Table of Contents
- What Is Customer to Customer (C2C)?
- Key Takeaways
- How Customer to Customer (C2C) Works
- Fast Fact
- Types of Customer-to-Customer (C2C) Businesses
- Revenue and Growth of the C2C Market
- Special Considerations
- What Are Some Examples of C2C Companies?
- How Does C2C Differ from P2P?
- What Is a B2C Company?
- The Bottom Line
What Is Customer to Customer (C2C)?
Let me explain what Customer to Customer, or C2C, really means. It's a business model where you, as a customer, can trade directly with other customers, usually in an online setting.
You'll see this in action through auctions and classified advertisements. C2C has exploded in popularity thanks to the internet and companies like eBay, Etsy, and Craigslist.
Key Takeaways
Understand that C2C is all about customers trading with each other, often online. These businesses sprang up with ecommerce and the sharing economy.
Sites like Craigslist, Etsy, and eBay operate on this model, selling via classifieds or auctions. They do have drawbacks, though, such as no strong quality control or payment guarantees. You can compare C2C to B2C or B2B models.
How Customer to Customer (C2C) Works
C2C creates a market where one customer buys goods from another, using a third-party platform to handle the deal. This model took off with ecommerce tech and the sharing economy.
As a buyer, you gain from product competition and can find rare items. Sellers get higher margins without retailers or wholesalers cutting in. These sites are straightforward—no need for physical stores; list online, and buyers find you.
Fast Fact
You've probably heard of the Amazon effect—it's named after the giant online retailer and describes how ecommerce gives businesses an edge as more shoppers buy online instead of in physical stores.
Types of Customer-to-Customer (C2C) Businesses
Take Craigslist, for instance—it's an ecommerce site connecting people for products, services, or even situations. It goes beyond buying and selling to include monthly classifieds like jobs and real estate. Sellers must deliver items in person to buyers.
Then there's Etsy, which lets business owners build their own sites to sell products. They provide tools and guidance for business growth, priced by development stage, plus an app for managing orders, listings, and customer questions.
eBay offers fixed-price listings and auctions. You can buy fixed-price items instantly with Buy It Now, or bid on auctions that run for a set time and go to the highest bidder.
Revenue and Growth of the C2C Market
These platforms earn from fees on seller listings, extra promotions, and credit card processing. Transactions often involve used goods via classifieds or auctions.
Expect the C2C market to grow—it's cost-effective, with dropping third-party costs and more consumer products available. Retailers see it as key due to social media's role in highlighting owned items, boosting demand and traffic to C2C sites.
That said, issues persist like poor quality control or no payment guarantees. Credit card support can be spotty, but PayPal and similar systems have made payments easier over time.
Special Considerations
The C2C space has grown as more companies facilitate these transactions, often targeting niche markets with specific products to draw unique buyers.
Sellers use C2C to reach customers they couldn't with traditional methods, maximizing sales. Platforms like Etsy, eBay, and Craigslist attract buyers seeking any product at their price point.
Still, problems arise—lack of quality control and payment guarantees lead to scams, with some sellers reporting customer fraud and Craigslist being largely unmoderated.
What Are Some Examples of C2C Companies?
In ecommerce, major C2C players include eBay, Etsy, Craigslist, Ali Express, and Amazon Marketplace. For payments, think Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle.
How Does C2C Differ from P2P?
C2C means customer to customer; P2P is peer to peer. Both involve individuals dealing with each other, but C2C has a third-party company in between, unlike P2P where parties transact directly without intermediaries.
What Is a B2C Company?
Most companies are B2C, or business to consumer, producing and marketing products for household use. This contrasts with B2B or C2C.
The Bottom Line
In the C2C model, customers trade directly online. Auctions and classifieds are common, and thanks to the internet and sites like Craigslist, eBay, and Etsy, C2C has surged in popularity.
Other articles for you
A money market account combines savings and checking features with higher interest rates but includes transaction limits and variable rates.
Numismatics is the study and collection of coins and currency, focusing on their physical properties, history, and value beyond face worth.
Stress testing evaluates the resilience of systems, institutions, and portfolios against adverse scenarios across industries like finance, engineering, software, and healthcare.
A ballpark figure is a rough numerical estimate used when an exact value is unknown to facilitate discussions or planning.
Yellow sheets are bulletins that provide key data on over-the-counter corporate bonds for traders.
Net Domestic Product (NDP) measures a nation's economic output by subtracting depreciation from GDP to account for capital asset wear.
The Heckscher-Ohlin model explains how countries benefit from trading based on their abundant resources and production efficiencies.
Flow of funds accounts track the net inflows and outflows of money across various sectors of a national economy for analysis by central banks.
The 11th District Cost of Funds Index was a regional index used to adjust interest rates on adjustable-rate mortgages in the western US until its discontinuation in 2022.
Tight monetary policy is a central bank's strategy to slow overheated economic growth and curb inflation by raising interest rates and reducing money supply.