Business to Consumer 1 Running Head: E-Business Fundamentals and Systems

Comparison amongst eBay and Amazon 14 References 15 Introduction Business to consumer is a business model and under this model, transactions take places between company and customers directly. They sell their products and services over internet which helps the customers to purchase products and services as per their requirement from anywhere anytime (Laudon and Traver 2013). In B2C, company sells its products and services directly to its customers whereas B2B business model describe the transactions made between one business enterprises to another. URL for Amazon Inc.

Running Head: Business to Consumer
E-Business Fundamentals and Systems

Business to Consumer 1
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
A. E-commerce business model....................................................................................................2
B. Why both these belongs to e-commerce business model.........................................................4
C. Principal goals......................................................................................................................5
D. Five-point semantic differential scale......................................................................................6
E. Comparison amongst eBay and Amazon...............................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................15

Business to Consumer 2
Introduction
Business to consumer is a business model and under this model, transactions take places between
company and customers directly. In this model, customers purchase products from company for
consumption purpose and they are the end user of purchased product or service. Apart from this,
another business model exists i.e. business to business under which company sells its products to
another company with the motive of producing finished goods, etc. (Teece 2010, 172-194).
Under this report, comparison will be made between Amazon Inc. and eBay Inc. Both the
companies are part of e-commerce business model and directly deal with consumers. There is no
intermediator exists between these companies and consumers. They sell their products and
services over internet which helps the customers to purchase products and services as per their
requirement from anywhere anytime (Laudon and Traver 2013).
This report will discuss about the e-commerce business activities of Amazon Inc. and eBay Inc.
and further, the report will focus over principal goals and objectives of these companies. The last
part of the report will include comparison amongst these companies on the basis of rating and
reviews provided by customers with regards to organizational services.
A. E-commerce business model
E-commerce business model is a broad category and it covers both the aspects i.e. business to
business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) models. In B2C, company sells its products and
services directly to its customers whereas B2B business model describe the transactions made
between one business enterprises to another. For example: Manufacturer to wholesalers. This
report will focus over B2C model and for the same; two large multinational corporations have
been chosen i.e. Amazon Inc. and e-Bay Inc.
URL for Amazon Inc.: https://www.amazon.com/

Business to Consumer 3
1
URL for e-Bay Inc.: https://www.ebay.com/

Business to Consumer 4
B. Why both these belongs to e-commerce business model
Amazon Inc. provides various products and services to individuals across the globe. It acts as an
online retailer for consumers and for businesses; it acts as mediator between consumers and
businesses. Consumers have welcomed online business idea introduced by Amazon Inc. as this
has reduced their efforts to go out for shopping. With one mouse click, consumers could
purchase from books and music to furniture and clothing. Product offering have been enlarged
by Amazon in recent years whereas in the initial periods, organization was dealing in only books.
The business which is running virtually without making a physical presence for customers in
relation with purchase and sell of goods are known as e-commerce businesses. Since 1994,
Amazon is fulfilling demands of its consumers by providing varieties of products and services
over internet (Amazon 2018).
Amazon crafted a new business model in 1990s for internet entrepreneurs by using Web as a
platform for transacting. This helped the consumers to replace their physical presence with just a
mouse click and Amazon created e-commerce business model for generating massive profits by
selling varieties of products over internet. Amazon has adopted business to consumer (B2C)
model as it directly deals with consumers. This made the Amazon behemoth in e-commerce
industry. B2C model is an effective model because it avoids unnecessary intermediators’ such as
wholesalers, retailers, etc. cost (Zott, Amit and Massa 2011, 1019-1042).
e-Bay is another giant player of online retailing industry. It was founded in 1995 just after one
year of Amazon’s introduction in this industry. e-Bay facilitates both consumers as well as
businesses on their website. It is operating in more than 30 countries across the globe (eBay
2018). e-Bay is direct competition to Amazon because they both have gained appropriate
experience in online retail industry. e-Bay has adopted push strategy to expand its market share
in the global online industry. Online shopping procedure is quite similar to the brick and mortar
process except the physical presence. Consumers could choose products and services as per their
requirement from the available products. Online shopping websites acts as the digital shopping
mall or catalogue which attracts the consumers to purchase anytime from anywhere as online

Business to Consumer 5
shopping websites never gets closed, time limit does not exists for shopping (Chiu, et. al. 2014,
85-114).
Any company dealing over internet is following e-commerce business model and e-Bay is also
following this model and operating as B2B as well as B2C. e-Bay invites both consumers and
businesses to purchase from their website and this has been done to expand the customer base,
revenues, sales, market share, etc. Ultimately, it will lead the organization to gain desired
outcomes such as sufficient profits along with the opportunities to acquire leading position in the
e-commerce business industry (Turban, Sharda and Delen 2011).
C. Principal goals
Primary principal goals of Amazon Inc. is to fulfil its target audience’s demand as well as to
make their experience unique and satisfied so that in future consumers give preference to online
shopping over physical shopping. In relation with this, organization has expanded its product
offerings. Initially, organization started its business in a garage and engaged in selling books and
later on, the garage was converted into warehouse and product offering was enlarged by selling
music CDs, etc. Amazon has adopted customer centric approach in order to enhance its market
share in the online retailing industry as well as to enhance reliability amongst the target audience
towards the organization. Developing customer relationships, expansion of products and
services, enhance profitability, etc. are certain other primary goals and objectives of
Amazon.com. Apart from this, major goals in relation with their website is to provide one stop
for all consumer query resolution, provide loyalty benefits for regular customers and also offers
customised deals and offers along with offering contemporary products (Barnes and Hunt 2013).
e-Bay deals in both fresh as well as used items and their mission is to be the favourite destination
for its target audience for discovering the unique selection and great value. They promote small
sellers and provide them a platform to grow their businesses. Primary goals of e-Bay website are
to provide better experience to its customers in relevance with selection of the required product
easily from the vast range of products and services. Apart from this, e-Baay’s primary goals in
relation with their website is to provide enriched web experience to its customers, showcases the
relevant products as per customer’s demand, providing customer support, etc. (Veit, et. al. 2014,
45-53).

Business to Consumer 6
D. Five-point semantic differential scale
1 2 3 4 5
Very
Poor
Poor Inapplicable/Average Good Very
Good
With the help of this table, services and products offered by Amazon and e-Bay will be scaled
from 1 to 5 using 22 attributes.
Sr. No. Attributes Amazon Inc. e-Bay Inc. Comments
1. How does the
website URL
relate to the
business name?
5 5 Amazon’s and e-
Bay’s URL are
based on their
company names,
hence, both score
the same in this
criteria.
2. How easily is the
website found
using general
internet search
engines (e.g.
Google, Ask,
AltaVista, Bing,
Yahoo!)?
5 5 Both the
companies are
easily found on
general search
engines available
in the market
(Zhang, et. al.
2011, 192-200).
3. Does the website
give me all the
organisational
information a user
could reasonably
require?
5 4 Yes, both
companies’
website is quite
effective in order
to provide all sort
of information. e-
bay’s website is

Business to Consumer 7
bit complex but
still it provides all
information.
4. Are requirements
to provide a user’s
(personal or
sensitive)
information
appropriate?
5 5 Adequate
measures have
been adopted to
provide
appropriate
information to its
users (Rodríguez-
Ardura and
Meseguer-Artola
2010, 209-227).
5. How well does the
website reassure
users about the
security and use
of their
information?
5 5 Appropriate
measures have
been taken by
both the
companies to
ensure the safety
and security of
customer’s data.
6. How well does the
website foster
user trust in the
organisation?
5 4 Amazon’s website
clearly showcases
the all the policies
related to return
and refund of the
product which
helps the users to
trust over
organization
whereas e-Bay’s

Business to Consumer 8
website is bit
complex, hence,
return and refund
related policies are
not clearly visible
(Huang, et. al.
2010, 348-359).
7. How well does the
website address
legal issues
associated with
use of the website
or engagement in
transactions?
5 5 In both the
websites, it is
clearly mentioned
that if the
transactions are
being made for
other purposes
rather selling and
consuming, then
organization has
full right to take
strict as well as
legal actions
against the users
(Hajli 2012, 77-
97).
8. How well does the
website provide
for the
accessibility needs
of users?
5 5 Before placing an
order, both the
websites asks for
user id and
password to
ensure the
originality of the
customer.

Business to Consumer 9
9. How well does the
website address
the language or
cultural needs of
users?
5 4 Amazon is
operating in
various parts of
the globe and they
have provided the
language option
on their website as
per the consumer
preferences.
While, few
language options
are available on e-
Bay’s websites.
10. Does the website
contain all the
product
information that a
user could
reasonably
require?
5 3 Amazon’s website
provide every
relevant
information about
the product
whereas e-bay’s
website fails to do
so every product
and service.
11. Does the website
allow all the
customisation
(user-managed
features) that a
user could
reasonably
expect?
5 4 Amazon offers
customisation
option to its users
in every product
while e-Bay does
not provide
customisation
option every time.
12. How well does the 5 5 Both the websites

Business to Consumer 10
website
personalise the
experience for
users?
welcomes their
users by
displaying their
names and by
showcasing
exclusive deals
and offers. This
develops a
personal touch
with the
customers.
13. Does the website
identify sufficient
channels for user
service/support?
5 4 Amazon provides
call, chat as well
as email option to
contact the
organization
regarding any
information while
e-Bay provides 1-
2 support
channels.
14. How easy is it to
find any
information on the
website about the
organisation, their
products or
services?
5 3 Amazon is quite
convenient
website to find
products and
services. They
have provided
various options to
search the
required products
and services while

Business to Consumer 11
e-Bay take bit
longer time in
order to display
the search results
for customer.
15. How easy is the
information on the
website to read
(i.e. is provided
information in
appropriate
language and with
sufficient detail
for most users)?
5 5 Both the
companies
provide option to
its users to change
the language as
per the country for
better
understanding.
Information
regarding products
and services are
also sufficient on
both the sites.
16. Is the website
easy to navigate
(i.e. move through
the website to find
information,
products, or
services, and
engage in
transactions with
the organisation)?
5 5 Yes, new page can
be accessed while
transacting or
searching over
other page.
17. How appropriate
are the website
aesthetics (e.g.
5 4 Amazon uses the
layout to attract its
target audience

Business to Consumer 12
use of layout,
colours, imagery,
fonts, etc) for the
target audience?
and that layout
changes time to
time, country to
country, occasion
to occasion. E-
Bay also does the
same.
18. How well does the
website foster
community
among users?
5 5 There is an option
available at both
the sites in
relevance with the
reviews over
products by
community
members. This
influences buyer’s
purchase decision.
19. How quickly does
the website load
into your browser
and do all website
features, links and
embedded objects
(eg: media files or
applets) work as
intended?
5 3 Amazon’s website
takes
approximately 3
seconds to load
the whole page
while e-Bay takes
bit longer time.
(On the basis of
average speed of
internet).
20. How well does the
website support
different web-
browsers or
5 3 e-Bay’s website
take longer time to
load over mobile
devices while

Business to Consumer 13
platforms (e.g.
mobile devices)?
Amazon’s website
could easily be
operated over any
of the browser
with average
internet speed.
21. Does the website
provide a
sufficient range of
payment options
as could be
reasonably
expected?
5 3 Generally online
retailing websites
provides various
payment options
such as cash on
delivery, debit
card, credit card,
wallet payment,
net banking, etc.
Amongst these
options, e-Bay
does not provide
cash on delivery
in some areas.
22. Does the website
provide a
sufficient range of
delivery options
as could be
reasonably
expected?
5 3 Amazon has
recently launched
prime delivery
option, fast
delivery option
along with general
delivery options.
While e-Bay only
offers fast delivery
option in some
areas only along

Business to Consumer 14
with general
delivery options.
E. Comparison amongst eBay and Amazon
It can be said that Amazon is much bigger player in the e-commerce industry in comparison with
the eBay. This can be evaluated by the market area covered by both the companies and on the
basis of the product offerings. Amazon serves millions of products in more than 188 countries
with number of registered offices in 12 countries across the globe. Though, eBay deals in both
fresh as well as used products, but still, Amazon has acquired the leading position in the global
e-commerce industry. Apart from this, Amazon’s website is more useful, authentic and reliable
in terms of product quality, varieties of products offered to the consumers, etc. Whereas, eBay
had also developed trust amongst the target audience but in some parts of the globe however,
Amazon has developed its reliable image amongst the target audience in all markets in the
overseas market where they operate.

Business to Consumer 15
References
Amazon. 2018. Sustainability. Amazon Inc. Accessed May 2, https://www.aboutamazon.com/?
utm_source=gateway&utm_medium=footer.
Barnes, Stuart, and Brian Hunt, eds. E-commerce and v-business. Routledge, 2013.
Chiu, Chao‐Min, Eric TG Wang, Yu‐Hui Fang, and Hsin‐Yi Huang. "Understanding customers'
repeat purchase intentions in B2C e‐commerce: the roles of utilitarian value, hedonic value and
perceived risk." Information Systems Journal 24, no. 1 (2014): 85-114.
eBay. 2018. Our Company. eBay Inc. Accessed May 2, https://www.ebayinc.com/our-company/.
Hajli, Mahmood. "An integrated model for e-commerce adoption at the customer level with the
impact of social commerce." International Journal of Information Science and Management
(IJISM) (2012): 77-97.
Huang, Chun-Che, Wen-Yau Liang, Yu-Hsin Lai, and Yin-Chen Lin. "The agent-based
negotiation process for B2C e-commerce." Expert Systems with Applications 37, no. 1 (2010):
348-359.
Laudon, Kenneth C., and Carol Guercio Traver. E-commerce. Pearson, 2013.
Rodríguez-Ardura, Inma, and Antoni Meseguer-Artola. "Toward a longitudinal model of e-
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Turban, Efraim, Ramesh Sharda, and Dursun Delen. Decision support and business intelligence
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Veit, Daniel, Eric Clemons, Alexander Benlian, Peter Buxmann, Thomas Hess, Dennis
Kundisch, Jan Marco Leimeister, Peter Loos, and Martin Spann. "Business models." Business &
Information Systems Engineering 6, no. 1 (2014): 45-53.

Business to Consumer 16
Zhang, Yixiang, Yulin Fang, Kwok-Kee Wei, Elaine Ramsey, Patrick McCole, and Huaping
Chen. "Repurchase intention in B2C e-commerce—A relationship quality
perspective." Information & Management 48, no. 6 (2011): 192-200.
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