eCommerce

= A: Review of ethiogift site: = We will organise the responses together in class

1. What is the purpose of the site? How long has it been operating for? 2. What type of goods are available? Why do they sell these goods? Who do they supply these good for? 3. What groups of people would receive these goods (and where are they)? Who will use it to purchase goods (and where are they)? Are these the same people – if not why not? 4. How does the company ‘insure’ the quality of the goods? 5. What delivery process to they use? 6. How does the company ensure that data: customer details and transactions are safe? How long does the company keep this information for? What does/could the company do with the customer information? 7. How can the company ensure that the financial transactions are safe? Do they do these transactions themselves or do they use another third-party? 8. What issues can you see that may arise from this particular application of eCommerce?

= B: Look for another eCommerce application - go through the same process: = //Each pair, copy the section below and enter the answers://

eCommerce site (and link):
Students involved: 1. What is the purpose of the site? How long has it been operating for? 2. What type of goods are available? Why do they sell these goods? Who do they supply these good for? 3. What groups of people would receive these goods (and where are they)? Who will use it to purchase goods (and where are they)? Are these the same people – if not why not? 4. How does the company ‘insure’ the quality of the goods? 5. What delivery process to they use? 6. How does the company ensure that data: customer details and transactions are safe? How long does the company keep this information for? What does/could the company do with the customer information? 7. How can the company ensure that the financial transactions are safe? Do they do these transactions themselves or do they use another third-party? 8. What issues can you see that may arise from this particular application of eCommerce? =[|Play.com™]= Tom & Linda 1.    What is the purpose of the site? How long has it been operating for? hat is the Play.com aims to provide electronic goods and assorted other consumer goods for a lower than ‘high street’ price to consumers worldwide. It has been operating for a number of years. Although the exact founding year is not given on play.com, Wikipedia has it listed at 1998 – though this cannot be regarded as a reliable source in most cases, this does seem viable. 2.    What type of goods are available? Why do they sell these goods? Who do they supply these good for? The site trades in a number of goods, ranging from entertainment goods such as DVDs, Books, Games, CDs, Electronics, and more recently other consumer goods including PCs and accessories, clothing, BluRay and mp3 downloads. They sell these goods because they are able to offer them at a lower price than most high street stores and as such receive a very good customer base. They supply the goods mainly for customers in Europe and the United Kingdom, however do ship to numerous other countries, although the site is entirely in English, leading one to assume that their focus is on the UK market. They also have a sister site which deals with customers from the USA. 3.    What group of people are the goods for (and where are they)? Who will use it to purchase goods (and where are they)? Are these the same groups of people – if not why not? The customers and the recipients of the goods are generally the same people. Play.com is aimed at the internet generation, people in their 20s-40s are most likely to use the site. They are those with disposable income who want the latest electronics. 4.    How does the company ‘insure’ the quality of the goods? Play.com guarantees that goods received will not be damaged, and has a returns policy if this does occur. 5.    What delivery process to they use? Goods are sent by post, unless they are too large, in which case they may use courier delivery. 6.    How does the company ensure that data: customer details and transactions are safe? How long does the company keep this information for? What does/could the company do with the customer information? The company may share information with third party partners, for the reason of technical support, or for payment issues. For more detailed info please visit play.com’s [|privacy policy] 7.    How can the company ensure that the financial transactions are safe? Do they do these transactions themselves or do they use another third-party? The website uses SSL to ensure that transactions are safe. Other information is understandable hard to obtain, however play does offer the following [|security advice] 8.    What issues can you see that may arise from this particular application of eCommerce? There are a few issues in the area of globalization, the website ships to numerous European countries, however is entirely based in English.

Gareth and Dolly The purpose of the site is to buy items get involved in auctions online This website has been launched since 1995 so it has been operating for 13 years
 * __EBAY__ __QUESTIONS__**
 * 1. What is the purpose of the site? How long has it been operating for?**

Decor, Appliances, Computers, Furniture, Equipment, Vehicles, etc. The reason why they sell them since some of the items sold through e-bay were quite rare (hard to find) and valuable
 * 2. ****What type of goods are available? Why do they sell these goods? Who do they supply these good for?**

Depends on the catagories they provide through eBay
 * 3. What group of people are the goods for (and where are they)? Who will use it to purchase goods (and where are they)? Are these the same groups of people – if not why not?**

They have eBay Feedback where customers give feedback to products they've purchased, and the eBay Security Centre where they provide guidance on purchasing items through eBay safely.
 * 4. ****How does the company ‘insure’ the quality of the goods?**

5.)  5.     What delivery process to they use?  eBay will personally mail your product, If there is any enquiries about order, let them know a while before delivery.

6.)  6.     How does the company ensure that data: customer details and transactions are safe? How long does the company keep this information for? What does/could the company do with the customer information?  They use SSL to ensure that transaction and personal information is safe for the user.

7.)  7.     How can the company ensure that the financial transactions are safe? Do they do these transactions themselves or do they use another third-party?  Again, they use SSL to ensure that everything is safe.

8.) What issues can you see that may arise from this particular application of eCommerce?  Many different countries use eBay to buy goods etc, but the website is based in English, so the non- speaking english countries are going to find it difficult to order the goods they want to buy

= C: Look for news items regarding issues relating to eCommerce: add here = http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/17/paypal_ipn_meltdown/ - //glitch in PayPal's payment verification system is wreaking havoc on some ecommerce sites that depend on the service. For more than 48 hours, the bug in PayPal's instant payment notification has made it impossible for them to process orders, owners of these businesses complain.// - An issue of reliability of the growing eCommerce market.