy it before other people get the chance to win the auction.
-‘Ebay’ is also good because users are advised to leave feedback and reviews on the seller to see if people should buy from them. If users have higher rating than other users customers are more likely to buy a product from them as they know they are reliable.
Disadvantages
-Some users of ‘Ebay’ could be selling not appropriate products, however there can be photographic evidence of the product which speaks otherwise. Because of the high quality image of the photo this may lead the buyer to believe that the product is going to be better than they thought.
-Some sellers may misuse your right of privacy such as giving out information like your address, email address or even your phone number to other people. Sometimes people can even find out your PayPal account or credit card details. Customers could possibly get cheated out of a lot of money.
Personal Experiences
I have purchased and sold things on auctions sites such as Ebay. I sent an item of clothing to someone before and they claimed they didn’t receive it even though I had proof of P&P; it took Ebay a long time to resolve the situation which was very stressful and annoying. Similarly when I have purchased an item off Ebay before I haven’t received it and I never got a refund because the seller had proof of P&P therefore I lost out on a lot of money. Nevertheless, I do like to use Ebay because I can get things cheap from this online auction site and most of the time they do arrive on time. The pictures are normally of a good quality as well when purchasing an item from Ebay.

Online Shops
Most shops sell their products online as well as having a retail store which is centered in a town or shopping centre. Shop owners try to rejuvenate their shop by hosting an online retail store. Online shopping is the best way for customers to shop as they are in the comfort of their own home. Customers also like to shop online in case they want to look up the price of a specific product; if they like the price of the product then they can purchase the item in store so they don’t have to pay for post and packaging.
Advantages
-Online retail shops are more efficient for customers to purchase items and to have a look to see what reviews other people have wrote about a specific product. This information can be very helpful and informative to customers as it can help them come to a conclusion whether they want to buy the product or not.
-Another thing that is good with online shopping is that it saves the company money because they don’t need to pay as much staff if there store is online.
Disadvantages
-You don’t know the full extent of what the item of clothing is like.
- You never know if it will be the right size for you or not.
- You don’t know about the quality of the product.
- It could be a fake.
- You have to wait for the product to arrive.
Personal Experiences
I have had experiences from online shopping for both high-street stores as wells as stores which are only based online, for example- ‘Topshop’ and ‘Missguided’. The only disadvantage I have had from online shopping is that you have to pay extra for P&P which can be annoying sometimes and you sometimes have to wait a long time to receive the package. I sometimes prefer shopping in a store because you can get what you want then and there, you don’t have to wait around for it.


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