Pros and Cons of a C2C eCommerce Business Model

The Rise of the C2C eCommerce Business Model

Consumer-to-consumer, or C2C, eCommerce is a relatively new business model. In C2C commerce (eCommerce if transactions occur online), the seller is also a consumer. This is distinct from B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) models, where the seller is an individual business. 

To illustrate, think about a farmers’ market. Producers gather on a designated day and area to sell their produce. Producers can rent their spots in the area on a weekly or monthly basis, or as a one-time trial. Depending on the region, there might be different rules on the rotation and pricing of available spots, protection from adverse weather, any fees for potential buyers entering the market, or anything else the market-space provider is willing to offer. 

This concept translates to an online market space, where sellers must pay the online platform provider for a spot on the platform in order to sell their products or services. In that way, both the seller and the buyer are consumers in the C2C business model. 

Though farmers’ markets have been around for hundreds of years as the first example of a C2C model, the C2C eCommerce business model is still considered relatively young. The first—and highly successful—example of C2C eCommerce is eBay, which began almost 25 years ago. EBay is an online marketplace where buyers bid for the best price on items, provided by sellers, by a closing deadline. Today, there are many other C2C eCommerce business model examples, with the list growing every day. International examples include: Amazon, Craigslist, Airbnb, PayPal, Upwork, Etsy, SkillShare, Facebook Marketplace, Uber, and more. Each of these has either a specific target audience or a more general audience. Additionally, many smaller platforms may cater for specific items or operate on a national level.

Advantages of C2C eCommerce for Buyers

The distinct pros of C2C eCommerce for buyers help ensure a high level of satisfaction with their purchases.

• Lower Prices: Given that sellers can avoid the costs of intermediaries, the offered products and services can be more affordable for buyers.
• Abundance of Choice: Having many sellers offering specific products or services gathered in the same virtual space means more options for potential buyers to choose from. Criteria such as quality, price, customization, delivery method, time, regular supply, and so on, can be prioritized to find what’s best for the buyer. Buyers have the ability to find exactly what they are looking for, which boosts satisfaction and the feeling that they are getting their money’s worth.
• Faster Service: The abundance of choice gathered on one platform and the absence of intermediaries can lead to faster transactions, streamlining the service and saving time.
• Security: Depending on the policy of the platform, security measures and background checks may be implemented to protect buyers from potential scammers acting as sellers.

Despite the notable C2C eCommerce advantages, there are some issues that buyers should be aware of when engaging with C2C eCommerce.

Clarity Can Help

Well, now that we've answered that question, what's next? Is your business looking for suggestions to facilitate a consumer-to-consumer eCommerce marketplace? Clarity can easily design and build an eCommerce marketplace platform to help you accomplish that. With 15 years of experience as a company, in addition to 350+ combined years of experience as individuals, our team has built more than 1,300 custom websites for every need. To find out more about how Clarity can deliver your eCommerce solution, request a free quote.

Clarity's Expertise on Consumer-to-Consumer eCommerce

Additional C2C eCommerce Information