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What is e-commerce? We hear so many "e" words today; e-mail, e-book, e-trade and more. "E" stands for electronic. E-commerce is conducted over the Internet, electronically. This might refer to business to business transaction, or purchases consumers make online. If you purchase goods from a website, you are participating in e-commerce.
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If you sell goods online, this is also e-commerce. E-commerce can also apply to services that are sold or exchanged online.
You may pay for goods and services online with a credit card, an electronic check or a previously established online account such as Paypal. These are sometimes called "cybercash" accounts. When using these cyber-accounts, the money is transferred from your account to the other without releasing or revealing any of your personal information such as credit card numbers and bank accounts.
This added security led a lot of people to feel more secure with e-commerce and "secured transactions". The Federal Electronic Signatures Act in 2000 set standards for contracts and forms that are signed electronically. The internet had created a whole new world in which new laws would have to be formed.
The new laws have diminished the problem of online purchase and e-commerce. Retail sales were over 7 million dollars by the end of 1990's. An advantage of e-commerce is that we can purchase things and receive them without going to the store and fighting crowds. There is no need for even dressing up.
Other online commerce includes trading of stocks, purchases of airline tickets and groceries, and participation in auctions. Everyone has heard of Ebay.com. Millions of people every day participate in eBay auctions. People can do research of the online markets and easily find the best deal on their product without any legwork. In addition to purchasing, people can set up their own e-commerce stores easily. If you have a product, want to sell a hobby such as needlework, or if you have a service to offer, you can reach a much greater crowd by opening an online store.
E-mail, faxes, teleconferencing and telephone or online banking are all forms of e-commerce also. These forms have mostly been around longer but they are all still part of the e-commerce industry. More and more people are taking advantage and choosing to pay bills online, receive statements and more.
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