E-commerce :: Business and Management Studies

E- physicianUnless you earn been living under a rock for the last 2 years, you energize heard about e-commerce And you have heard about it from some(prenominal) dissimilar angles. For exampleYou have heard about in each of the companies that ecstasy e-commercebecause you have been bombarded by their TV and radio ads.You have read all of the news stories about the shift to e-commerceand the hype that has developed around e-commerce companies.You have seen the huge valuations that web companies bulge in the stockmarket, even when they dont garner a profit.And you may have actually purchased something on the web, so you havedirect personal experience with e-commerce.Still, you may feel like you dont catch e-commerce at all. Whatis all the hype about? Why the huge valuations? And around importantly,is there a way for you to participate? If you have an e-commerce idea,how might you get started implementing it? If you have had questionslike these, then this edition of How Stuff W orks get out help out byexposing you to the entire e-commerce space. Lets have a checkCommerceBefore we get into a complete discussion of e-commerce, it is encouragingto have a good mental image of plain sr. commerce first. If youunderstand commerce, then e-commerce is an easy extension.Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary defines commerce as followscom.merce n MF, fr. L commercium, fr. com- + merc-, merx merchandise(1537) 1 social intercourse flip-flop of ideas, opinions, orsentiments 2 the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on alarge scale involving transportation from place to place 3 sexualintercourseWe tend to be interested in the certify definition, but that third oneis interesting and unexpected - maybe thats what all of the hype isaboutSo commerce is, quite simply, the exchange of goods and services, ordinarily for money. We see commerce all around us in in millions ofdifferent forms. When you buy something at a grocery store or atWal-mart you are particip ating in commerce. In the same way, if you tangle half of your possessions onto your front lawn for a yard sale,you are participating in commerce from a different angle. If you go towork each sidereal day for a company that produces a product, that is yetanother link in the chain of commerce. When you think about commercein these different ways, you instinctively recognize several differentrolesBuyers - these are people with money who requirement to purchase a good orservice.Sellers - these are the people who invite goods and services to buyers.Sellers are generally recognized in two different forms retailers who