Q.A spinning mill sells yarn electronically to a textile manufacturing company through an online business portal. Which type of e-commerce does this represent? (A) B2C
(B) C2C
(C) B2B
(D) C2B

C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) e-commerce covers transactions carried out between one consumer and another, usually with the help of a third-party online platform.

E-commerce is classified by who is buying and who is selling. The three options here are:

• B2B (Business-to-Business) — trade between two business firms, e.g. a manufacturer selling raw material to a wholesaler.
• B2C (Business-to-Consumer) — a business selling goods or services directly to the final consumer, e.g. an online retail store.
• C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) — one consumer selling to another consumer, generally through an intermediary website that provides the platform, listing and payment facility. Examples include online auction sites and second-hand goods marketplaces where individuals list items for other individuals to buy.

Why C2C is correct: the key phrase is "between consumers and consumers." Only C2C has consumers on both sides of the transaction. The platform provider earns a fee or commission but is not itself the buyer or seller of the goods.

The odd one out is A to Z. The others are genuine categories of e-commerce, whereas 'A to Z' is not a recognised type.

E-commerce is classified according to the parties involved in the online transaction:

• B to B (Business to Business) — trade between two businesses, e.g. a manufacturer selling to a wholesaler.
• B to C (Business to Consumer) — a business selling directly to individual consumers, e.g. an online shopping site.
• C to C (Consumer to Consumer) — one consumer selling to another, usually through an online platform such as a re-sale website.
• A to Z — this is not a category of e-commerce at all; it is only a figure of speech meaning 'everything from start to finish'.

Since B2B, B2C and C2C are valid types of e-commerce and 'A to Z' is not, 'A to Z' is the odd one out.