EBay
Ebay is an online auction service that enables users to sell their stock or goods and buyers place bids on a broad variety of items. The duration of the auction can last from a few hours to a day to even weeks. During this period of auction, bids from different people are gathered. After the bidding duration, the bidder that has the highest bid from the others is then awarded the item or product. This service started in the United States, but it has expanded its auction service to more than thirty countries globally. The items being bid range from small things like trading cards to even automobiles. Some items, however, like alcohol, pornography and drugs are highly prohibited from being sold from the service.
For one to sell an item, one has to be a registered member of the Ebay site. One should also create his or her own seller profile. Membership registration is totally free, and it is filled at the Ebay site. To be able to bid and buy merchandise, the users must also have a member profile. Any buyer is allowed to bid as many times as one can.
Their mission is to provide a worldwide marketplace that anyone can practically trade anything hence offering and promoting economic opportunities around the world.
TigerDirect
This refers to a direct online retailer of consumer electronics and computers. It owes its headquarters to Fontainebleau in Florida. It runs various marketing channels that include; retail store, e-commerce and even catalog computer electronic sales. Just like Ebay, the user is required to create their personal account to use this site.
Their mission is to offer customers’ the best variety of electronics and computers available at a cheaper price that is easily afforded by the customers and available at any time they so require it.
Amazon
Amazon refers to an international electronic commerce (e-commerce) company which has its headquarters situated in Washington. It is actually the largest online retailer globally. At first it started as a bookstore but has so far by now upgraded to selling things like DVD’s, Mp3’s, food, furniture and many more. It also offers international shipping of some of the products. It has a wide range of products. It employs a multi-leveled e-commerce that makes it be on another level.
Their mission is to be one of earth’s biggest customer centered company where customers can find anything they need at their disposal.
These organizations share some similar privacy policies. They all help protect customers from fraud and misuse of one’s personal information by collecting information about their use and interaction with their websites. For instance, they may evaluate their mobile phone or computer or any other access device to their website. This helps them to identify any malicious software’s or activities.
Similarities
Collection: when users register and enter information to their sites, they collect personal information and use cookies and other technologies to keep track of their online interaction with their sites to protect users from fraud or any other malicious activities.
Use: They all use your information to enforce their terms and conditions, to prevent fraud and to keep their sites safe.
Disclosure: They all share limited information with law enforcement and other bodies required in order to keep the community safe as much as possible.
They also share and provide information to other companies that work on their behalf to help provide their services.
Limitation of liability: They are not liable to any indirect or consequential damages of already purchased items.
They are all also similar as they share client’s credit information with credit companies to make required transactions as permitted by law.
They all share users personal information with financial institutions that they partner with, for instance, Pay pal.
Differences
There is a difference in the age of the clients who can create their profile with the different sites. This is the age of the users who can use the website. The age limit for TigerDirect is 13 years of age while that of Amazon is 18 years of and only sell children’s’ products for purchase by adults. One can use their site only under supervision of a parent or a guardian.
In terms of guarantee on defects, Amazon offers a whole 30 day return policy of purchased items and merchandise, in case they were purchased while defective. On the other hand, TigerDirect only allows defective goods to be returned within 14 days from the date of purchase or they will be rejected.
Amazon, unlike the other companies, requests a wide variety of information including users’ financial information, social security and drivers’ license numbers.
While eBay allows auction style selling, Amazon and TigerDirect do not allow that style of selling and this allows eBay to sell more goods apparently.
Recommendations
There are notable changes that can be made and implemented on the privacy policies that can help better customer’s privacy. To start with, they should increase the duration period of returning goods up to at least one month. This gives the customers more time and flexibility to return the goods purchased at their own convenient time. Another change that could be installed is by first investigating on returned products in case of damage that cannot be deciphered if it is because of customers fault or not. This promotes fairness to the customer and the company.
They should also raise the age limit of the companies’ users from 13 to 18 as that is the most appropriate age. That helps deter children from participating in some acts that could be easily tempting to them. They should also share one’s credit information to credit and financial institutions only recognized by government and law. This helps protect the customer’s money and details.
Any form of committed fraud should be reported to the relevant authorities as soon as quickly for immediate action to be taken. These safeguard other customer’s safety and know how.
They should also inquire to receive information from other sources like delivery and the address information from their third parties or carriers. This will enable them rectify their records and ensure ease delivery of items in the next purchases and communication.
The companies should limit the amount of customer information they share with third parties as much as possible, unless it is very necessary.
When it comes to online computer use and e-commerce, the issue of privacy comes into play. The recommendation for this paper is that the companies should have a policy where they can use private information but should keep this information confidential. They should use private information of consumers without breaking the privacy laws that have been set. Another recommendation is that the private and confidential information of consumers should be kept private and confidential. This should be protected so that the privacy of consumers should be achieved.
Conclusion
These companies have major similarities compared to differences in many aspects. This shows that their sole goal is to safeguard the customer’s interests and provide them with high level services. They help customers get merchandise at ease and are very reliable as they are just online and can be accessed easily. Even though, they should instill more safety policies with the inclusion of those proposed. This will protect the customers and give them confidence whenever they want to purchase anything. Customers should be careful before they purchase anything from online companies such as these as there are many fraudsters out there waiting to prey on naïve individual.
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